Toronto students fear they won’t graduate on time after spending thousands on tuition

A Toronto woman is speaking out because she worries her dream of becoming a psychotherapist is in jeopardy.

“I went through a lot of stuff personally when I was younger and that really drove me to want to pursue this to help others,” said the woman, who asked that her name not be used.

That brought her to pursue a Masters in Counseling Psychology degree at Yorkville University, a private, for-profit, accredited institution established in New Brunswick offering mostly online courses to students all across Canada.

“The thing I liked about Yorkville is it was all online,” she said. “It was flexible enough to where I could also work full time and earn my degree.”

Up until now, she’s had a good experience.

“My professors are great. I’ve learned so much.”

But in order to graduate, she needs to complete a required eight-month practicum.

“Most people would compare that to a co-op. I would still be seeing my own clients, but I would have a supervisor who would review with me. It’s one of, if not the most important part of my education,” she said.

The problem is, she can’t find anyone to take her.

“I have spent 40 to 50 hours trying to find someone to take me, I’ve reached out to over 150 psychotherapists, and nobody is taking me,” she tells CityNews. “Most other universities, like the University of Toronto, set you up with a placement, but Yorkville doesn’t.”

Woman takes to social media to voice concerns

She has joined other students who have been sounding off on social media sites like Facebook and Reddit, worried they may not find a placement.

“This is unfair, not only to Yorkville students who’ve spent two years, and for me, more than $40,000,” she explained. “But it’s also unfair to the psychotherapists we’re emailing because they’re just getting bombarded by Yorkville students trying to find a placement.”

That’s something Megan Rafuse has seen firsthand.

“Our clinic’s inbox is inundated with request after request.”

Rafuse owns Shift Collab, a Canadian mental health clinic. She’s been demanding changes to Yorkville’s program on social media.

“My concern for these students is they aren’t going to graduate and won’t have the skills to be successful in private practice, which is where most of them will be going.”

She’s also spoken out about the way Yorkville staff supports clinic owners like herself.

“My own experience as a former Practicum Site Supervisor for Yorkville is that things tend to be ad hoc,” Rafuse said. “We did not receive the tools, learning contracts or skill-building support that typically schools offer for supervisors working with students.”

Yorkville issues lengthy statement

Zell Dharsee is a Registered Psychotherapist, Psychoanalyst and Clinical Director at YYZTalks. He says this is not a new problem.

“Having gone through this process a decade ago, and now as a practicum supervisor, my heart goes out to all these students. I remember the overwhelming feelings of stress and the questionable practicum arrangements that arose during my search,” he said.

“I am sad to see that the situation has not changed. It appears that Yorkville still has not created a streamlined system to simply match students to practicum sites. I hope they do someday.”

Both the students and clinic owners we spoke with say the instruction in Yorkville’s M.A.C.P. program is not in question here.

“I love Yorkville students,” Rafuse said. “They’ve been taught well, they’re capable – that’s not the issue here. It’s the placement process that is drawing concern. They need to give these students more support.”

CityNews reached out to Yorkville, who sent along a detailed statement.

“No student has ever failed to graduate due to difficulty achieving a practicum placement,” a spokesperson said. “We offer 1,175 active practicum sites in Ontario, many of which take on more than one student. Each term, we have approximately 900 Ontario students in practicum, so there are enough opportunities to meet our student needs.”

Any student entering the program also does so, knowing they’re required to find their own placement. Yorkville makes that clear from the start, but a spokesperson says several staff members are available to help them through that process.

“Students can attend weekly Zoom drop-in hours, where they can meet with an advisor and bring questions and concerns.”

The University has several tools online to support students in finding a placement. An online portal has a list of approved sites, searchable by location, that has accepted Y.U. practicum students in the past.

CityNews reached out to a clinic on that list. They asked not to be identified but said they’re not accepting Yorkville students because they don’t have enough patients to give them the 400 clinical hours needed.

“I don’t have the patients to accommodate that,” they said. “Yorkville might want to look at the number of students they’re accepting versus the placements available.”

Yorkville U defends actions

Yorkville University says they are constantly working to expand practicum sites.

“We have a dedicated team of Practicum Liaisons that work hard to grow practicum opportunities across Canada, which allows us to thoughtfully expand our program,” the spokesperson said.

The University also defends its post-placement follow-ups with Practicum Site Supervisors who agree to take on students.

