Submissions

Please Note: Counselor Education and Supervision  (CES) is moving to the 6th edition of the American Psychological Association Publication Manual for all new submissions beginning September 8, 2009.  As well, all revised and resubmitted manuscripts must conform to the new style guidelines. ACA Publications will be phasing in the new style guidelines beginning with the spring 2010 editions. Thank you for considering CES as an outlet for your scholarly work.

Counselor Education and Supervision utilizes a review process in which manuscripts are screened and forwarded to editorial board members for review. In all cases, CES receives manuscripts through email attachment.  Before you submit a manuscript to CES, please review the following submission guidelines and procedures. If you are not familiar with sending an email attachment, please click here.  

Manuscript Submission Process: Guidelines for Authors

CES utilizes an electronic submission process. Submit your manuscript document and cover letter as email attachments. Handling manuscripts via email reduces the costs associated with the review process and is more time efficient. The electronic submission process facilitates communication with editorial board members and authors, manuscript tracking, and record keeping.

Online Submission: Steps to Submit Your Manuscript and Submission Document Files

Step 1: Prepare Your Manuscript File for Blind Peer Review

Manuscripts will be returned without review if your identity is not masked. To assure impartiality in the peer-review process, reviewers must not know who you are. Modify your manuscript accordingly:

  • The title page should only include a title, nothing more.
  • Authors’ names, addresses, etc. should NOT appear anywhere in the manuscript..
  • The manuscript text must contain NO clues to your identity.
  • Mask ALL references to your identity in your manuscript. 
    • THIS: “As we said earlier (Author, 2000) …”
    • NOT THIS: “As we said earlier (Your Name, 2000) …”
    • THIS: Author. (2003). Identity masking in manuscript submission. Counselor Education and Supervision, 00, XX-XXX.
    • NOT THIS: Your Name. (2003). Identity masking in manuscript submission. Counselor Education and Supervision, 45, 55-65.

Step 2: Complete a Separate Submission Document for the Editor: Cover Letter and Title Page

Prepare a separate 2-page-long submission document for the editor. This document will contain a cover letter and a title page that accompanies the submission of your manuscript. Reviewers will NOT see this document.

2a. The first page of the submission document is a cover letter for the editor. This should include:

  • Name of the contact person for communication regarding the manuscript.
  • The following information is also required of the contact person on a manuscript:
    • Academic Credentials
    • Institutional affiliation or place of employment
    • Postal Address
    • Email Address
    • Phone Number
  • Names and email addresses for all co-authors.
  • A statement indicating that ACA ethical standards have been observed in conducting the research.
  • Indicate the type of submission:
    • Qualitative Submission
    • Quantitative Submission
    • Position Paper Submission
    • Innovative Methods Submission 
  • Indicate one CES manuscript category:
    • Counselor Preparation
    • Supervision
    • Professional Development
    • Innovative Methods
    • Current Issues
    • Pedagogy
    • Applied Practice
    • Professional Dialogue

Example: “The attached submission is a qualitative submission in the counselor preparation category.”

2b: The second page of the submission document is a title page for the editor. This should include:

  • Running head
  • Title
  • Author or authors’ names,
  • Addresses
  • Titles,
  • Each author's institution

 Step 3: APA Format

  • Ensure that you have used APA (Sixth Edition) format throughout your manuscript.
  • Use 12-point Times New Roman Font. 
  • Check your manuscript to ensure that you have Double-spaced EVERYTHING!
  • Consult the APA Publication Manual frequently as you prepare your manuscript for submission.
  • If your manuscript does not meet APA standards, it will not be reviewed.

Step 4: Submit Your Manuscript and Submission Document as Email Attachments

  • Send an email message to ces@unco.edu
  • The subject line should indicate one of the following:
    • Qualitative Manuscript Submission
    • Quantitative Manuscript Submission
    • Innovative Methods Manuscript Submission
    • Position Paper Manuscript Submission
  •  Add these file attachments:
    • Your blind review version of your manuscript (See Step 1).
    • Your submission document for the editor. (See Step 2).

If you are not familiar with sending an email attachment, please click here. 

Step 5: Confirmation of Receipt for Review

An email message is sent to you when your manuscript is received.  At this time, you will also receive a manuscript code.  Use this code whenever you might contact CES regarding your manuscript.

If your manuscript does not meet the CES manuscript submission guidelines or conform to the APA (6th ed.) format, you will receive an email instructing you to modify and resend the entire submission to CES.

Step 6: Initiation of Review Process

The editorial assistant will send you an email message when your manuscript is sent for review. At the same time, the editorial assistant will send email messages to three editorial board members assigning them to review your manuscript. Editorial board members receive your manuscript for review and evaluate the merit of your submission using the appropriate evaluation form.

Whenever possible, the editorial assistant matches the editorial board members’ expressed areas of expertise with the topic or methodology area of your manuscript.

Once the editorial board members have submitted reviews of your manuscript to the co-editors, a decision is made regarding your manuscript. Ordinarily, you will receive email notification of the decision within 10 to 12 weeks after the editorial board members receive your manuscript for review (The goal for the reviewers and editor is to send authors a disposition letter within 2 to 3 months after the submission date.). The email notification includes links to online files from the co-editors:

  • a disposition letter from the co-editors
  • 3 evaluation forms with written comments and disposition recommendations
  • copies of the manuscript with editorial board members’ text edits and comments

Step 7:  Disposition

Disposition letters indicate one of the following decisions:

  • Accept with Modifications
  • Rewrite & Resubmit
  • Reject- Unsound
  • Reject- Inappropriate for CES

When you receive a disposition letter that indicates either “accept with modifications” or “rewrite & resubmit,” make changes according to the directions in the disposition letter and resubmit using the previously described process (i.e., steps 1 – 7) and attending carefully to the procedures described in step 8. 

Step 8:  Resubmission of Revised Manuscripts

Understand that manuscripts are never accepted without some form of modification. All authors are expected to resubmit a revised manuscript. When you resubmit:

  • Prepare a new submission document:
    • The cover letter should indicate how all suggestions for changes indicated in the editor’s disposition letter have been addressed. 
    • The cover letter MUST include the assigned manuscript number.
    • Include the title page.
  • For resubmissions only, it is critical that you combine and append the suggestions for change included in the editor’s disposition letter and your response to each of these suggestions to the beginning of your revised manuscript for blind review (see Step #1). Editorial board members will receive this single file for review.
  • Send both the revised cover letter and revised manuscript as email attachments to ces@unco.edu
  • After the editorial board members’ review and the co-editors' disposition letter for your resubmission are completed, you will receive links in an email – See step 7

Common Problems to Avoid

  • Authors choosing to submit by disk often do not mail the disk in a padded disk mailer. (Do not use a plain envelope. Damaged disks cause significant delays.)
  • The manuscript is not prepared for blind review. 
  • Resubmitted manuscripts do not include the components described in step 8. 
  • Manuscripts do not meet APA style and format guidelines.

If you need help sending an email attachment, please click here.

If you have questions, please refer to the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) section. It's likely that you will find an answer to your question there.