A foundational value of the Commission on Accreditation (CoA) in its accreditation of programs in health service psychology is its commitment to the promotion of quality training and delivery of required competencies. One way the CoA expresses this commitment to quality training is through its annual and periodic review of program outcome data. APA-accredited programs collect and submit data that the CoA then reviews for consistency with the Standards of Accreditation (SoA). One mechanism by which programs submit such data is the Annual Report Online (ARO).
The ARO is open each year for a predetermined duration. In 2019, the ARO opened on May 6 and will close on Sept. 16. During this period, all accredited programs have access to a secure, password-protected CoA Portalopens in new window, through which several types of data are submitted. Information about the program and its admissions, students/interns/residents, program graduates and faculty/staff/supervisors must be provided. Guidance for preparing ARO submissions is provided on helpful data entry preparation sheets. Programs must complete all ARO data submissions by the ARO closing date, and failure to do so may result in changes to a program’s accredited status.
Data submitted in the ARO are used in several ways. The primary use of ARO data is to allow the CoA to examine programs in relation to a set of thresholds that were chosen to indicate consistency with the SoA. Those programs whose ARO information crosses required thresholds are immediately required to submit explanatory responses. The CoA’s review of these responses may result in a program being asked to show cause as to why they should not be placed on probation. Ongoing and sustained non-compliance, as indicated in ARO data and subsequent responses, may cause a program to have its accreditation revoked. In addition to this program review function, ARO data are analyzed and aggregated by the accreditation staff and examined by the CoA to reveal trends in graduate-level training in health service psychology.
The accreditation website offers many helpful resources for programs that are in the process of completing the ARO. Questions about ARO content and requests for technical assistance may be forwarded via email or by phone at (202) 336-5710.