National Board For Certified Counselors, Inc.

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ***, and I accept itRefund was received on 8/15/

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 9, 2016/05/24) */
NBCC offers several voluntary, nationally recognized credentials, including the National Certified Counselor (NCC)The National Counselor Examination for Licensure and Certification (NCE) is administered both for purpose of state licensure and
for the National Certified Counselor credentialAccording to our records, the administration of the NCE that Mr*** took was for purposes of the National Certified Counselor credentialHe submitted the Board Eligible Graduate Student Application for the NCC Credential with the *** - Western Michigan, signed and dated 7/9/
Mr*** indicated that "he applied for, took and passed the NCE as required for my professional license to practice in my state." State counselor licensure is a separate application process from the NBCC certification application process and every state has different requirementsMeeting the requirements of NCC certification are not the same as meeting the requirements of a state licensure board
In November 2009, a letter was sent to Mr*** requesting an official transcript showing the conferral of a master's degree in counselingNBCC sent a follow up letter in October advising him that an official transcript showing the date his degree was conferred was required and that the required documentation should be submitted by December 31, or the application would close, and the NCE scores would be inactivated with the closing of the applicationPlease note that no additional fees were required or requested to complete the application while originally openNBCC is a credentialing body, not a membership agency
All applications remain open for two yearsDuring that time, every applicant has the opportunity to rectify any deficiencies or achieve a passing score on the required examinationNBCC did not receive a copy of Mr***'s official transcript indicating that he had actually been conferred a degree in counseling, and his application was closed on 7/11/A six month grace period was given to allow additional time for his document to be received
Please note that all of the information has previously been explained to Mr*** during telephone conversations and by email
In March of 2016, NBCC implemented a process that allows a former applicant to reactivate a closed application to complete certification within six years of the examination dateNBCC notes that Mr*** contacted us in November of to request scoresAt that time, the reactivation process had not been implementedAs a courtesy, NBCC will allow Mr*** to submit the reactivation to complete certification form, review fee and documents until May 13, This form was sent to him by Beatrice Y*** on 4/18/An official transcript showing that he has been conferred a degree in counseling must be received and reviewed prior to releasing his NCE scoresAll documents are reviewed in the order received, and reviews can take up to weeksScores will not be processed until the review of the transcript is complete
Mr*** has not submitted the necessary paperwork to advance his applicationA message was left for Mr*** on 5/24/asking him to contact NBCC if he planned to submit the required form and documentsNBCC has had no response from Mr***His application will remain permanently closedUpon closure of an application, all contents of the application, including examination scores, are permanently inaccessible to the applicantApplicants must reapply under current application requirements and retake the National Counselor Examination for Licensure and Certification (NCE)

We are very sorry for the difficulty experienced by Ms***. This was a situation resulting from a transition failure to a new staff person. As of today, all associated fees have been reversed and Ms*** has been contacted. The new staff person has received additional
training. I am sorry that Ms*** was not able to resolve the concern through her previous efforts and I hope this issue is now resolved to her satisfaction. Many thanks,Sherry A***Chief Mission Officer

Ms***’s NCC application for counselors who have graduated from a CACREP-accredited program was received on 11/12/and her application was placed in line for reviewThere was an issue with Ms***’s transcript that delayed the review and subsequent transcript retrievalAn email was sent
to Ms*** on 2/5/letting her know her application was being reviewed by a reviewer, and that an official transcript was neededMs***’s degree was not CACREP accredited as indicated in her application, and a courtesy review was completed to see if Ms*** might meet the requirements of an alternate application for applications who did not graduate from a CACREP accredited programAn email was sent on 2/27/letting Ms*** know that her master’s degree in Education and Psychological Counseling did not appear to meet the coursework criteria, and several syllabi from her courses were requestedTo give Ms***’s coursework the fairest review possible, two independent reviews of the syllabi were given, and then sent to the certification team for an additional review. It was determined that the degree in Education and Psychological Counseling does not meet the coursework requirements for the NCC certificationThose results were conveyed to Ms*** on 3/14/In light of the initial review delay, NBCC will refund the additional transcript review fee of $and the exam fee of $125. NBCC policies dictate that if an application for the NCC certification is not approved, the application fee will not be refundedAll applications remain open for two yearsDuring that time, every applicant has the opportunity to rectify any deficiencies or achieve a passing score on the required examination. While certification and licensure are different processes, Ms*** can find information on state licensure exams here: http://www.nbcc.org/Licensure. Again, we appreciate feedback and are committed to continued improvement

