Association Rules — 90. Continuing Committees of the Board of Directors

90-1. Committee on Constitutional Issues

90-1.1 There shall be a three-member ad hoc Committee on Constitutional Issues (CCI) whose responsibility it shall be to adjudicate any question raised by a member or members about his, her, or their rights or privileges as a member of the Association as set forth in the APA Bylaws or Association Rules where recourse to an established grievance mechanism is not otherwise available and, where appropriate, to make recommendations about such rights and privileges to the Council of Representatives. Members of the Committee shall be selected by the APA President from individuals experienced in governance matters (such as former members and officers of APA boards and committees, Council of Representatives, or the Board of Directors). In selecting candidates for service on the Committee, the APA President shall take into consideration the potential for conflicts of interest and the degree to which a potential candidate's recommendations will be respected by all parties to a given controversy. Complainants may challenge for cause any candidates selected by the President. The APA President will continue to select alternates to serve as members of the CCI until three members are appointed. The Committee shall, where appropriate, report to the Council through the Board of Directors.

90-1.2 An aggrieved complainant or complainants wishing to activate the CCI mechanism must prepare a petition for redress addressed to the APA President, setting the grounds for the complaint and containing any supporting documentation.

90-1.3 Disputes or issues brought before the CCI shall be conducted in an expeditious manner by conference call or by meeting if complainant(s) so request, consisting of the complainant(s) (and/or his/her/their representative), the three-member CCI, and an attorney for the Association who will serve as a consultant on legal and procedural issues to insure that due process procedures are fairly and faithfully adhered to.

90-1.4 The Committee shall, where appropriate, issue its decision, in the form of a recommendation to Council, within ten working days following the conference call or meeting. The decision will be distributed to the complainants. Complainants will have five working days following receipt of the decision to file a written response. The Committee's recommendation, with any response(s), will be forwarded to Council through the Board of Directors. Council's decision on CCI's recommendation will be final.

90-1.5 The Committee shall establish such rules and procedures as may be necessary and proper for its deliberations.

90-2.1 There shall be a Committee for Global Psychology whose responsibility shall be, generally, to increase contacts of all kinds between psychologists in the United States and their colleagues abroad and, specifically, to (a) encourage and support the free circulation of psychologists and of psychological ideas and information; (b) promote and assist attendance at international meetings and conferences; (c) promote exposure to world psychological literature; (d) support programs of international exchange of psychologists at all levels of academic and professional training; (e) promote inclusion of an international perspective in the teaching of psychology at all educational levels; (f) increase sensitivity to cultural and linguistic variance at all levels of academic and professional training; (g) encourage the advancement of psychological knowledge that is relevant to international affairs and to encourage the application of that knowledge to the formulation of policy in international affairs; (h) monitor within the international context and take action in cases involving infringements of the rights of psychologists or abuse of psychological knowledge and techniques wherever these may occur, consistent with APA's Ethical Principles of Psychologists and with the Resolution Concerning Professional Ethics in Psychology (1976) of the International Union of Psychological Science, and apply psychological knowledge to the alleviation of psychological suffering attendant upon abuses of human rights; (i) initiate and maintain communication with international and regional organizations of psychologists, and with other national societies of psychology; and (j) assess and report on the potential effects of APA's plans, programs, and operations on psychologists in other countries and on other national and international associations of psychologists.

While issues of urgency may occasionally arise that require ad hoc actions and decisions of international importance, under normal circumstances APA boards, committees, divisions, and Council should be encouraged to communicate and consult with the Committee for Global Psychology before final action is taken. Such a procedure helps to ensure that an analysis of the potential short- and long-term international consequences of proposed actions and positions occurs before final decisions are made.

The Committee shall consist of twelve members, ten to be elected, each for a term of three years, and two to serve ex officio. Ex officio members shall include the APA chief staff officer, and one designee of the United States National Committee/International Union of Psychological Science (USNC/Biopsy’s), provided this individual is an APA member. Members of the Committee may be APA Members or international affiliate members. At least one member shall be an early career psychologist, and at least one member shall be a Graduate Student member.

The Committee shall report to Council through the Board of Directors.

