Public Disclosure and Confidentiality
The integrity of the accreditation process often requires that applicant programs submit confidential information. In instances in which an institution or program is inhibited in its ability to disclose such information or to conduct a meaningful self-study, the ability of the accrediting body to make sound judgments is compromised and the effectiveness of the accreditation process is diminished. At the same time, decisions of accrediting bodies are used by various government and private funding agencies, employers, regulatory bodies, and students as one basis for their decisions. In this regard, accrediting bodies serve as protectors of the public interest. The confidentiality needed to preserve the integrity of the accreditation process must be balanced against the needs of external constituencies for basic and essential information. In determining which documents should be subject to public disclosure, the Council on Academic Accreditation accepts the principle that the primary consideration should be whether the information in question relates to compliance with established standards. Advisory suggestions for program enhancement that result from a site visit, for example, are not viewed as critical for public disclosure. The importance of the extent and timing of disclosure is acknowledged.
In disclosing information relative to accreditation, the Council on Academic Accreditation will observe the following guidelines:
1. Information subject to full disclosure includes the following:
- Information concerning the scope, evaluative criteria, procedures, and the process by which accreditation decisions are reached, as outlined in the CAA Operating Manual;
- Lists of programs that are accredited or that hold candidacy status, including the professional area of accreditation and degree program identified; that have had accreditation withdrawn; that have been placed on probation; that are not accredited;
- A list of anticipated site visits.
2. Information available upon request from the Council on Academic Accreditation includes the following:
- Annual reports summarizing the activities of the Council;
- Academic and professional qualifications of members of the Council and its administrative personnel.
3. Information available only from the institution or program or from the CAA with consent of the program includes the following: information supplied by the institution or program and/or the CAA in the course of the accrediting process, such as the program's self-study, the site visit report, the program's response to the site visit report, and correspondence between the CAA and the institution relating to the accreditation process. (Accredited programs are encouraged to share this information with appropriate state agencies that have a legitimate claim for information beyond that available to the public-at-large.)
4. Information not available for dissemination includes privileged information that cannot be divulged legally without the consent of the party(ies) who provide it, such as physician/ patient or client/attorney relationships.
Conflict of Interest
To preserve the credibility of the accreditation process, members of the Council, site visitors, consultants, appeal panel members, paid staff, and other representatives of the CAA must avoid conflicts of interest in the discharge of their duties. Responsibility for determining and avoiding such conflicts rests primarily with the individual and with the Council on Academic Accreditation itself. The ASHA Board of Ethics defines conflict of interest in its Issues in Ethics Statement "Conflicts of Professional Interest" as:
"Situations where personal and/or financial considerations compromise judgment in any professional activity (e.g., clinical research, consultation, administration, etc.) or where the situation may appear to provide the potential for professional judgment to be compromised."
The above statement applies to every aspect of the accreditation process. Because of the significant impact of accreditation and accreditation decisions upon the welfare of students, faculties, and the institutions to which they are attached, it is especially important that members of the Council and other individuals named above be objective and display the highest degree of integrity. For this reason, these individuals must avoid both the fact and the appearance of conflict of interest, and must be alert to any and all situations that might involve or give the appearance of bias.
The CAA Site Visit Manual describes specific circumstances that site visitors must avoid as potential areas of conflict. Similar situations for CAA members are described in the CAA Operating Manual.
Public Notice of Accreditation Actions
The major purpose of accreditation is to identify those graduate education programs that meet and maintain standards for education for entry level professional preparation in audiology and speech-language pathology. Maintaining public trust in the professions' accreditation program and processes requires publication of the Council's actions relative to accreditation.
The accreditation status of graduate education programs that provide entry level professional preparation in audiology and speech language pathology is contained in a roster maintained by the Accreditation Office. In addition to the name, address, phone number and accreditation status of the programs, the roster includes the degree level for each program, the current period of accreditation, and the year of its next scheduled reaccreditation review and a summary of the recent actions taken by the CAA. This list is shared biannually with other recognized agencies that accredit institutions housing accredited or candidate programs in audiology and/or speech-language pathology, and upon request to the public in general. The CAA also publishes the names of accredited programs and those holding candidacy status on ASHA's Web site.
The CAA will notify the Secretary of Education of the United States Department of Education (ED), the appropriate State licensing or authorizing agency, and the appropriate accrediting agencies at the same time it notifies the program, or no later than 30 days after an opportunity for appeal has elapsed, of all final accreditation actions of the CAA, including decisions to award or renew accreditation or candidacy, place a program on probation, and decisions to withhold or withdraw accreditation or candidate status. The program is also given the opportunity to provide any comments that it may wish to make regarding the decision. The final decisions will be made available to the public within 24 hours of notification to the program through posting the information on ASHA's Web site.
