Association for Behavior Analysis International

This poster will provide an update on the Association for Behavior Analysis International Accreditation Board's standards and activities.

Jacksonville State University, nicknamed “The Friendliest Campus in the South,” is nestled in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains midway between Atlanta, GA and Birmingham, AL. The master’s program in psychology is the only ABAI-accredited program in Alabama, and it offers an ABAI-verified course sequence. Our students complete eight required courses in the conceptual, experimental, and applied analysis of behavior, as well as five related elective courses, which include practicum, research, and thesis opportunities. Our overarching goals are to teach future applied behavior analysts to think critically about the conceptual and experimental basis of the field, and to train them in the implementation of scientifically validated behavioral procedures. Our students study basic behavioral processes in our sophisticated animal research facility, and they can practice applying behavioral principles in basic and applied settings through our recently established Center for Behavioral Studies. Our poster provides more detail about our faculty, coursework, research, and practicum opportunities, as well as an opportunity to meet current faculty and students.

The Master of Science degree in Counseling, with an option in Applied Behavior Analysis at California State University, Los Angeles trains students in the principles, concepts, and application of behavior analysis from within a counseling framework. Special consideration is given to incorporating counseling skills in the application of behavior analysis. The program consists of required courses in both behavior analysis and counseling (52 units) and has a thesis option. Moreover, students accumulate a portion of the experience hours required by the Behavior Analysis Certification Board during fieldwork. The program has three full-time faculty: Dr. Randy Campbell, Dr. Michele Wallace (Program Coordinator), and Dr. Mitchell Fryling, plus a number of prominent local behavior analysts as part-time faculty. Research interest of faculty is diverse and dissemination opportunities for students is actively sought (e.g., conference presentations and publications).

The kind of life we make for ourselves is very much dependent on the options we exercise and the resources we mobilize now and in the future. The basic assumption that guides our Behavior Analysis program has been stated as follows: We share the conviction that higher education must assume a vital and active role in integrating social and economic challenges of society. It recognizes and appreciates the well articulated thesis that we often jeopardize our chances for realizing a full and satisfying life and possibly our very existence. The basic premises undergirding this philosophy imply that in its own way the our Behavior Analysis program can, through its internal structure and its programs, become a factor in shaping social and environmental conditions so that we can live with more dignity and sense of fulfillment. Therefore, our program is committed to the improvement of socio--cultural conditions, economic concerns, and the enhancement of the quality of life we face now and in the future. More specifically, our mission is to prepare students to function as action oriented practitioners concerned with and capable of dealing with the three major elements of behavior analysis: person, behavior, and environment.

The Department of Applied Behavior Science is housed in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at the University of Kansas. It comprises 16 regular faculty members, 55 adjunct and courtesy faculty members, more than 200 undergraduate majors, and over 40 doctoral students. The Department exists because a natural science of behavior uniquely helps us understand and improve the human condition locally, nationally, and globally. Our graduate mission is to train scientist-practitioners and researchers in the discovery, production, translation, application, and communication of knowledge for the same purposes. These missions entail four domains of teaching, training, and research: 1. Basic principles of a natural science of behavior; 2. Research methods in basic and applied research, the latter including prevention and intervention research; 3. Historical, conceptual, and comparative foundations; and 4. The extension and application of these domains for understanding and improving the human condition. What makes our missions unique is their foundation in a science of behavior, dedication to rigorous standards of experimental proof, and applications of the science and these standards to solving socially relevant problems. Rigor and relevance, together, are the Department's hallmark, both in making knowledge and taking it to practice.

The Behavior Analysis (BA) masters and doctoral programs at WMU provide intense training in the conceptual, basic, and applied foundations of behavior analysis. In addition to giving students substantial training in a core specialty area (e.g., autism and developmental disabilities, health or safety, behavioral pharmacology, experimental analysis of behavior), the program exposes students to a broad range of applied and experimental areas through coursework, research, and applied experiences. The masters program prepares students for doctoral study or employment at the M.A. level in autism/developmental disabilities, mental health, substance abuse, education, government, and business and industry. The Ph.D. program prepares students for roles as professors and researchers in college or university settings, or systems-oriented applied positions in the human services.

Behavior analysis began as a subfield of psychology and over time has developed a number of unique assessments and treatment procedures that are not routinely covered in traditional psychology training programs. Behavior analysis has three primary branches: (a) behaviorism, which focuses on the world view or philosophy of behavior analysis; (b) the experimental analysis of behavior, which identifies and analyzes basic principles and processes that explain behavior; and (c) applied behavior analysis (ABA), which analyses and solves problems of social importance using the principles and procedures of behavior analysis. Our doctoral program provides instruction and training in all three of these areas, with a primary focus on applied behavior analysis with children, adolescents, and families. The guiding philosophy of the program is that learning is maximized by integrating didactic and experiential instruction such that principles and concepts are introduced in the classroom and immediately applied in coordinated clinical and research practica.

This poster describes the Satellite Programs in Behavior Analysis offered by the University of Nevada, Reno. Three online programs are offered. The first of these is a full Master of Science degree in Behavior Analytic Psychology. This program is the only online Master’s Degree Program separately accredited by the Behavior Analysis Accreditation Board of the Association for Behavior Analysis International. The other two programs include course sequences at the graduate and undergraduate levels. All three programs are recognized Approved Course Sequences by the Behavior Analysis Certification Board. The poster describes the curricula for each of these programs, timelines for completion, admission requirements, and other information. The aim of this presentation is to recruit students who do not otherwise have access to behavior analytic training in their home regions. The University of Nevada, Reno has been delivering satellite programs in behavior analysis for more than 20 years, serving students in multiple US states as well as in other areas including Canada, China mainland, Jordan, Taiwan, and Saudi Arabia.

The Ohio State University's (OSU) ABAI-accredited graduate programs in special education have been advancing the study of applied behavior analysis for the past 40 years. The greatest contributions of OSU's special education program are the program graduates whose work has helped bring evidence-based instructional practices to teachers and students around the world. The Ph.D. program is the first doctoral program to receive ABAI accreditation (1995). This program prepares leadership personnel for special education whose research, teaching, and professional practice are grounded in the philosophy of behaviorism and the methodological and technological principles of applied behavior analysis. The MA program, accredited by ABAI in 1995, emphasizes the design, implementation, and evaluation of curricular and instructional interventions to improve academic, social, self-care, and vocational skills for individuals with disabilities. Master's program graduates work as licensed classroom teachers, behavior analysts, or program supervisors in public schools, private schools, or community agencies.