The accreditation office learned that the public comment system was not accepting contributions. The system was examined, has been repaired and the public comment site is now available. Given this situation, the public comment period is being extended for one week to make up for any time lost. All public comment periods will now close on July 1, 2024.
The
Standards of Accreditation for Health Service Psychology (SoA) is a Commission on Accreditation (CoA) policy document that outlines training requirements for programs at the doctoral, doctoral internship, and postdoctoral levels. Correspondent to the SoA are Implementing Regulations (IRs), which are official policy documents that “elucidate, interpret and operationally define” the CoA’s policies and procedures. IRs are divided into several different sections (A through E), which are subject to regular review and revision by the CoA. Through this iterative process, opportunities for clarification have arisen regarding IRs in Section C, which relate specifically to the SoA.
The Commission is providing clarification and/or information in IRs at three different levels of training. At the doctoral level, IR C-18 D includes clarifications regarding the level of specificity and methods of data aggregation for discipline-specific knowledge, the profession-wide competencies, and the program-specific competencies. For the internship level, the CoA has provided more information regarding intern sufficiency through the new IR C-30 I. On the postdoctoral residency level, the Commission has developed IR C-9 (l) P for the Level 3 specialty competencies of programs in Psychoanalytic/Psychodynamic Psychology.
In accordance with the APA “Policies for Accreditation Governance” and the US Department of Education regulations for public notice and comment, the CoA is making the proposed revisions available for a ninety (90) day period of public review and comment at
http://apps.apa.org/accredcomment/, scheduled to begin at
5:00pm Eastern Standard Time on March 26, 2024 and continue through 5:00pm Eastern Standard Time on June 24, 2024.
The APA is required to undergo periodic review to maintain recognition as an accrediting agency by the United States Department of Education (ED or Department) and the Council of Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA). The APA’s scope of recognition includes the accreditation of doctoral programs in health service psychology (i.e., clinical, counseling, and school psychology, combinations of two or more of these practice areas and other developed practice areas in health service psychology), doctoral internship programs in health service psychology, and postdoctoral residency programs in health service psychology. As such, accreditation standards and procedures must align with the recognition criteria of both the ED and the CHEA.
The Standards of Accreditation for Health Service Psychology (SoA) outline education and training requirements for programs at the doctoral, doctoral internship, and postdoctoral levels. This call for comment reflects revisions to the SoA that follow a call made in 2023 and are reflective of the comments received. This second round of public comment includes an amendment to the eligibility requirements for specialty postdoctoral practice areas; this change is consistent with previous versions of the SoA (2015) by including the committees and organizations identifying specialty areas of practice in the field. In addition, changes in the field, particularly modifications to the internship imbalance have led to a need for clarity regarding defining the number of interns required for a program to seek and maintain accreditation. As a result, language in the SoA has changed from requiring “two interns” to having “sufficient interns.” There is additional clarification on expectations related to intern sufficiency in a new Implementing Regulation (IR; see IR C-30 I, also out for public comment).
The SoA also include that internship training is to make a successful graduate competent to independently practice at the entry level following program completion. This modification is to clarify program inputs in terms of supervision and outputs in terms of residency.
The revisions also include some additional clarifications, supplementing the last round of related changes on equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI). The modifications focus on the recruitment of diverse student/intern/resident cohorts as well as recruitment and retention of a diverse faculty/staff at all levels of APA-accredited programs to enable accredited programs to comply with APA’s standards while navigating the myriad of state laws seeking to regulate higher education and EDI, which have arisen since the current SoA was approved. These changes continue to require accredited programs to engage in concrete actions that demonstrate commitment to diverse groups of people in the recruitment and retention of students and trainees, and faculty and staff who offer education and supervision within programs. In addition, the Commission continues to emphasize that programs understand the importance of diversity in the instruction of students and trainees.
In accordance with the APA “Policies for Accreditation Governance” and the US Department of Education regulations for public notice and comment, the CoA is making the proposed revisions available for a ninety (90) day period of public review and comment at
http://apps.apa.org/accredcomment/, scheduled to begin at
5:00pm Eastern Standard Time on March 26, 2024 and continue through 5:00pm Eastern Standard Time on June 24, 2024.