It was confirmed that the accounting office had the check request as of Wednesday, August 9, and planned to mail the check by today, Monday Many thanks,Sherry A***

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 10, 2015/09/08) */
Ms***-*** NCC Application for Graduates of a CACREP- Accredited Program was received on 7/16/15, and her application was placed in line for reviewMs***-*** sent an email on 7/21/expressing that she had submitted the
application in errorThe director of certification services responded to Ms***-*** on 7/25/15, and let her know that according to NBCC policy, all application fees are non-refundable and non-transferrableIf the application for the NCC certification was submitted in error or if the application is not approved, the application fee will not be refundedAll applications remain open for two yearsDuring that time, every applicant has the opportunity to rectify any deficiencies or achieve a passing *** on the required examinationThis is clearly stated on the payment page of all NBCC certification applicationsMs***'s application has been reviewed, and she is currently registered to sit for the National Counselor Exam in October,
We regret that Ms***-*** did not feel well served by NBCC with regard to her applicationWe are always looking at our processes in an attempt to serve individuals more quickly and we will continue that process in the future
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (3000, 12, 2015/09/09) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
This policy is unacceptable and not an appropriate business practiceI'm shocked that more people haven't complained about this no refund policy even when the person applies in error

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ***, and I accept itThank you so much for your assistance in resolving my issue. Best, *** ***

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 12, 2015/10/12) */
According to our records, Ms*** was certified as an NCC on 10/18/2003, certified as an NCSC on 2/3/and recertified as an NCC and NCSC on 5/1/with an expiration date of 4/30/On April 30, 2014, both certifications lapsed with a
balance due of $The National Certified Counselor and National Certified School Counselor are professional certifications, and not a membershipNCCs and NCSCs are certified on a year cycle, and certification maintenance fees are charged annuallyNon-payment of fees will not result in inactivation of the certification, unless the expiration date has passedAll past due fees must be paid to have examination scores released or to reinstate certificationsAdditionally, documentation of hours of continuing education over the past five years is required to have a certification reinstated
Ms*** submitted a reinstatement application on 5/12/She paid all required fees, but was only able to document hours of continuing educationNBCC has granted Ms*** a one year period to submit the additional hours needed to reinstate her certificationsMs*** has until 8/27/to submit the additional hours needed to complete the reinstatement processNBCC's policy on refunding/transferring fees is included on the Reinstatement submission page submitted by Ms***
NBCC has not denied Ms*** certification, but have denied the reinstatements of her NCC and NCSC certifications until appropriate continuing education hours are submitted and her audit is completed and approvedThis information can be found at http://www.nbcc.org/NCCResources/RecertifyYourNCC and http://www.nbcc.org/InnerPageLinks/WaysToEarn
We regret that Ms*** did not feel well served by NBCC with regard to her reinstatement experienceWe are always looking at our processes in an attempt to serve people more quickly and we will continue that process in the future

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 12, 2015/08/17) */
Ms***'s NCC/NCSC State Licensed Combo application was received on 12/10/and her application was placed in line for reviewAll applications are reviewed in the order receivedAn email was sent to Ms*** on 3/21/letting her
know that additional documentation was needed as Ms*** did not submit her transcript as requested at the time of the application submissionThe transcript was received, and the results were conveyed to Ms*** on 3/25/Ms***'s degree in Psychological Services only contained semester hours, and hours are required for the NCC certification, so she is ineligible for the NCC and NCSC certificationsAt Ms***'s request, the matter was given to a supervisor for review on 4/10/To give Ms***'s coursework the fairest review possible, two independent reviews of the transcripts were givenDue to the high volume of applications, a review can take up to eight weeksIt was determined that the degree in Psychological Services does not meet the degree title requirements for the NCC or NCSC certificationsThose results were conveyed to Ms*** on 8/10/
Ms*** hour degree in Psychological Services does not meet the application requirements of having a major study in counselingA graduate degree with a major study in counseling is defined as a degree in which a minimum of semester/hours of the degree credits in counseling cover at least nine counseling coursework areas required by NBCCThe degree must include one course in Professional Orientation to Counseling and at least six semester/quarter hours of supervised field experience in counselingCoursework in the following nine content areas is required:
Human Growth and Development Theories in Counseling
Social and Cultural Foundations in Counseling
Helping Relationships in Counseling
Group Counseling Theories and Processes
Career Counseling and Lifestyle Development
Assessment in Counseling
Research and Program Evaluation
Professional Orientation to Counseling
Counseling Field Experience
NBCC was unable to establish a major study within Ms*** Psychological Services degreeAs a result, we are unable to consider any graduate counseling coursework completed outside of the degree, such as the certificate program attended
Ms*** has requested to have her application fees refundedAccording to NBCC's policies, all application fees are non-refundable and non-transferrableIf an application for the NCC certification is not approved, the application fee will not be refundedAll applications remain open for two yearsDuring that time, every applicant has the opportunity to rectify any deficiencies
We regret that Ms*** did not feel well served by NBCC with regard to her application reviewWe had a record number of applications during the period in which Ms*** submitted her application, and we apologize for any delay in processing her applicationWe are always looking at our processes in an attempt to serve people more quickly and we will continue that process in the future

