Association for Behavior Analysis International

The number of colleges and universities offering applied behavior analytic training has grown rapidly over the last decade. However, despite this growth, it remains unclear how the profession should be evaluating the quality of training being offered to the next generation of scientist practitioners. Applied behavior analysis training programs have largely avoided pursuing traditional forms of quality control in the form of accreditation from the Association for Behavior Analysis International (ABAI). Instead, these programs have pursued the Verified Course Sequence (VCS) designation in an effort to attract students interested in meeting the coursework eligibility requirements to sit for a Behavior Analyst Certification Board (BACB) examination. In this symposium, the presenters will suggest faculty scholarly contributions and BACB first-time pass rate data as potential quality indicators for training programs. Data collected on both indicators will be presented and the implications of these findings will be discussed. Suggestions for how potential applications to these training programs and the field should respond to these data will be shared.

The target audiences for this presentation include (a) applicants to applied behavior analysis training programs; (b) faculty; (c) Verified Courses Sequence Coordinators; (d) the ABAI Accreditation Board; and (e) and anyone interested in quality controls in the field's training programs. Attendees should have a basic understanding of Verified Course Sequences (VCS).

Abstract: As interest in careers in behavior analysis has grown, there has been a concomitant increase in the number of training programs providing coursework in behavior analysis. There is a growing need for indices of quality of these programs, with some authors recently suggesting that faculty research productivity might serve as one indicator of program quality. We continue this conversation, taking a broad view of faculty scholarly contributions by conducting a search of all articles authored by instructors in graduate-level Behavior Analyst Certification Board verified course sequences (VCSs) and published from 2000 to 2015 in peer-reviewed journals indexed by the PsycINFO database. The resulting list includes 8,906 publication records in 715 journals, authored by 1,232 instructors from 224 programs. Our analysis suggests that graduate-level VCS instructors have published in a broad array of journals and topic areas. We discuss implications of these data for prospective students’ evaluations of program quality and fit.