At the July 2015 program review meeting, the Commission on Accreditation (CoA) approved three new Implementing Regulations (IRs) and revised five IRs. The three new IRs (1. Direct Observation; 2. “Intent to Apply” for Doctoral Programs; and 3. “Accredited, on Contingency” for Doctoral programs) pertain to the SoA. During the meeting, CoA reviewed public comment submitted for each new IR, revised certain sections to improve clarity and avoid unintended bias (i.e., delivery method of direct observation). These IRs will go into effect with the first scheduled SoA self-study submission (Sept. 1, 2016).
The five revised IRs serve to clarify the new AOP. Two IRs (D.3-1 Site Visitor Nomination and D.3-2 Site Visitor Selection) went out for a 60-day public comment period. A significant portion of the submitted comments included questions regarding the role and training of site visitors. Based on these comments, CoA elected to edit three additional IRs (D.3-3 Role and Responsibilities of a Site Visitor; D.3-3(a) Site Visitor Training and Re-Training; and D.3-3(b) Providing Site Visit Team with Programs’ Responses to Reports) and combine all five IRs into one IR for site visitors. CoA is set to vote on the revised site visitor IR this fall.