Accreditation Homepage Introduction » Committee on Accreditation News Important Accreditation Dates for 2007 Accreditation Workshops 2007 CoA Membership COA Contact Information Transition to Commission on Accreditation The current structure of the 21-member Committee on Accreditation is changing to the 32-member Commission on Accreditation effective January 1, 2008. The Committee will be renamed the Commission as of that date. Contact the Accreditation Office for further information on the structure of the Commission. Change in the Scope of Accreditation After several periods of public comment and review by the CoA, the scope of accreditation has changed to eliminate the term “emerging substantive areas.” The CoA now accredits doctoral graduate programs and predoctoral internships in (a) clinical, (b) counseling, (c) school psychology, (d) other developed practice areas, and (e) combinations of two or three of those areas. A program may not apply for accreditation in a developed practice area until that area has been added to the scope of accreditation. See Implementing Regulation C-14 for further information. Phasing out APA accreditation of programs in Canada Following several years of studying the issue, a period of public comment, and approval by the APA Council of Representatives, the APA CoA is currently phasing out accreditation of programs in Canada. Beginning on a to-be-determined future date, the APA CoA will no longer accredit programs in Canada. The APA and the Canadian Psychological Association are currently in the process of developing a new memorandum of understanding that will outline the timeframe for phasing out concurrent accreditation. Specific information regarding the phase-out timeline will be made public as soon as possible. Annual Report Online All accredited programs are reminded to complete the Annual Report Online by September 15, 2007. Please contact Keverne Fraser with any questions. 2008 Program Reviews Scheduled Programs scheduled for site visits in 2008 are posted on the accreditation website. Self-study instructions for all programs being site visited during 2008 are also available. New applicants for initial accreditation will be posted as they arrive. The CoA is accepting third-party testimony from students, faculty, and consumers on all programs scheduled for a 2008 site visit and periodic review. For details on providing third-party testimony, refer to section 7 of the Accreditation Operating Procedures.

Public Comment The CoA is providing a proposed change to the Accreditation Operating Procedures (AOP) for public comment. This change would add “denial of a site visit” to the CoA’s decision options in AOP Section 4.2. Please visit http://apaoutside.apa.org/accredsurvey/public/ to view the proposed change or to post comments. This item is available for comments from April 19, 2007 until July 19, 2007. Accreditation Assembly Thanks to everyone who attended the 2007 Accreditation Assembly and made the event a huge success! The 2008 Accreditation Assembly will be held sometime between mid-May and early June, 2008 in the Washington, DC area. Exact dates will be posted as soon as they are determined. We appreciate the efforts everyone made to participate in our survey on scheduling the Assembly. Policy Changes The CoA developed 2 new Implementing Regulations (IR’s) during its 2007 policy meeting. All accredited programs should review IR C-1: Systematic Evaluation of Supervision, Consultation, and Evaluation in Programs and IR C-15(b): Required Supervision in Training Programs. During its spring meeting, the CoA approved IR D8-1(a): Timeframe for Public Notice of Adverse Decisions and Voluntary Withdrawals. The current version of all Implementing Regulations is available online. Annual Accreditation Fees The invoices for the 2007-2008 annual accreditation fees will be mailed to all currently accredited internship/postdoctoral programs on June 1 and to all currently accredited doctoral programs on August 1. Please contact the Accreditation Office if your program does not receive an invoice. These fees are due by December 30, 2007. Call for Site Visitors The CoA is actively recruiting new site visitors to serve as the “eyes and ears” of the Committee in the accreditation process.  The CoA makes a special effort to ensure diversity among site visitors.  Therefore, the Committee strongly encourages the nomination of women and members of underrepresented groups.  For more information on becoming a site visitor, please visit the site visitor information page. New on the Accreditation Web Site We strive to provide new and helpful information for the accreditation community on the CoA Web site.  Selected presentations from the 2007 Accreditation Assembly are now available, and site visitors or interested parties may now view the presentation used at workshops for doctoral site visitors on the site visitor resource page.