In July 2014, CoA approved the draft AOP. The next steps are to send the draft to a technical writer for review and editing in early September 2014, release the edited draft for three months of public comment in fall 2014, and review public comment for potential adoption and forwarding to APA governance in early 2015.
Key changes in the draft AOP include:
- Programs can be accredited for up to 10 years.
- The creation of “intent to apply” status and “accredited, on contingency” for doctoral programs.
- Internships and postdoctoral programs will be randomly assigned to one of two cycles instead of one of three cycles.
- Clearer indication that site visitor selection is the responsibility of CoA, with the details of the selection of site visitors moved to an Implementing Regulation (IR).
