At the 2024 policy meeting, the Commission on Accreditation (CoA) reviewed public comment received regarding two Implementing Regulations (IR), C-29 I and C-25 P. These IRs were created following the fall 2023 CoA meeting and address program compliance with the Standards of Accreditation for Health Service Psychology (SoA) for internship and postdoctoral residency programs. These IRs address requirements for educational delivery, irrespective of the delivery method(s) used. Both of these IRs were approved by the CoA and will be implemented starting on July 1, 2024.
Following the Commission’s 2024 policy meeting, the following two items are available for public comment:
IRs C-18 D, C-30 I, and C-9 (l) P
The Commission is providing clarification and/or information on three different IRs. IR C-18 D, Outcome Data for Doctoral Programs, includes clarifications regarding the level of specificity and methods of data aggregation for discipline-specific knowledge, the profession-wide competencies, and the program-specific competencies. Additional information regarding intern sufficiency is provided through the new IR C-30 I, Intern Sufficiency. Thirdly, the Commission has developed IR C-9 (l) P, Postdoctoral Residency Competencies, for the specialty competencies required of programs offering specialty training in psychoanalytic/psychodynamic psychology.
The CoA is making the proposed IRs availableopens in new window for a ninety (90) day period of public review and comment, which began at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on March 26, 2024, and will continue through 5:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on June 24, 2024.
Standards of Accreditation Revisions
The APA is required to undergo periodic review to maintain recognition as an accrediting agency by the United States Department of Education (ED or Department) and the Council of Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA). The APA’s scope of recognition includes the accreditation of doctoral programs in health service psychology (i.e., clinical, counseling, and school psychology, combinations of two or more of these practice areas and other developed practice areas in health service psychology), doctoral internship programs in health service psychology, and postdoctoral residency programs in health service psychology. As such, accreditation standards and procedures must align with the recognition criteria of both the ED and the CHEA.
The SoA outline education and training requirements for programs at the doctoral, doctoral internship, and postdoctoral levels. This call for comment reflects revisions to the SoA that follow a call made in 2023 and are reflective of the comments received. This second round of public comment includes an amendment to the eligibility requirements for specialty postdoctoral practice areas; this change is consistent with previous versions of the SoA (2015) by including the committees and organizations identifying specialty areas of practice in the field. In addition, changes in the field, particularly modifications to the internship imbalance have led to a need for clarity regarding defining the number of interns required for a program to seek and maintain accreditation. As a result, language in the SoA has changed from requiring “two interns” to having “sufficient interns.” There is additional clarification on expectations related to intern sufficiency in a new Implementing Regulation (IR; see IR C-30 I, also out for public comment).
The SoA also include that internship training is to make a successful graduate competent to independently practice at the entry level following program. This modification is to clarify program inputs in terms of supervision and outputs in terms of residency.
The revisions also include some additional clarifications, supplementing the last round of related changes on equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI). The modifications focus on the recruitment of diverse student/intern/resident cohorts as well as recruitment and retention of a diverse faculty/staff at all levels of APA-accredited programs to enable accredited programs to comply with APA’s standards while navigating the myriad of state laws seeking to regulate higher education and EDI, which have arisen since the current SoA was approved. These changes continue to require accredited programs to engage in concrete actions that demonstrate commitment to diverse groups of people in the recruitment and retention of students and trainees, and faculty and staff who offer education and supervision within programs. In addition, the Commission continues to emphasize that programs understand the importance of diversity in the instruction of students and trainees.
In accordance with the APA “Policies for Accreditation Governance” and the U.S. Department of Education regulations for public notice and comment, the CoA is making the proposed revisions availableopens in new window for a ninety (90) day period of public review and comment, which began at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on March 26, 2024, and will continue through 5:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on June 24, 2024.
Should you have any questions or concerns, please contact the Office of Program Consultation and Accreditation via email or at (202) 336-5979. On behalf of the CoA, thank you for your review and comments.