Association for Behavior Analysis International

Higher education in 2024 is irrefutably different than it was ten years ago. The landscape of graduate programming has changed in many ways including, but not limited to: decreases in admissions and enrollment, changes in admissions practices, changing accreditation requirements, increased awareness of inequity issues, responsiveness to service delivery issues, increased use of technology and remote teaching strategies, changes in administration and organizational structure, issues of appeals and litigation, etc. Some of these changes were initiated or exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. It seems that student, administration, accreditor, and public expectations of higher education processes are changing in ways that often manifest in decreased consumer satisfaction. It is often difficult to maintain a financially viable and socially valid graduate program that balances quality educational methods and competency-based training, with these changing stakeholder expectations. The curriculum, requirements, and instructional procedures are often at odds with the social validity from the viewpoint of students and may need to be more in balanca in order to grow the field with competent practitioners. This panel discussion will discuss various concerns along these areas as well as potential behavior analytic solutions that graduate programs can consider. The audience will be encouraged to brainstorm additional concerns and solutions for discussion.

Faculty, students, administrators related to higher education in behavior analysis