“Supervisors get a dedicated practicum coordinator that walks them through the practicum process and maintains contact to ensure things are going well,” the spokesperson said. “They also get an assigned faculty instructor that meets with them to discuss the student’s progress and skill development.”

As for the student we spoke with, she may postpone her degree if she does not find a placement soon. The university does allow that without penalty.

“If a student is experiencing challenges in finding a placement, they can defer for up to a year, and in certain situations receive an extension,” a university spokesperson said.

But it’s a delay the student who spoke with CityNews is hoping to avoid it.

“I feel like I’m out of options as I have contacted every approved site, given to me by Yorkville, available within my area,” she said. “They said I could try to find something out of province, but I don’t have the money to pick up and move somewhere. I’ve already spent so much on this program.”

“What we’re asking from Yorkville is to help your students,” Rafuse said. “Give them the supports they need so these students can become strong clinicians, strong advocates and strong professionals in our industry.”

Yorkville says they’re taking the claims seriously.

“We continue to invest in people, systems, and resources to improve our offerings, and appreciate student feedback that we use to inform our processes.”

A spokesperson said any student struggling to find a placement can reach out directly to the University’s Dean: sspencer@yorkvilleu.ca.

Yorkville University’s Full Statement to CityNews:

Thank you for connecting with us, as we take the experiences of our students very seriously.

Our Master of Arts in Counselling Psychology (MACP) program trains the next generation of mental health professionals, who go on to help their communities nationwide. Practicum placements are an important, hands-on aspect of student learning.

They allow students to hone their skills in a supervised setting, as well as prepare for career success. In fact, 76% of our students report that their practicum supervisor discussed post-graduation employment with them during their practicum.

As is the case at Yorkville, it is common practice across an array of graduate education programs that students arrange their own placements with a variety of institutional supports. We value our students’ practical learning and provide a large number of resources to support them in finding a placement.

Currently, we offer 2,840 active, pre-approved placement sites across Canada, significantly more than the 1,500 students currently in active practicum across the country. We place enormous value on our practicum partners and appreciate all they do for our students. In addition, we have a Practicum Portal, which is a website dedicated to helping students understand every aspect of the practicum process.

We also offer a detailed Practicum Student Manual, guidelines and timelines, an informational webinar every term, and weekly drop-in hours with a Practicum Advisor. If a student is experiencing challenges in finding a placement, they can defer for up to a year, and in certain situations receive an extension. We also have a dedicated team of Practicum Liaisons that work hard to grow practicum opportunities across Canada, which allows us to thoughtfully expand our program. No student has ever failed to graduate due to difficulty achieving a practicum placement.

We are proud of Yorkville University’s MACP program, and the role it is playing in helping students pursue their academic and professional goals, while making a significant contribution to the development of mental health professionals in Canada, at a time of significant and growing demand.

In regard to access to our list of sites that accept YU practicum students, the Practicum Portal does offer a site locator, which lists all approved sites, searchable by location. This feature is only available to learners who log onto the portal.

Concerning what support we offer practicum sites, every site is onboarded by a Practicum Liaison team, who are available to answer any questions around expectations, responsibilities, or access. Sites have a dedicated portal of resources available to them.

In addition, Supervisors get a dedicated Practicum Coordinator that walks them through the practicum process and maintains contact to ensure things are going well. They also get an assigned Faculty Instructor that meets with them to discuss the student’s progress and skill development.

On top of these team members, they also receive a Guide that provides information about the process, best practices, and outlines responsibilities and tasks associated with the process. Supervisors also receive a supervision training developed by a doctorate level clinician, with an opportunity to earn CEU’s required to sustain their license.

We’ll note that practicum sites that are well regarded by previous students, can sometimes continue to receive large volumes of inquiry from students even when taken off our list, as students often share about positive experiences they’ve had.

Regarding student resources to support their placement search, students can attend weekly Zoom drop-in hours, where they can meet with an Advisor and bring questions and concerns. Students are encouraged to bring their Practicum Placement Tracker (available on the Portal) to the conversation. We also offer Career Services to support resume development.

We continue to invest in people, systems, and resources to improve our offerings, and appreciate student feedback that we use to inform our processes. For any student who feels they have not been heard, we encourage them to contact our Dean at sspencer@yorkvilleu.ca. Our program is working actively to resolve any unanswered queries.