Apply for annual ACT train-the-trainers workshop

APA’s Public Interest Directorate invites psychologists to submit applications for the seventh ACT (Adults and Children Together) Against Violence train-the-trainers workshop, July 11–13, in Washington, D.C., at APA headquarters. ACT—APA’s research-based national early violence prevention initiative—prepares professionals to help families and communities to create a violence-free early environment for children. At the three-day workshop, professionals learn to disseminate the Parents Raising Safe Kids Program, ACT’s eight-week program for parents and other caregivers. The workshop covers how to disseminate information on child development and the roots and consequences of violence in the lives of children; prevention skills such as anger management, social problem-solving, positive discipline and media literacy; and program implementation, evaluation and fundraising strategies. This workshop offers 24 continuing-education units.

The workshop is open to psychologists and other professionals who work with families and children; have organizational support to implement a program; have experience with groups and in conducting training and workshops; have experience consulting with family and child-service providers, schools or public health agencies; work for local government agencies or community-based organizations; or have interest and experience in violence prevention, family violence and child abuse.

The application deadline is June 1. For more information and the registration form, contact Julia Silva, program director, APA’s Public Interest Directorate, at (202) 336-5817 or e-mail.

Students: Get ready for APA’s 2007 Annual Convention

APA’s Annual Convention will take place Aug. 17–20 in San Francisco. Monitor the APAGS Web site (www.apa.org/apags) for continued updates on programming and registration. It’s not too early to start making plans to attend now.

In fact, students looking to maximize their networking opportunities can sign up to be an ambassador for APAGS. Ambassadors provide information on convention events, distribute APAGS promotional items and monitor APAGS programs by taking head counts and collecting participant evaluations. For details visit www.apa.org/apags.

Learn to navigate the internship application process

APAGS will host a pre-convention internship workshop Aug. 16 in San Francisco, prior to APA’s 2007 Annual Convention. The workshop will offer students tips on finding a psychology internship and guidance on the application and Association of Psychology Postdoctoral and Internship Centers (APPIC) Match process. Participants will receive a free copy of “Internships in Psychology: The APAGS Workbook for Writing Successful Applications and Finding the Right Match” (APA, 2004). Registration costs $25 for APAGS members and $30 for nonmembers. Registration after July 15 is $30 for members and $35 for nonmembers. For more information, visit www.apa.org/apags.

Innovative graduate programs honored

APA’s Board of Educational Affairs (BEA) has announced the winners of its 2006 Award for Innovative Practices in Graduate Education in Psychology.

They are:

• University of Denver Graduate School of Professional Psychology. The school’s International Disaster Psychology Program is in its fourth year and consists of two programs with a specialty focus in training students to respond to national and international crises.

• University of Minnesota educational psychology department. The department’s Preparing Faculty in the Teaching of Statistics program emphasizes the development, supervision and mentoring of psychology graduate students as teachers of introductory statistics.

• Wright State University School of Professional Psychology. The school’s interdisciplinary Mental Health and Deafness Programs prepare graduate students to provide mental health services for individuals with deafness or severe hearing impairment.

BEA sponsors the annual award in cooperation with the Council of Graduate Departments of Psychology (COGDOP) to recognize innovative practices in graduate education and training. A BEA subcommittee, composed of members of BEA and COGDOP, reviewed 10 nominations for the award. The three award-winners each received a plaque and $2,000, as well as recognition at the 2007 Annual Meeting of COGDOP, Feb. 16–18 in Long Beach, Calif.

Comment on high school psychology curricula

APA seeks feedback on the National Standards for High School Psychology Curricula, a document created for policy-makers, educational administrators and teachers is up for revision in 2007. The standards outline what high school psychology students should learn in an introductory psychology course. The standards emphasize the importance of the scientific foundations and applications of psychology and demonstrate the breadth of the field. The document and an online comment form are available at http://www.apa.org/ed/ natlstandards.html. Recommendations must be submitted by May 1. For more information, contact Emily Leary, pre-college psychology programs officer, at (202) 572-3013 or e-mail.

Apply for APAGS 2007 scholarships and awards

The American Psychological Association of Graduate Students (APAGS) is accepting applications for its 2007 scholarships, grants and awards, which recognize students and those who support them for excellence in areas such as working with underserved populations or researching diversity.

To be eligible to apply or nominate a candidate, graduate students must be enrolled in good standing at least part time at a regionally accredited university. Applications and nominations must be received by May 15, unless otherwise noted. For a list of available scholarships and application instructions, visit www.apa.org/apags/members/schawrdsintro.html.

Submit comments on proposed accreditation policy

APA’s Committee on Accreditation (CoA) seeks comments on a language clarification in it’s Guidelines and Principles for Accreditation of Programs in Professional Psychology. The CoA sent out a call for comment in November 2006 regarding a proposed policy on residency requirements for accredited doctoral programs. Although a number of comments on this proposal were received, the CoA noted a common misunderstanding regarding the nature of the proposal. This proposed policy is not a change to the Guidelines and Principles; rather, should the CoA adopt this policy, it would become an implementing regulation, which is intended to better define part of the Guidelines and Principles.

The Guidelines and Principles currently require each student to complete a minimum of three full-time academic years of graduate study (or the equivalent thereof) and state that at least two of the three academic training years (or the equivalent thereof) must be at the institution from which the doctoral degree is granted, and at least one year of which must be in full-time residence (or the equivalent thereof) at that same institution.

The term “the equivalent thereof” has been a part of the Guidelines and Principles since 1996, and CoA is trying to better define what the term means and to determine what standards it will use to evaluate programs with residency requirements that are “the equivalent thereof.” Therefore, CoA is proposing a new Implementing Regulation defining “the equivalent thereof” for residency requirements. Although the regulation will not change the standards in the Guidelines and Principles for Accreditation, CoA is requesting comments and reactions from all interested individuals and organizations on the proposed regulation, which would have implications for any programs providing the equivalent thereof the current residency requirements. The deadline for comments is May 14.

The full text of the proposed regulation is available at www.apa.org/ed/accreditation. In an effort to promote thoughtful discussion, CoA is providing an electronic-based comment form for public review and submission of all comments. To post and view all comments on this proposal, visit http://apaoutside.apa.org/accredsurvey/public.

—D. Schwartz