There shall be an American Psychological Association of Graduate Students (APAGS) Committee whose mission shall be to (a) promote the highest standards in the research, teaching, and practice of psychology in order to further the education and development of all students involved in the study of psychology; (b) represent all graduate study specialties of psychology, and facilitate exchange of information between these groups; (c) promote graduate student leadership development in order to communicate and advocate the concerns of graduate students; and (d) establish and maintain channels of communication between APAGS and schools, universities, training centers, institutions, and other members of the psychological community.

The APAGS Committee shall consist of nine members, three of whom serve three-year terms (the chair-elect, chair, and past chair), six of whom serve two-year terms. All shall be Graduate Student Members of the Association.

Each year, a call for nominations for the four open positions that will become vacant in the following year shall be broadly disseminated. Following the call, the committee shall prepare a slate of candidates for each position and hold an election in which all APAGS affiliates are eligible to vote. Association Rule 110-1.2 provides additional requirements regarding the selection process for APAGS Chair-Elect. Following the election, names of the winners of the election shall be forwarded to the Board of Directors as information.

The APAGS Committee shall report to Council through the APA Board of Directors.

Mission Statement:

There shall be a Commission for the Recognition of Specialties and Subspecialties in Professional Psychology. The Commission shall (a) facilitate the development, implementation and review of effective and coordinated policies and procedures to improve quality and process in recognition of specialties and subspecialties in professional psychology; (b) review petitions from organizations requesting the Association's recognition of a professional specialty or subspecialty, (c) establish mechanisms for the periodic evaluation and renewal of such recognition; and (d) make recommendations regarding consistency in the use of the terms “specialty” and “subspecialty” by the Association. The Commission shall select from among recognition petitions it reviews those deemed appropriate to recommend to the Council of Representatives as meriting formal confirmation. Council shall confirm the recognition of a specialty or subspecialty in professional psychology only when such recommendation for recognition shall have been placed before it by the Commission following the completion of an evaluation conducted according to the Commission's procedures.

Subject to review by the Board of Directors, the Commission shall have the authority for adopting procedures for reviewing specialty and subspecialty petitions. The Commission may make proposals to the Council of Representatives regarding: (a) the principles that define specialties and subspecialties and the criteria for their recognition, and (b) the processes by which the Association confers and maintains its recognition of specialties and subspecialties.

The Commission shall consist of ten Commissioners serving staggered terms of three years each. Commissioners shall be limited to two successive full terms of service and may not further succeed themselves without a break in such service. With the exception of a Public Commissioner, all Commissioners must be licensed psychologists and members of the Association. Commissioners shall be nominated also in such a fashion that insures representation among them of (a) the broad scope of the practice of professional psychology, its scientific bases, and the Association's commitment to diversity and the public interest, and (b) an array of expertise in such matters as professional education, practitioner credentialing, program accreditation, continuing professional development, the identification of emerging patterns of practice, and legal and regulatory affairs.

Eight of the Commissioners shall be elected by the Council of Representatives from slates prepared by the following: BSA and BAPPI shall prepare nominations for one Commissioner seat each; BEA shall prepare nominations for three Commissioner seats; BPA shall prepare nominations for three Commissioner seats. In preparing slates for a vacancy in its reserved seat or seats and following solicitation from the general membership of the Association, each nominating board or committee shall forward to the Commission for transmission to the Board of Directors the names of five qualified and appropriate candidates per vacancy. The Board of Directors shall then compose a final slate of three of the five nominees for that vacancy from each nominating unit to be submitted to the Council of Representatives for election.

The ninth Commission seat shall be reserved for an early career psychologist, and the tenth Commission seat shall be reserved for a Public Member who shall not be a psychologist. Both the early career psychologist and Public Member shall be appointed by the Board of Directors.

The Commission shall report to the Council of Representatives through the Board of Directors.

The Agenda Planning Group shall be composed of the APA President, who shall serve as chair; the chairs of the Policy and Planning Board, the Board of Professional Affairs, the Board of Scientific Affairs, the Board for the Advancement of Psychology in the Public Interest, the Board of Educational Affairs, the Committee on Division/APA Relations, the American Psychological Association of Graduate Students, the Committee on Early Career Psychologists, the Committee on Global Psychology, the Committee for the Advancement of General Applied Psychology, a member of the Finance Committee as determined by the Finance Committee and a member of the Council Leadership Team (CLT).