The accreditation office learned that the public comment system was not accepting contributions. The system was examined, has been repaired and the public comment site is now available. Given this situation, the public comment period is being extended for one week to make up for any time lost. All public comment periods will now close on July 1, 2024.
IRs C-18 D, C-30 I, and C-9 (l) P
The Standards of Accreditation for Health Service Psychology (SoA) is a Commission on Accreditation (CoA) policy document that outlines training requirements for programs at the doctoral, doctoral internship, and postdoctoral levels. Correspondent to the SoA are Implementing Regulations (IRs), which are official policy documents that “elucidate, interpret and operationally define” the CoA’s policies and procedures. IRs are divided into several different sections (A through E), which are subject to regular review and revision by the CoA. Through this iterative process, opportunities for clarification have arisen regarding IRs in Section C, which relate specifically to the SoA.
The Commission is providing clarification and/or information in IRs at three different levels of training. At the doctoral level, IR C-18 D includes clarifications regarding the level of specificity and methods of data aggregation for discipline-specific knowledge, the profession-wide competencies, and the program-specific competencies. For the internship level, the CoA has provided more information regarding intern sufficiency through the new IR C-30 I. On the postdoctoral residency level, the Commission has developed IR C-9 (l) P for the Level 3 specialty competencies of programs in Psychoanalytic/Psychodynamic Psychology.
In accordance with the APA “Policies for Accreditation Governance” and the US Department of Education regulations for public notice and comment, the CoA is making the proposed revisions available for a ninety (90) day period of public review and comment at http://apps.apa.org/accredcomment/, scheduled to begin at 5:00pm Eastern Standard Time on March 26, 2024 and continue through 5:00pm Eastern Standard Time on June 24, 2024.
Standards of Accreditation Revisions
The APA is required to undergo periodic review to maintain recognition as an accrediting agency by the United States Department of Education (ED or Department) and the Council of Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA). The APA’s scope of recognition includes the accreditation of doctoral programs in health service psychology (i.e., clinical, counseling, and school psychology, combinations of two or more of these practice areas and other developed practice areas in health service psychology), doctoral internship programs in health service psychology, and postdoctoral residency programs in health service psychology. As such, accreditation standards and procedures must align with the recognition criteria of both the ED and the CHEA.
The Standards of Accreditation for Health Service Psychology (SoA) outline education and training requirements for programs at the doctoral, doctoral internship, and postdoctoral levels. This call for comment reflects revisions to the SoA that follow a call made in 2023 and are reflective of the comments received. This second round of public comment includes an amendment to the eligibility requirements for specialty postdoctoral practice areas; this change is consistent with previous versions of the SoA (2015) by including the committees and organizations identifying specialty areas of practice in the field. In addition, changes in the field, particularly modifications to the internship imbalance have led to a need for clarity regarding defining the number of interns required for a program to seek and maintain accreditation. As a result, language in the SoA has changed from requiring “two interns” to having “sufficient interns.” There is additional clarification on expectations related to intern sufficiency in a new Implementing Regulation (IR; see IR C-30 I, also out for public comment).
The SoA also include that internship training is to make a successful graduate competent to independently practice at the entry level following program completion. This modification is to clarify program inputs in terms of supervision and outputs in terms of residency.
The revisions also include some additional clarifications, supplementing the last round of related changes on equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI). The modifications focus on the recruitment of diverse student/intern/resident cohorts as well as recruitment and retention of a diverse faculty/staff at all levels of APA-accredited programs to enable accredited programs to comply with APA’s standards while navigating the myriad of state laws seeking to regulate higher education and EDI, which have arisen since the current SoA was approved. These changes continue to require accredited programs to engage in concrete actions that demonstrate commitment to diverse groups of people in the recruitment and retention of students and trainees, and faculty and staff who offer education and supervision within programs. In addition, the Commission continues to emphasize that programs understand the importance of diversity in the instruction of students and trainees.
In accordance with the APA “Policies for Accreditation Governance” and the US Department of Education regulations for public notice and comment, the CoA is making the proposed revisions available for a ninety (90) day period of public review and comment at http://apps.apa.org/accredcomment/, scheduled to begin at 5:00pm Eastern Standard Time on March 26, 2024 and continue through 5:00pm Eastern Standard Time on June 24, 2024.