WASHINGTON — With the mandated closing of Argosy University, the American Psychological Association has pledged to do everything it can as an accreditor to facilitate the transition of psychology doctoral students into other APA-accredited programs at the institutions standing ready to receive them.
“The American Psychological Association has been working with programs, institutions and the Department of Education in an effort to ensure that psychology doctoral students affected by Argosy's alleged misdeeds are able to complete their degrees,” said APA President Rosie Phillips Davis, PhD. “Our No. 1 concern is that these students and their teachers are not further penalized by the rapid demise and closing of the Argosy campuses. Some of these students were months away from graduating and entering the workforce to provide mental health care and other vital contributions to society. The top priority for the Department of Education and institutions around the country must be to ensure that the futures and the investments by these students are not jeopardized.”
APA accredited 10 psychology doctoral programs at Argosy campuses across the United States.
APA remains concerned for those students who did not receive the financial aid they were owed this semester. “We are calling on the Department of Education and Congress to help these students, many of whom depend on this financial aid for the rent, food and day-to-day living,” said APA Chief Advocacy Officer Katherine B. McGuire “We appreciate the steps the department has taken in recent days updating its website and disseminating information about having student loans discharged. Now is not the time for the department to let up. We ask the department to ensure that students with discharged debt can immediately reapply for loans needed to complete their degrees, if necessary.”
APA's Commission on Accreditation will continue to work with psychology programs involved in approved transfer/teach-out plans for Argosy students. As a programmatic accreditor, APA has a limited role to play regarding accredited programs that are closing. However, the association is encouraging accredited psychology programs to offer approved transfer options to assist displaced students, and in this unprecedented situation, APA's Office of Program Consultation and Accreditation is working flexibly with receiving institutions and programs to facilitate transfer and acceptance plans.
Since it became clear that Argosy's sale or closure was imminent, APA has been taking steps to assist students in its accredited programs, including:
- Sending a Mar. 1, 2019 letter to Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, urging her to immediately establish a real-time response center to address concerns from affected Argosy students and to provide timely, helpful updates and guidance.
- Contacting key congressional offices, seeking to enlist their assistance.
- Taking concerns from members of the Argosy community directly to their elected officials via an online impact form.
- Responding to calls and emails from affected students, faculty and other concerned parties. APA established a Psychology Student Action Center (psychstudentactioncenter@apa.org and 202-336-6014) to direct members of the Argosy community to appropriate resources and created a webpage with referral information and FAQs.
- Closing application access to Argosy University on PSYCAS, APA's centralized application system, on Feb. 8, 2019, at the direction of a senior Argosy administrator. APA requires that schools participating in PSYCAS have regional accreditation.
- Monitoring the actions taken by the Western Senior College and University Commission, the regional accreditor, regarding submission of detailed teach-out plans.
“We want to emphasize that the students are the biggest victims of this crisis, through no fault of their own,” Davis said. “This is a Main Street issue. Local and state communities lose if these students don't graduate and enter the workforce. We must do all that we can to ensure that they are able to finish their degrees in accredited programs and go on to serve their communities.”
The American Psychological Association, in Washington, D.C., is the largest scientific and professional organization representing psychology in the United States. APA's membership includes more than 118,000 researchers, educators, clinicians, consultants and students. Through its divisions in 54 subfields of psychology and affiliations with 60 state, territorial and Canadian provincial associations, APA works to advance the creation, communication and application of psychological knowledge to benefit society and improve people's lives.