Hi ***, I had a phone message that *** *** called about this complaint. I’m emailing you since I was unsuccessful in speaking to *** and I don’t have her email address.I understand from the message that the constituent said she had still not received the certificate. We are contacting her today and resending the certificate with overnight delivery with tracking.Thank you for helping us resolve this concernAll the best, Sherry

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 13, 2016/03/01) */
NBCC received a paper score verification request form from Ms. [redacted] on December 2, 2015. A communication was sent to MS. [redacted] on 12/4/15 indicating that paper forms were no longer accepted by NBCC, and that she must complete her...

request through her [redacted] account. She was also informed that her payment information would not be processed, and would be shredded. Michelle Gross has no record of receiving any emails from Ms. [redacted].
Ms. [redacted] stated that she spoke to [redacted] on 12/22/15. Ms. [redacted] works for an affiliate organization, the [redacted]). Ms. [redacted] does not work for NBCC, and is unable to speak in regards for NBCC policy. While [redacted] continues to process paper score verification forms, for state licensure examinees, NBCC does not. Ms. [redacted] took her exam for the purposes of certification, and must adhere to NBCC policies regarding the release of her scores.
Ms. [redacted] indicates fraudulent charges to her credit card by NBCC staff. On 12/22/15, Paula P[redacted], Accounting Manager, researched this matter and determined that accounting never processed charges to the credit card. She attempted to contact Ms. [redacted] and left a message requesting a copy of the questionable charges she was referring to on her bank statement. Ms. P[redacted] gave instructions on how to dispute the charge with her bank and NBCC, and left both phone and email contact information. Ms. P[redacted] has not heard back from Ms. [redacted] by phone or email to date. NBCC has also not received any documentation or a bank dispute regarding the alleged charges to Ms. [redacted]'s credit card.
Ms. [redacted] submitted a second paper score verification request on January 1, 2016, and was informed again on 1/12/16 that her request would not be honored, her payment information would be shredded, and that she must complete the request through her [redacted] account.
Ms. [redacted] submitted her score request online in [redacted] on 1/12/16, and her scores were processed and mailed on 1/13/16.
We regret that Ms. [redacted] did not feel well served by NBCC with regard to her application and certificate. We are always looking at our processes in an attempt to serve people more quickly and we will continue that process in the future.

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 10, 2015/08/17) */
Ms. [redacted]'s NCC application for counselors who have not graduated from a CACREP-accredited program was received on 5/21/13 and her application was placed in line for review. All applications are reviewed in the order received. An email was...

