By Office of Program Consultation and Accreditation
Revision of Standards of Accreditation (SoA-R)
Public comments received regarding the SoA-R are being reviewed at this time, and the commission continues to take into consideration relevant laws, regulations, and higher education policy changes. More information will be provided in the future.
Delivery of educational activities
The Standards of Accreditation for Health Service Psychology (SoA-AOP) outline training requirements for programs at the doctoral, doctoral internship, and postdoctoral levels. Correspondent to the SoA-AOP are a set of Implementing Regulations (IRs), which are official policy documents that “elucidate, interpret, and operationally define” the Commission on Accreditation’s (CoA) policies and procedures. IRs are divided into several different sections (A through E), which are subject to regular review and revision by the CoA. Through this iterative process, opportunities for clarification have arisen regarding IRs in Section C, which relate specifically to the SoA.
The commission has reviewed distance education methods across all levels of education and is providing further clarification for accredited programs at the internship and postdoctoral residency levels. The CoA is proposing the creation of IR C-29 I to address compliance with the SoA by accredited internship programs, as well as IR C-25 P to address compliance with the SoA by accredited postdoctoral residency programs regardless of educational delivery method.
In accordance with APA’s Policies for Accreditation Governance and U.S. Department of Education regulations for notice and comment, the CoA will make the proposed revisions available for a 60-day period of public review and comment. The comment period is scheduled to begin at 5 p.m., Eastern Standard Time, on December 1, 2023, and will continue through 5 p.m., Eastern Standard Time, on January 30, 2024. Information about the proposed standards and public comment is available online.