There shall be a Committee on Division/APA Relations (CODAPAR) which shall be generally concerned with the mutual involvement of divisions and APA in fostering psychology as a science, as a profession, and as a means of promoting human welfare and shall: (1) serve an advisory function to the Division Services Office and Chief Executive Officer on the mutual implication and impact of activities of APA and divisions: (2) provide leadership to facilitate coordination and communication among divisions and between divisions and APA; (3) make proposals to enhance structural, functional, and policy relations between APA and divisions; (4) plan and host the Division Leadership Conference; (5) provide leadership in developing training programs for division officers at the Division Leadership Conference, the APA annual meeting, or other such forums, to enhance the functioning and benefits offered by divisions and the diversity of the Association's members; and (6) act as a facilitator in resolution of disputes among divisions.

CODAPAR shall consist of six members, each serving a three year term, and shall report to Council through the Board of Directors. At least one member of CODAPAR shall be an early career psychologist. Two new members of CODAPAR will be appointed annually. Nominations will be solicited from divisions, with each division invited to submit a nominee for CODAPAR. Eligible nominees are APA members who are or have been divisional officers, board members or have had significant governance experience within or across divisions. Upon receipt of division nominations, CODAPAR will submit to the Board of Directors a listing of nominees along with its recommendation for achieving balance in representation of the broad interests of divisions as designated in defined slates. An additional goal shall be to achieve diversity among CODAPAR members by striving to obtain gender balance and at least one member from underrepresented groups. The Board of Directors will appoint two new members annually from the slates submitted by CODAPAR.

90-7.1 There shall be a Committee on Early Career Psychologists that shall seek to (1) research, organize and institute initiatives to increase the number of student affiliates who transition to full member status, as well as the number of early career psychologists (defined as being within ten years of the doctoral degree) joining the association for the first time; (2) collaborate in the development and implementation of the recruitment and retention initiatives of the Membership Board; (3) support the development of new mechanisms and the enhancement of existing mechanisms to increase participation in APA Divisions and State, Provincial and Territorial Psychological Associations among early career psychologists; (4) promote greater awareness of the benefits of APA membership for early career psychologists and work to expand those benefits; and (5) represent the interests and concerns of early career psychologists throughout APA governance and the central office.

The Committee shall consist of seven Members of the Association within ten years of the receipt of the doctorate representing Education, Practice, Public Interest and Science focuses and experience in Division and State/Provincial/Territorial Association Early Career Psychologist programs, and Governance and Membership Outreach. Committee members will be appointed by the Board of Directors for staggered terms of three years. The Committee shall report to the Board of Directors.

With the exception of the President-elect, whose slate is developed by nominations from the membership, there shall be a Needs Assessment, Slating and Campaigns Committee (NASCC) that shall conduct an annual needs assessment and develop slates for any seats on the Board of Directors and on Council that are elected by and from the general membership, solicit and vet candidates for the election slates, and help the Election Committee set the criteria and procedures for campaigning and for disseminating information about the candidates to the membership. NASCC shall also develop the slate for the public member of the Board.

The Committee shall consist of seven members, including one public member. Members will have three-year terms and may only serve one term on the Committee.

The APA President, President-Elect and Past President shall appoint three of the members, including the public member, after broad consultation. On a rotating basis, each of the following boards shall appoint one member to the Committee: the Board for the Advancement of Psychology in the Public Interest, Board of Educational Affairs, Board of Professional Affairs, and Board of Scientific Affairs.

Each year two members shall be appointed for three-year terms, one by the APA President, President-Elect and Past President and one by the above named boards. Every third year the fourth board will appoint an additional member.

Individuals are not permitted to serve on NASCC if they have served on the Board of Directors or Council of Representatives in the past year and may not serve on either of these groups for at least one year following the completion of their service on NASCC.  

90-9.1. There shall be a Committee for the Advancement of General Applied Psychology that shall seek to promote, in settings outside the direct delivery of healthcare services, the utilization, application, and advancement of science where psychologists work to enhance performance, learning, and well-being of individuals, groups, organizations, and society as a whole. The Committee shall consist of nine Members of the Association. At least one member of the Committee shall be an early career psychologist, and at least one member of the Committee shall be a Graduate Student member. Individuals will be elected by Council for staggered three-year terms. The Committee shall report to Council through the Board of Directors.