Professional Licensure
Requirements for Professional Licensure
Carroll College is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities, an institutional accreditation body recognized by the Council of Higher Education Accreditation and/or the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Education. Carroll College is authorized to grant educational degrees and some of these degrees are designed or advertised to meet educational requirements to obtain a specific federal, state, or professional licensure or certification that is required for employment in an occupation. Licensure requirements may differ depending on what state or territory an individual is seeking employment. In order to inform prospective and current students on which programs meet state licensure requirements, Carroll College is required to maintain and update this Professional Licensure Disclosure.
Carroll College is committed to ensuring information about education requirements for licensure or certification are up to date. Despite our efforts, state licensing boards or certification organizations may change their requirements without notifying Carroll College. In addition, there may be further requirements such as background checks, professional exams, finger prints, years of experience, or probationary periods. If you intend on gaining professional licensure/certification in a state other than Montana, Carroll College strongly encourages you, before beginning an academic program, to contact the relevant licensing entity and obtain information regarding the specific requirements in that state. Furthermore, some states require authorization prior to a student beginning clinical or field experience. Please speak with your program director or internship/clinical/field experience coordinator if you intend to obtain that experience in a state other than Montana.
All prospective and currently enrolled students are encouraged to review the relevant professional licensure disclosure for the state they intend to live and the Carroll program they are seeking to complete. Carroll College defines a prospective student as a degree or credential-seeking student who has applied for admission to Carroll College, but has not yet enrolled. While our programs are designed to meet the educational requirements for licensure in Montana, the College is not a professional licensure or certification organization. State professional licensing boards make the ultimate determination, based on their regulations and requirements, if an individual is qualified and eligible to practice within their jurisdiction.
NC-SARA
Montana is a member of NC-SARA, an agreement among member states, districts, and territories that establishes comparable national standards for interstate offering of postsecondary distance education. Carroll College is obligated to disclose whether our face-to-face and online programs that lead to professional licensure or certification meet individual state standards of our students' home states. You can view NC-SARA’s professional licensure directory and this page contains disclosures for individual states and programs. Information regarding filing complaints related to State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement standards can be found here and may be directed to the Montana University System Office of the Commissioner of Higher Education, 560 N. Park Avenue, PO Box 203201, Helena, Montana 59620-3201, 406-449-9124. For more information, please see the Commissioner of Higher Education's website regarding the complaint process for institutions outside the Montana University System.
Program-Specific Professional Licensure Information
Please review the information below to determine if Carroll College's academic programs meet the educational requirements for professional licensure/certification in the state you intend to reside/work.
Accounting
Educational requirements to sit for the CPA exam are determined by the individual state boards of accountancy. Carroll College’s major in Accounting and Strategic Finance combined with the Masters of Accountancy (MACC) was designed to satisfy the curriculum requirements to sit for the CPA exam and the curriculum requirements to later become licensed as a CPA.
As disclosed in the table, a student at Carroll Collage should consider three possible scenarios to meet the requirements to sit for the CPA exam, depending upon the individual state requirements: (1) Accounting and Strategic Finance major is sufficient alone (2) major in Accounting and Strategic Finance combined with additional six credits (for example, six-credits of accounting internships or MACC courses), and (3) major in Accounting and Strategic Finance combined with the MACC. International students at Carroll College may sit for the CPA exam in Montana. Please bear in mind that a state may only require an undergraduate degree to sit for the CPA exam, but may require 150 credits to become licensed as a CPA in that state. Those requirements may be met with Carroll College’s major in Accounting and Strategic Finance combined with the MACC, and that information is reflected in the table.
Carroll College is in the process of determining if the undergraduate program combined with the Masters of Accountancy meets the examination and licensure requirements in all states. Please review the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) links to information on CPA licensure requirements in all states for more information regarding educational requirements to sit for the CPA exam and educational requirements for licensure in all U.S. jurisdictions.
Carroll's Teacher Education program provides majors leading to teacher licensure by the State of Montana Board of Public Education with reciprocity granted in a large number of individual states. Since teacher licensure is determined by each individual state education agency, graduates who desire to teach in another state must apply for teacher licensure in that state and follow the licensure requirements for that state. Typically, states will issue provisional/probationary teaching licenses and graduates can begin teaching upon graduation from Carroll. These provisional/probationary teaching licenses allow graduates up to 3 years to complete the requirements for full professional licensure.
The Montana Board of Public Education is located at: 46 N Last Chance Gulch, PO Box 200601, Helena, MT 59620. Please review the 50 State Comparison - Teacher Reciprocity Spreadsheet for more information regarding licensure requirements across the country. You may also access the contact information for each state's Department of Education.
