New Implementing
Regulations
In addition to program review,
the CoA regularly reviews policies and procedures. Specifically, the Committee
reviews and develops implementing regulations, which provide references as
appropriate to language in the Guidelines and Principles (G&P) and the
Accreditation Operating Procedures. The implementing regulation document
(available at http://www.apa.org/ed/implementingregs.html) is designed as
a companion piece to the G&P/Operating Procedures.
At the June 2003 meeting, the
CoA developed one new implementing regulation related to core faculty in doctoral
programs:
C-18 Core Faculty in Doctoral Programs
(Committee on Accreditation, June 2003)
(Note: Effective for all programs undergoing review in 2004).
The Guidelines and Principles
for Accreditation of Programs in Professional Psychology (G&P) for
doctoral programs (C.1.) articulate the need for accredited programs to have
core faculty, as follows:
1.
The program has an identifiable core faculty responsible for its leadership who:
(a)
Function as an integral part of the academic unit of which the program is an element;
(b)
Are sufficient in number for their academic and professional responsibilities;
(c)
Have theoretical perspectives and academic and applied experiences appropriate to the program’s goals and objectives;
(d)
Demonstrate substantial competence and have recognized credentials in those areas which are at the core of the program’s
objectives and goals; and>
(e)
Are available to and function as appropriate role models for students in their learning and socialization into the discipline
and profession.
In addition to the core faculty,
other individuals who hold faculty appointments at the institution may be
used to augment and expand students’ educational experiences. These adjunct
faculty should be held to standards of competence appropriate to their role/contribution
within the program (see 1c, d, & e above).
To clarify the term “core faculty”
and to provide the basis for a fair, reliable, and valid measurement process
to determine the core faculty time available for the program, the following
guidelines are provided.
1. Core faculty must be consistent
with the G&P, C.1., as quoted above.
2. Core faculty must be composed
of individuals whose education, training, and/or experience is consistent
with his/her role in the program in light of the substantive area in which
the program seeks accreditation.
3. Core faculty must be composed
of individuals whose primary professional employment (50% or more) is at the
institution in which the program is housed, and to whom the institution has
demonstrated a multi-year commitment (as supported by an examination of the
history of appointments in the program or by contracts).
4. Core faculty must be identified
with the program and centrally involved in program development, decision-making,
and student training. “Identified with the program” means that each faculty
person is included in public and departmental documents as such, views himself
or herself as core faculty, and is seen as core faculty by the students.
5. At least 50% of core faculty
professional time must be devoted to program-related activities. That means,
for example, that a faculty person who is 50% at the institution would need
to have 100% of that time spent as a core faculty. (The day per week institutions
often allow for professional development activities such as research, consultation,
or practice is not intended to be added to or subtracted from this calculation.
That is, a 100% core faculty person in an institution with a consultation
policy should be thought of as a 100% person, not 125% or 80%, regardless
of the activities done on that day.) A full time 9-month or 11-month core
faculty person are both seen as 100%. Core faculty activities directly related
to the doctoral program include program-related teaching, research, scholarship,
and/or professional activities; supervision of students’ research, students’
dissertations, and students’ teaching activities; mentoring students’ professional
development; providing clinical supervision; monitoring of student outcomes;
teaching in a masters program that is an integral part of the doctoral program;
and developing, evaluating, and maintaining the program. Core faculty activities
not directly related to the doctoral program and not seen as aspects
of the core faculty role include undergraduate teaching in general and related
activities; teaching and related activities in terminal masters or other graduate
programs; and clinical work or independent practice not directly associated
with training such as at a counseling center.
In addition to core faculty,
programs may also have associated program faculty, contributing faculty, and
adjunct (visiting, auxiliary, or “other”) faculty. The associated program
faculty formerly contributing faculty, category would be reserved for faculty
who do not meet the criteria for core faculty but make a substantial contribution
to the program and take on some of the tasks often associated with core faculty,
but are not centrally involved in program development and decision-making.
Adjunct faculty are faculty hired on an ad hoc basis to teach a course
or two, supervise, etc.
Consistent with the program’s
model, the psychology doctoral program faculty, and in particular, the core
faculty, needs to be large enough to advise and supervise students’ research
and practice, conduct research and/or engage in scholarly activity, attend
to administrative duties, serve on institutional or program committees, provide
a sense of program continuity, be assured of appropriate class sizes, provide
sufficient course offerings to meet program goals and objectives, and monitor
and evaluate practicum facilities, internship settings, and student progress.
The Committee will make available,
online information regarding the number of core faculty in programs receiving
the maximum term of accreditation.
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