Following the Fall 2025 meeting, the Commission on Accreditation (CoA) is making the following twelve IRs in Sections C, D, and E available for a period of public comment or public notice.
Public Comment: D.3-1, D.3-2, D.3-11, and D.4-7(b)
Section 7 of the AOP at each level notes that the Office of Program Consultation and Accreditation maintains a database of potential site visitors. IR D.3-1 has been edited to clarify qualifications for APA site visitors, and the CoA has modified its classifications of site visitors. Site visitors are now classified as either “Educators” or “Practitioners” with generalists (i.e., visitors trained and qualified in areas of psychology outside the scope of accreditation) falling in the “Educators” category. While this change means that not all doctoral site visit teams will require a generalist, the Commission would like to express that it highly values generalist contributions to site visits and will continue to include generalists on doctoral site visit team lists of prospective visitors. Generalists remain strongly encouraged to attend site visitor trainings and to serve on site visit teams. IR D.3-2 has been revised with new criteria for the composition of site visit teams and the selection of site visitors (based on the new classifications in IR D.3-1). IR D.3-11 has been updated accordingly to align with these revisions.
Section 1 of the AOP states that all accredited programs are reviewed annually, and IR D.4-7(a) addresses the use of annual reports for reaffirmation of accredited status and monitoring of individual programs. The revision to this IR focuses on the integration of accredited master’s programs, including a master’s-specific “success indicator” to determine thresholds.
In accordance with the APA "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 sixty (60) day period of public review and comment. The comment period began at 5 p.m. EST on December 1, 2025, and will continue through 5 p.m. EST on January 30, 2026. Information about the proposed standards and public comment is available online.
Public Notice
Accreditation Status and CoA Status Information
Per the SoA and SoA-M (Standard V.A.1.b at the master’s, doctoral, and postdoctoral level as well as Standard V.A.1.d at the internship level), the CoA requires that accredited programs must disclose their status with regard to accreditation. The CoA has updated these policies to reflect its current action of monitoring program disclosures on at least an annual basis.
Monitoring of Programs on “Accredited, Inactive” Status
The CoA has amended IR D.4-5 to include instructions for master’s or doctoral programs that have finished phasing out of accreditation and need to voluntarily withdraw.
Voluntary Withdrawal from Accreditation and Lapse of Accreditation
The CoA has clarified IR D.4-11 to include the difference between voluntary withdrawal from accreditation and a lapse in accreditation.
CoA Enforcement Timelines
The Commission has developed IR D.4-12 to provide additional clarification of the information presented in 8.2 M, 8.3 M, 8.2 D, 8.3 D, 8.2 I, 8.3 I, 8.2 P, and 8.3 P of the Accreditation Operating Procedures.
Procedures for Notification of CoA Actions in Accordance with the Secretary of Education’s Standards for Recognition of Accrediting Agencies
The CoA has revised IR D.8-2 to describe the time frame it uses to publish some requested materials.
Policy Regarding Actions by Regional Accreditors and State Agencies
The Commission has revised IR D.8-3 to fully include the accreditation of master’s programs.
Groups to Receive Notification of Proposed Changes in the SoA and AOP
The CoA has updated IR E.1-2 to clarify compliance with the Department of Education, including the timeline for future systematic reviews of the SoA-AOP revisions, and a statement regarding the Commission’s use of public comments received in the policy revision process.
Commission on Accreditation Meeting Procedures
The Commission currently holds four meetings per year, with one policy-focused meeting and three program review-focused meetings. IR E.2-1 has been revised with a breakdown of the timing of the CoA’s meetings to clarify compliance with the Department of Education.
In accordance with the APA “Policies for Accreditation Governance” and the US 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, which started on December 1, 2025. On behalf of the CoA, thank you in advance for your review. Information about the proposed standards and public notice is available online.
To promote thoughtful discussion, the CoA is providing an electronic 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.
Should you have any questions or concerns, please contact the Office of Program Consultation and Accreditation at (202) 336-5979 or email. On behalf of the CoA, thank you for your review and comments.