Counseling and Psychological Services Records, 1965-2007

Predominant Dates: 1965-1990

The Counseling and Psychological Services Records consist of reports, announcements, and research publications documenting the activities of the office and Oregon State University students. The Counseling and Testing Bureau was established at Oregon State in 1946 to provide services to World War II veterans; services were expanded to all Oregon State students in 1948.

Creators

ID: RG 157

Extent: 1.5 cubic feet

More Extent Information

Scope and Content Notes

The Counseling and Psychological Services Records consist of reports, announcements, and research publications that document the programs and activities of the office as well as information about Oregon State University students. The bulk of the collection consists of the Descriptive Research Bulletin.

Annual reports for 1987/1988 and 1989/1990 provide information on the number of students served and the various programs and activities of the Counseling and Testing Center. Academic Resources Lists for 1999 and 2000 were compiled by staff of University Counseling and Psychological Services to provide a coordinated description of all resources available to help OSU students with academic challenges. The collection includes several announcements from Counseling and Psychological Services in 2007 regarding how to respond to distressed students in light of the shootings at Virginia Tech University in April 2007, including a survey assessing awareness of campus resources.

Research reports of the Counseling and Student Personnel Research Team of the Counseling Center issued in 1965-1966 address various topics of academic assessment and achievement, a survey of the non-counseling function of college counseling centers, patterns of college characteristics obtained from OSU students, and a descriptive and comparative study of foreign undergraduate students at Oregon State.

The Descriptive Research Bulletin consists of periodic reports of applied research projects done by the Center for Research on Student Life and Development and the Counseling and Testing Center from 1969 to 1988 with the aim of generating a body of knowledge about Oregon State University students. The reports pertain to academic performance, retention, graduation rates, transfer students from Oregon community colleges, family income levels, student attitudes toward alcohol and drug use, international students, services for military veterans, student housing, and other issues documenting students' academic performance and student life. Many of the academic performance studies report on the preparation of incoming freshman in mathematics and chemistry. Of special interest are reports of several studies of the cross-cultural contact between domestic and international students and a 1979 report on handicapped students at Oregon State University. Many of the reports are authored by Morris LeMay, Roger Penn, or Maryann K. Phillips. A list of all the bulletins is available online.

An addition to the Counseling and Psychological Services Records (Accession 2013:030) consists of annual reports generated by the Office of Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS). There is also a CAPS activity report for March 27 through June 30 1995 and a 1994/95 report for the Student Health Services Mental Health Clinic.

Biographical / Historical Notes

The Counseling and Testing Bureau was established at Oregon State College in 1946 to provide guidance services to World War II veterans; services were expanded to all Oregon State students in 1948. The Counseling and Testing Center was overseen by the School of Education and the Psychology Department until 1962 when it became a unit of the Office of the Dean of Students. During the 1990s, it became University Counseling and Psychological Services; in 2006, the name was changed to Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS).

The University Exploratory Studies Program was established in 1973 as a special counseling and advising service for freshmen and sophomores, which was coordinated by the Director of the Counseling Center. The Center also administered aid and assistance for handicapped students beginning in 1975. Study skills and tutoring programs were conducted by the Center until 1975.

As of the late 1980s, the primary role of the Counseling and Testing Center was to provide services to Oregon State University students who needed assistance in formulating and implementing their educational and career plans, in increasing their self-understanding and self-acceptance, and in developing skills for establishing and maintaining effective personal and social relationships. The Center provided individual and group counseling; administered interest, personality, achievement, and aptitude tests; and served as a resource for OSU faculty and staff.

In 2009, Counseling and Psychological Services provides a variety of services to help students understand themselves better, create and maintain satisfying relationships, improve their academic performance, and make healthy and satisfying career and life choices.

The Center for Research on Student Life and Development was established by the Office of the Dean of Students in 1969 under the direction of Morris LeMay, who had joined the Counseling Center staff in 1964. LeMay became the director of the Counseling and Testing Center in 1971. He retired from Oregon State University in 1994.

Statement on Access: Collection is open for research.

Statement on Description: This collection is not fully processed; this guide is preliminary.

Preferred Citation: Counseling and Psychological Services Records (RG 157), Oregon State University Special Collections and Archives Research Center, Corvallis, Oregon.

Acquisition Note: Materials were transferred to the Archives by Counseling and Psychological Services and its predecessor organizations from 1999 to 2007.

Acquired: Additions to the collection are expected.

Languages of Materials

English

Other

People, Places, and Topics

Related Materials

<p>Dr. Robert R. Reichart and Lawrence W. Carrillo, Jr. using a machine to check tests for the counseling and testing service, 1949. Robert R. Reichart received a B.S. in Commerce from Oregon State University in 1917 and</p><p> retired in 1974 as a Professor Emeritus of both Education and Forestry. Reichart taught courses in educational psychology, his focus centered on a student's ability to learn on their own using multimedia resources.</p><p> Eventually Reichart created a center for self-learning on campus.</p>

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