Board of Educational Affairs (BEA) Structure and Function

• Recommend educational policy for APA to the Board of Directors and Council of Representatives.
• Recommend to the Board of Directors and Council of Representatives changes to its programs and operational priorities which would allow APA to take a leadership role for the nation in the educational arena.
• Serve consultative and advisory role with respect to ongoing planning and operations of the Education Directorate, in consultation with its Executive Director.
• Ensure importance and commitment to diversity in education and training in all of its activities and initiatives.

• BEA shall consist of not fewer than 12 members of the Association and may include up to five external participants.
• Members serve for staggered three-year terms; external participants are appointed to serve for 1 year but may be re-appointed for up to 3 years.
• Three BEA members are nominated by the appropriate governance group of the Practice, Public Interest, and Science Directorates.
• External Participants are appointed to provide BEA with the benefit of expertise in a variety of areas that may not exist within the BEA membership in that given year.
• View 2009 BEA roster

• BEA is organized into an Executive Committee and may work in Working Groups/Panels.
• The Executive Committee is comprised of the BEA Chair and other BEA members appointed by the Chair.
• BEA Executive Committee is authorized to review and approve matters on behalf of BEA (e.g., appointments, nominations, and agenda) between regularly scheduled meetings.
• Working Groups/Panels are organized according to major domains of responsibility and functional assignments of BEA.

• BEA is charged with oversight responsibilities for the following committees:
  • Commission on Accreditation (CoA)
  • Committee on Education and Training (E&T)
  • Commission or the Recognition of Specialties and Proficiencies in Professional Psychology (CRSPPP)
  • Teachers of Psychology in Secondary Schools (TOPSS)
  • Committee of Psychology Teachers at Community Colleges (PT&CC)
• BEA may create subcommittees to address specific, circumscribed assignments.

BEA meetings are held twice a year - in the spring and fall. Conference calls and discussion over electronic listservs are administered in between meetings.