Guidelines for the Accreditation of Graduate Programs in Behavior Analysis
Instructions for Completing the Self-Study Materials
The purpose of the ABA accreditation process is to promote excellence in programs in behavior analysis, and to provide evaluation of them as a service to the public, the profession, and prospective students. This self-study form and set of instructions has been developed to assist in this process. The program initiating the request for accreditation is responsible for filling out the information and mailing one set to the Chair of the Accreditation Board, along with any relevant supplemental material. Answers should be provided on separate sheets, with a copy of the cover sheet attached to each set.
ABA International Accredited programs interested in exhibiting at the ABA International convention will receive the discount available for organizations with 10 or fewer employees on the cost of a booth. Exhibiting at ABA provides a wonderful opportunity to network with ABA International members, recruit students for your program, and further increase a program’s visibility at the convention.
Upon acceptance of the accuracy/completeness of the Self-Study materials by the Chair of the Accreditation Board, the program shall send the Self-Study materials with relevant supporting information to each member of site visit team and to the ABA International Office. If, upon review of the completed site-visit report, any member of the Accreditation Board requests a copy of the Self-Study materials, it will be the applying program’s responsibility to provide the member the materials in a timely fashion.
- Please provide a statement of the mission or objective of the program. If the program has formal promotional or admissions material that it distributes, please include it.
- Please provide curriculum vitae of all faculty who have taught courses over the last 5 years relevant to this program and who are currently on staff. Only publications from the last 5 years need be listed in the vita.
- The minimum standards for the accreditation of masters-level programs include a) an educational program with instruction in behavior-analytic approaches to the principles of behavior, within-subjects research methodology, conceptual issues, and behavioral interventions; and b) a thesis, review paper, or general examination that is based on a behavior-analytic approach to problems or issues. If accreditation is sought for a master's-level program (e.g., terminal master's, or the master's level of a doctoral program), please answer the questions here.
- The minimum standards for the accreditation of doctoral-level programs include a) an educational program that includes the master's-level requirements outlined above; b) an educational program with instruction in behavior-analytic approaches to one or more specialized areas of the non-human and/or human basic research literature, research methods, and the applied behavioral literature; and c) a dissertation whose questions and methods are based on a behavior-analytic approach to problems and issues. The doctoral-level requirements should be construed as requirements in addition to, or beyond, those of the master's-level programs. If accreditation is sought for a doctoral-level program that involves a master's-level program, the prior section on the master's level-program should be filled out, and the answers in the two sections should be coordinated to appropriately convey the characteristics of the program. Thus, doctoral programs should answer the questions here and here. If no formal master's-level program is involved in the doctoral program, please provide comprehensive answers to the questions on page here.
- Describe the training model and mentoring practices of the program, including experiences in legal issues and ethics. Describe how student progress in the program is evaluated.
- Provide data regarding students in the program. How many enter? What percent complete the program? What is the median time to completion? Indicate the status of recent graduates of program. For example, are they are teaching (give level or institution), working on an advanced degree, or working in some capacity related to their behavior-analytic training (give nature of employment, public/private sector, etc)? Provide employer statements or other means of evaluating the effectiveness of their training. Master's level programs need only be concerned with the last 5 years, doctoral programs with the last 10 years.
- Please arrange an agenda for two site visitors that includes interviews with a) program students, b) a director or other head of the program individually, c) program faculty as a group, and d) a representative of the administration of the institution with which the program is affiliated. The agenda should also include one unscheduled hour for the site visitor to study the documents. A feedback session at the conclusion of the visit, involving the site visitor, faculty, and students, may be scheduled at the discretion of the program.
- Sample formats for reporting information are included after the questions. The program may reproduce as many copies as needed.