Explainer: International counseling teacher CPD package

>>> Find out about the Teacher CPD tool and this CPD package in our webinar:

Mastering global admissions: inside Unifrog’s new CPD courses

When: Thursday 27 August @ 09:00 UK time 

Duration 45 mins

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The International Counseling teacher CPD package in a nutshell

The International Counseling teacher CPD package is a collection of online, self-paced professional development courses for school staff supporting university and college applications across the globe. 

It consists of these courses:

• College counseling basics (in the ‘Careers guidance and Counseling’ theme)
   
• Supporting students applying to the US (this and below in the‘International pathways’ theme)
   
• Supporting students applying to the UK
   
• Supporting students applying to Canada 
   
• Supporting students applying to Europe
   
• Supporting students applying to Australia and New Zealand

The courses are CPD certified and completed entirely online. They are a paid-for add on to your normal Unifrog subscription.

 

What are the courses in the packages like?

All the courses are online, self-paced, and CPD accredited.

Each one is three to six sessions long, depending on the topic or destination. For example, the US course is longer than others because the admissions process involves more application elements.

Each session takes approximately 30 to 60 minutes to complete depending on the experience level of the counselor or teacher, meaning a six-session course usually takes three to six hours to complete.

More about the ‘College counseling basics’ course

In the ‘College counseling basics’ course within the package, we explore the core skills and knowledge needed to support students effectively throughout the university and career guidance process.

Here's a short introductory video to it:

Sessions in this course include:

• Introduction to one-to-one guidance
• Making informed career decisions
• Supporting university and college applications
• Ethics in college counseling
• Supporting students’ wellbeing
• Reflective practice and professional development

More about the International pathways courses

The international pathways courses that come as part of the package are designed to help school staff support students applying to different higher education destinations around the world.

Here's a screenshot of how the courses appear on the Teacher CPD tool:

Each of the courses gives counselors and teachers an understanding of a specific study destination, including how applications work, what students need to prepare, and how to guide students towards best-fit decisions.

The courses cover topics like:

• An introduction to the higher education landscape in this pathway
• Helping students identify best-fit options
• Understanding application processes
• Best-practice for written application materials
• Best-practice for references and recommendations
• What happens after applications are submitted

What sort of school staff is the package aimed at?

The courses in the package are designed for:

• New counselors
• Experienced counselors wanting a refresher
• Teachers supporting university applications
• Tutors or homeroom teachers involved in guidance conversations
• IB coordinators or pastoral staff taking on counseling responsibilities
• Staff considering moving into a counseling role in the future
• Counselors supporting applications to a destination they’re less familiar with

What do counselors and teachers who take the courses get from them?

The courses are designed to supercharge your professional practice.

They help counselors, teachers, and other school staff feel more confident in delivering guidance and supporting students applying to destinations around the world.

The courses help staff harness career development and counseling theory, including Egan’s Skilled Helper Model, Rogers’ person-centred counseling, the Law and Watts DOTS model, the Karpman Drama Triangle, and reflective practice models developed by Schön, Gibbs, and Driscoll.

The courses are also very practical. They involve:

• Realistic student scenarios
• Admissions guidance
• Interactive activities and videos
• Reflective tasks and case studies

All courses are fully online and self-paced, meaning staff can complete them flexibly during induction, training days, quieter periods, or across the school year.

The courses are accredited by an independent assessor, and can count towards hours or points for continuing professional development. Once staff complete a course, they receive a CPD-certified completion certificate, here's a screenshot:
 

How much does the package cost?

The limited-time launch price of the International Counseling CPD package is £350 exVAT per year. 

The license includes access for every teacher in your school, and they can take each course as many times as they’d like.

If you’d like to purchase a package, get in touch with The Unifrog team on info@unifrog.org.

Who created the courses?

Here’s the team behind these high-quality courses:

• Our level 7 registered career development professional (RCDP) with a master’s degree in careers guidance;
• Our team of course writers, made up of former teachers with over 50 years’ teaching experience between them;
• Our partner universities who have provided expert information on current university systems across the world;
• The CPD Certification Service who reviewed the courses against their own rigorous criteria in order to certify them.

Here's a screenshot of a completion certificate from a course where we have collaborated with the admissions departments at five universities to provide expert insight:
 

How does the package fit with the rest of Unifrog?

While these courses are not designed as ‘How to use Unifrog’ training courses, each session includes a ‘Unifrog tools to support your practice’ section, alongside practical activities showing how relevant Unifrog tools can support guidance conversations and university applications.

This helps staff connect counseling theory and guidance practice with the tools they already use in school.

For example, courses may include activities on:

• Researching destinations and courses
• Supporting best-fit decision making
• Exploring application requirements
• Using guidance resources with students
• Integrating Unifrog tools into one-to-one guidance conversations

For more detailed step-by-step guidance on using individual Unifrog tools, staff can access:

• Unifrog help guides
• the free ‘How to use Unifrog’ courses available within the Teacher CPD Courses tool

Together, these resources help schools combine practical platform knowledge with high-quality counseling and guidance training.