By Office of Program Consultation and Accreditation
After reviewing comments received, the Commission on Accreditation (CoA) has adopted the approved revisions to Implementing Regulations (IR) C-26 M, Public disclosure for master’s programs, and adopted IR C-30 I, Intern Sufficiency, when the new Standards of Accreditation (SoA) goes into effect. The CoA also continues to take into consideration relevant laws, regulations, and higher education policy changes.
Following the Commission’s fall 2024 meeting, the following five items are available for public review:
IRs D.4-5 and D.4-11
Section 8.2 at the master’s level of the AOP provides that APA-accredited master’s programs may request “accredited, inactive” status for one year at a time. IR D.4-5 provides details of the inactive process for programs at all levels. Changes to this IR provide clarification to APA-accredited programs at the master’s level that are phasing out.
Section 1.3 at the master’s level of the AOP states that an accredited program may request voluntarily withdraw from accredited status at any time by advising the CoA in writing in advance of the requested withdrawal date. IR D.4-11 has been updated to provide APA-accredited master’s programs with clarification regarding AOP-compliant withdrawal procedures for programs that wish to withdraw from accreditation but continue to operate.
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 available for a thirty (30) day period of public review and comment online, which began at 5 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on December 10, 2024, and will continue through 5 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on January 9, 2025.
IR D.4-7(d)
Under Master’s Standard II.D.3, the CoA uses its professional judgement to determine if student achievement outcomes of a master’s program demonstrate students’ successful preparation for entry-level practice in health service psychology at the master’s level. The Commission has developed IR D.4-7(d) to outline the thresholds for student achievement outcomes in APA-accredited master’s programs.
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 available for a ninety (90) day period of public review and comment online, which began at 5 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on December 10, 2024, and will continue through 5 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on March 10, 2025.
IRs D.3-3(a) and E.1-7 (Notice)
Site visitor training and retraining: To decrease the time constraints of being a site visitor or site visit chair, the Commission has decreased the requirement of training frequency to an encouragement.
Use of quick reference guides in program review: After merging the information from the “Quick Reference Guide” with other CoA documents, the Commission has decided to delete this IR.
In accordance with the APA “Policies for Accreditation Governance” and the U.S. Department of Education regulations for notice and comment, the CoA is providing additional information and is making the changes available for a thirty (30) day period of public notice starting December 10, 2024. On behalf of the CoA, thank you in advance for your review. Information about this public notice is available online.
To promote thoughtful discussion, the CoA is providing an electronic-based form for public comment submission. Comments and other information, including users’ identities will be public while email addresses used in the registration process will be confidential. The CoA will consider all comments received and make appropriate revisions should they be deemed necessary before approval of the final versions of the IRs.