sent to Ms. [redacted] on 7/25/13 letting her know her application was being reviewed by a reviewer. An email was sent on 9/5/13 letting Ms. [redacted] know that her master's degree in Clinical Psychology did not appear to meet the coursework criteria, and all syllabi from her courses were requested. NBCC implemented a change with the 2013 applications which required all coursework to be counseling focused. The vast majority of coursework completed by Ms. [redacted] is in psychology. On 1/11/14, Ms. [redacted] sent a request to have her application fees refunded. According to NBCC's policies, all application fees are non-refundable and non-transferrable. If an application for the NCC certification is not approved, the application fee will not be refunded. All applications remain open for two years. During that time, every applicant has the opportunity to rectify any deficiencies or achieve a passing [redacted] on the required examination. Ms. [redacted]'s refund request was denied and communicated on 2/6/14. On 3/18/15 Ms. [redacted] sent a follow up email asking about the refund, and stated that she did not receive the letter. The letter was sent by email on 3/19/14. Ms. [redacted] submitted her syllabi documentation to a reviewer on 8/12/14, and this was confirmed on 9/2/15.
To give Ms. [redacted]'s coursework the fairest review possible, two independent reviews of the syllabi were given, and then sent to a supervisor for an additional review. Once those reviews were completed, the syllabi were reviewed by a reviewer committee, and a final determination was made. It was determined that the degree in Clinical Psychology does not meet the coursework requirements for the NCC certification. Those results were conveyed to Ms. [redacted] on 6/24/15.
We regret that Ms. [redacted] did not feel well served by NBCC with regard to her application review. We had a record number of applications during the period in which Ms. [redacted] submitted her syllabi for review, and we apologize for any delay in processing her application. We are always looking at our processes in an attempt to serve people more quickly and we will continue that process in the future.
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (3000, 12, 2015/08/19) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
As a college instructor of professionalism in the healthcare field, I am continually appalled at the NBCCs unwillingness to acknowledge their lack of timely communication. In their response to my complaint, they reference several times in which they responded to me but every single response they provided was only after I followed up questioning why no one had responded in the timeframe provided. The fact that it took over a year for the board to provide feedback on my transcripts and only after I called them is a chief example of their extremely poor communication skills and customer service.
To be the beacon of professionalism in the counseling community, I expected much more and am extremely disappointed in this organization. My one request for the last 2 years, has been for a refund of the money I paid to have my application reviewed. This process was stated to take 8 weeks and I received no communication from them in this time frame. Only after 2 follow up emails did I receive a response at week 14. It is due to their lack of communication and inability to do their jobs in the timeframe they provided that I am continuing to request a refund of my initial application fee.
Final Business Response /* (4000, 22, 2015/10/12) */
Ms. [redacted] was sent an email on 9/5/13 letting her know that her master's degree in Clinical Psychology did not appear to meet the coursework criteria for the National Counselor Certification, and all syllabi from her courses were requested for further review. The syllabi requested were submitted to NBCC in August 2014. Over the course of 21 months Ms. [redacted] continued to submit additional information, and requests for refunds or additional reviews. Each time NBCC staff reviewed the documents, the outcome did not change. It was determined that the degree in Clinical Psychology does not meet the coursework requirements for the NCC certification. In all, over the course of these 21 months, Ms. [redacted]' s application was reviewed by two separate reviewers, two separate supervisors, and a reviewer team. The final results were conveyed to Ms. [redacted] on 6/24/15.
According to NBCC's policies, all application fees are non-refundable and non-transferrable. This information was included on the application signed by [redacted]. If an application for the NCC certification is not approved, the application fee will not be refunded.

Final Consumer Response /* (2000, 10, 2016/07/19) */
NBCC has updated my profile and has asked me to rescind my complaint.

All applications clearly state that if the application is submitted in error or if the application is not approved, a refund will not be given.  Ms. [redacted]'s application for certification was reviewed, and it was determined that she is ineligible for the NCC certification. As indicated, we will refund the exam portion of the application fee, and the costs incurred in submitting an additional transcript. We regret that we are unable to come to a resolution since a review of the situation supports that we follow policy.

Dear [redacted], We have followed up on the complaint and determined: ·         The issue occurred during one of two annual high volume times during which thousands of applications are processed; ·         The certificate was...

printed June 20 and mailed June 26; ·         The delay resulted from a database software problem that required increased manual entries, slowing down the process; ·         There is no documentation of a call or email from the constituent. We have communicated with the constituent. Please let me know if anything else is required. Many thanks,Sherry

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and I accept it.

I understand the details of this circumstance and I am very sorry to hear about this negative experience.  It certainly doesn't represent the service we strive to provide. We believe we are within a few days of resolution. Two representatives have been assigned to this customer and will follow...

up to see if she wants to follow through with the refund.

We have been able to remedy the technological barrier to completing Ms. [redacted]'s certification.  Staff are contacting her to assure she see the notification.  Again, we regret the time it took to complete this process and hope the issue is now resolved.Thanks,Sherry

We appreciate the feedback and apologize for the inconvenience.  The scores were shared on 4/17/18.  I hope this resolves the concern. Many thanks,Sherry A[redacted]Chief Mission Officer

I attempted to update our response but was unable to do so through this portal.  I sent this in an email on 9/25:I have updated information to provide regarding complaint #[redacted] and I am unable to determine how to post it on the portal.  Please advise.Here is the update:I understand...

that this constituent has received a refund to her credit card and NBCC has closed the application.  I hope this resolves the matter. Many thanks,Sherry A[redacted]Chief Mission Officer