Verified Course Sequences & Concentrations
Note: The VCS system is sunsetting on December 31, 2025. ABAI will stop accepting NEW VCS applications on January 1, 2025.
Please visit our ABAI Tiered Model of Education webpage for additional details on obtaining ABAI recognition or accreditation. Check out our newspage for additional information.
A Verified Course Sequence (VCS) is a set of courses that has been verified by ABAI as meeting specific coursework requirements, content hours, and faculty. The VCS status indicates that a training program offers the minimum coursework required for certification eligibility; it does not indicate any quality measures of the program.
A concentration is a set of courses and experiential learning in a specific area of behavior analysis. The concentration has been reviewed and verified by ABAI as meeting a focused area of content area and hours, including rigorous competencies, and a specialized area of faculty standards.
An institution may offer a VCS embedded within a degree program, as a stand-alone sequence (certificate program), or both. A VCS may offer coursework at the undergraduate or graduate level. Some programs may elect to further separate VCS programs by masters- and doctoral-level coursework.
The Culturo-Behavior Science concentration may be offered within a degree program and only at the graduate level. Some programs may elect to separate the concentration by masters- and doctoral-level training. Please note that ABAI will continue to offer the CBS concentration beyond the VCS sunset.
Program Types
ABAI's VCS program indicates the courses satisfy the Behavior Analyst Certification Board's coursework requirements for the BCBA and BCaBA examination applications via Pathway 2 (ABAI-accredited programs satisfy the Pathway 1 degree and coursework requirements). ABAI's concentration program indicates completion of the coursework and experiential learning satisfies the requirements for a certificate of completion in Culturo-Behavior Science from ABAI.
|
|
|
 |
|
| Verification of the 5th Edition BACB course sequence meets eligibility criteria for either BCBA Pathway 2 or BCaBA Pathway 2 coursework requirements as part of the application for BACB examinations. Applicants will need to meet additional requirements before they can apply for examination. |
Verification of the concentration meets eligibility criteria for a certificate of completion in Culturo-Behavior Science studies from the Association for Behavior Analysis International. Applicants will need to meet additional requirements before they earn the certificate.
|
|
|
Important Information About Accreditation, Recognition, and VCS
ABAI accreditation, recognition, and verification are separate designations. The VCS (verification) status and logo are not "seals of approval" and do not provide indication of a quality training program; only ABAI-accreditation and ABAI-recognition statuses and logos communicate to the public that the programs have undergone a quality review process.
Potential students should consider many factors when choosing a graduate program. Factors such as cost, location, size, and faculty may be provided by the program. Program quality should also be considered; currently, ABAI Accreditation and Recognition (through the Tiered Model of Education) are the only established, peer-review quality designations for behavior analysis training programs. The BACB publishes university examination pass rate data on their website, which may provide one indicator of quality, though it is not always indicative of rigor.
Accreditation is a peer-review process guided by standards in which a program completes a comprehensive review of the overall coursework, faculty, research, curriculum, experiential learning, and outcome measures of the overall program. Recognition approximates accreditation and is also a comprehensive review of the training program. Verification indicates that coursework meets the minimum content-hour requirements for eligibility criteria; it is an administrative review process. Programs currently offering a VCS should review ABAI’s Tiered Model of Education to obtain a quality recognition.
VCS Outcomes
- Completion of a BACB VCS or Concentration may not grant completion of a degree; a university or institution awards the degree after all institutional requirements are met.
- Completion of a BACB VCS does not authorize an individual to become certified, licensed, or credentialed. Specific country, state, or third-party requirements must be met.
- Completion of a BACB VCS does not grant approval of an examination application. Each application is reviewed by the BACB and includes additional requirements.
- Completion of a BACB VCS does not award BACB certification. Certificates of completion provided by a program or university are not to be confused with BACB certification.
- Completion of a CBS concentration does not equal a credential. The CBS certificate of completion indicates ABAI has recognized a student's completion of rigorous coursework and specialized training in Culturo-Behavior Science.