The Civil Engineering and Engineering Science programs are accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology. Students graduating in engineering from Carroll College are qualified to sit for the FE examination, barring any legal or criminal circumstances that could hinder their application for the exam.
The FE exam is a national examination and can be taken at any testing facility in the United States. Successful passage of the FE examination allows the student to then apply for Engineer Intern licensure in any state. There are no limitations on where they can apply. Once the student becomes an Engineer Intern and enters the profession, their progression to become a Professional Engineer can take many pathways and that journey is not dependent upon their degree from Carroll College.
On February 22, 2019, the Carroll College Board of Trustees, through a campus-wide program prioritization process, discontinued the Engineering Science program. Effective Fall 2019, new students will not be admitted to the program. Current Engineering Science students will be taught to graduation with an ABET-accredited degree. The Engineering Accreditation Commission is located at 415 N Charles St., Baltimore, MD 21201 or via email at: http://www.abet.org.
Carroll College’s Financial Planning program is a CFP Board-Registered program that prepares students to sit for the CFP® exam. Graduates from the Carroll College program, who pass the CFP® exam and fulfill the experience and ethics requirements, may call themselves a CFP® professional. There are no individual state certification requirements nor is there state-specific licensing for the CFP® certification.
Status of Accreditation
Carroll’s MSW program is currently in the process of being accredited by the Council on Social Work Accreditation (CSWE). Accreditation is a three-year process that includes the submission of three benchmark documents and three visits from CSWE site reviewers. We anticipate being initially accredited February 2024.
Status of Licensure
Carroll’s MSW program is not required to be licensed by the State of Montana. However, individuals graduating from our program will more than likely seek Montana licensed clinical social worker (LCSW) licenses that permit them to independently practice as clinical social workers. One condition of obtaining an LCSW license is to first be licensed as an LCSW Candidate and obtain 3,000 hours of work experience, that includes 1,500 hours of direct client contact. To obtain an LCSW candidate license, applicants must have a doctorate or master’s degree in social work from a program accredited by the Council on Social Work Education or approved by the board. Until Carroll College's accreditation is received (anticipated February 2024), our MSW program will not meet licensure requirements in any state or territory.
Implications of Accreditation and Licensure Status for Carroll MSW Students
As noted above, Carroll College anticipates that our MSW program will be accredited February 2024. Students in our first full-time two-year student cohort will graduate May 2023. This means our first cohort of students will graduate approximately 8 months before the program receives its initial accreditation. The program, however, is in the process of seeking approval from the State of Montana that will allow students to apply for an LCSW Candidate license and count work experience collected between graduation (May 2023) and the program being accredited (February 2024) towards their license. This approval process is allowable under State of Montana statute and the process is anticipated to be completed Fall 2021. With this approval, our first cohort of graduates can apply for an LCSW Candidate license and begin working towards their LCSW license.
For students graduating May 2023, it is also possible that graduation from a non-accredited program may impact employment opportunities until the program is accredited February 2024. This is because some employers may require graduation from a CSWE accredited program. Carroll College is confident, however, that with the program having successfully completed two of three steps of the accreditation process by May 2023, and with the program having been approved by the State of Montana, that few employers will have concerns about hiring our graduates. And once the program receives initial accreditation February 2024, students will no longer have these concerns.
Additional considerations
Some state licensing boards require additional requirements beyond education, which may include (but are not limited to): additional post-graduation examinations or experience, application and licensing fees, criminal background checks, reference checks, fingerprint submissions, etc. Continuing education may also be required for maintenance of certification/licensure. Make sure you understand and review any additional requirements prior to enrolling in the Master of Social Work program.
State licensing requirements are always subject to change at the discretion of the state licensing board. Carroll College will routinely update this page, but we strongly recommend you inquire with the applicable state board to confirm your eligibility for licensure prior to enrolling in the Master of Social Work program. For any questions regarding licensure, please contact the state/territory agency directly.
Licensing requirements vary by state/territory and relocating could impact whether you will meet eligibility requirements for licensure. For any questions about relocation eligibility, contact the agency where you desire licensure before relocating to ensure that you will be eligible for licensure or reciprocity.
If questions remain after reviewing the information provided, contact Dr. James Petrovich, Director of the MSW program. While Carroll College can provide initial guidance, it is ultimately your responsibility to continually check with the state/territory where you intend to seek licensure to confirm all licensing/certification requirements.
Carroll’s Nursing program is accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE), http://www.ccneaccreditation.