Article Published: 9/11/2019
The Professional Counselor (TPC), NBCC’s peer-reviewed, open-access online journal, has won an APEX Award for Publication Excellence for the seventh consecutive year. This year, TPC won its first Grand Award, signifying its status in the top 100 of 1,300 publications judged by APEX.
“We are fortunate to have received another publication award. This just shows that the original idea to create an open-source, refereed journal that was entirely managed online was a good one,” says J. Scott Hinkle, TPC Editor.
“Turning submissions around in 120 days or less, sometimes in 90 days, has put TPC in the ‘go-to’ category for submitting academic papers. And giving authors permission to re-use their papers also has helped the journal grow. We start Year 10 in January!”
The APEX Awards are a competition distinguishing excellence in publications based on merit in graphic design, editorial content, and overall communication.
TPC, founded in 2011, offers research and commentary on empirical, theoretical, and innovative topics in the profession of counseling and related areas. Recent issues of the journal have included articles on social justice advocacy, school counselor burnout, cultural trauma, counseling during the U.S. opioid epidemic, and factors influencing undergraduate retention in STEM majors.
TPC also publishes book reviews, video reviews, and the TPC Digest, which contains nontechnical summaries of TPC articles paired with art and corresponding to each issue of the journal. TPC also publishes special issues devoted to specific topics; in fact, the next journal issue will be a special issue on distance/online counselor education.
TPC has seen a dramatic rise in the number of subscribers receiving publication announcements, book and video review opportunities, and other news. Since June 2017, the journal has had a 526% increase in subscriptions.
In addition to these achievements, TPC is nearing completion of two major projects that will mark a new era for the journal.
TPC will reveal its new website in early October, and although it will have the same URL, visitors will notice the difference immediately. The new site will have improved functionality and helpful links, including a fully accessible search function, a frequently asked questions page, and clearer navigation.
Catherine Clifton, TPC Managing Editor, says the new site is a direct response to reader requests.
“Having an engaging and easy-to-use website is vital to maintaining an exclusively online journal such as TPC,” she says. “Our subscribers have called for more menu options and easier access to our publication policies and guidelines, and the new website fulfills those needs and more.”
TPC has also been committed to improving its continuing education (CE) offerings on the i-Counseling platform.
In late 2014, TPC became an NBCC Approved Continuing Education Provider (ACEP) and began posting articles with CE credits available through i-Counseling. Soon, all of TPC’s articles will be available with corresponding CE courses, providing counselors and counseling students with the opportunity to earn credit to put toward licensure and certification.
“As an open-access, peer-reviewed journal, we are already on the forefront of the current trends in academic publishing,” Clifton says. “Winning awards and making constant strides to stay relevant ultimately helps our readers in their clinical, academic, and life journeys.”
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