Within 60 days after a final decision, the CAA will make available to the ED, the state licensing or authorizing agency, appropriate accrediting agencies, and the public, upon request, a brief statement summarizing the reasons for withholding or withdrawing of accreditation of a program, and the comments, if any, that the affected program may wish to make regarding the decision. Requests for this information should be submitted in writing to the Chair, Council on Academic Accreditation in Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology, American Speech Language-Hearing Association, 2200 Research Boulevard #310, Rockville, Maryland 20850 (800-498-2071 or 301-296-5700).
The CAA also notifies the ED, the appropriate State licensing or authorizing agency, the appropriate accrediting agencies, and upon request, the public if an accredited or candidate program decides (a) to withdraw voluntarily from accreditation or candidacy, within 30 days of notification from the program that it is withdrawing voluntarily from accreditation or candidacy, or (b) lets its accreditation or candidacy lapse, within 30 days of the date on which accreditation or candidacy lapses. The CAA does not publish the names of programs that have their accreditation decision deferred for clarification or additional information.
In addition, the CAA will notify the U.S. Secretary of Education of the name of any accredited program that the CAA has reason to believe is failing to meet its Title IV, Higher Education Act program responsibilities or is engaged in fraud or abuse, including the reason for the CAA's concern. The CAA will also submit to the Secretary, upon request, information that may bear upon an accredited or preaccredited institution's compliance with its Title IV, HEA program responsibilities, including the eligibility of the institution or program to participate in Title IV, HEA programs.
Public Notice of Accreditation Status
The Accreditation Office responds to inquiries by providing information about a program's history and current status with the CAA, including (a) accreditation status and area(s) of accreditation; (b) candidacy status for CAA accreditation and area(s) of candidacy; (c) probation; (d) withdrawal of accreditation; and (e) not accredited.
Programs must have a procedure for informing prospective and current students and the public of their accreditation status, including probation and candidacy status. Programs placed on probation must inform their students of such action and its implications for the students' future eligibility to obtain professional credentials, including the ASHA Certificate of Clinical Competence, state licensure, or teacher certification as appropriate. The CAA requires that the program provide documentation to the CAA within 30 days of receipt of the probation letter that information regarding its status has been provided to students and to the public in a timely manner. Any venue that provides information to the public regarding its accreditation status must include information that is accurate and reflects the current status. Failure to provide accurate information about the program may jeopardize accreditation.
The CAA requires programs to disclose accurate information about their accreditation status to students and the public. At a minimum, the specific degree program awarded candidacy or accreditation should be provided along with the full name, address, and phone number of the accrediting agency:
Council on Academic Accreditation in Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology
American Speech-Language-Hearing Association
2200 Research Boulevard #310
Rockville, MD 20850
800-498-2071 or 301-296-5700
The following language is provided to programs to use in publicizing their CAA accreditation status.
Programs in audiology and/or speech-language pathology that are accredited by the Council on Academic Accreditation must include, as a minimum, the following language when describing their accreditation status publicly (e.g., catalogs, Web site, recruitment literature):
"The [master's/doctoral (+ degree designator)] education program in [audiology and/or speech-language pathology] at [name of parent institution of higher education] is accredited by the Council on Academic Accreditation in Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, 2200 Research Boulevard #310, Rockville, Maryland 20850, 800-498-2071 or 301-296-5700."
Accredited programs in audiology and/or speech-language pathology that are placed on probation by the Council on Academic Accreditation must include, as a minimum, the following statement when describing their accreditation status publicly (e.g., catalogs, Web site, recruitment literature):
"The [master's/doctoral (+ degree designator)] program in [audiology and/or speech-language pathology] at [name of parent institution of higher education] has been placed on probation by the Council on Academic Accreditation in Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, 2200 Research Boulevard #310, Rockville, Maryland 20850, 800-498-2071 or 301-296-5700. A program on probation is not currently in full compliance with the accreditation standards. Programs on probation remain accredited but must demonstrate compliance with the standards within one year."
Programs in audiology and/or speech-language pathology that are granted the status of Candidate for Accreditation by the Council on Academic Accreditation must use the following statement when describing their accreditation status publicly (e.g., catalogs, Web site, recruitment literature):
"The [master's/doctoral (+ degree designator)] program in [audiology and/or speech-language pathology] at [name of parent institution of higher education] is a Candidate for Accreditation by the Council on Academic Accreditation in Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology (CAA) of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, 2200 Research Boulevard #310, Rockville, Maryland 20850, 800-498-2071 or 301-296-5700. Candidacy is a "pre-accreditation" status with the CAA, awarded to developing or emerging programs for a maximum period of five years."
Programs that provide inaccurate or misleading information concerning their accreditation status, including candidacy, violate the Standards for Accreditation of Graduate Education Programs in Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology.
If an institution or program misrepresents or distorts any action by the CAA with respect to any aspect of the accreditation process, its accreditation status, the contents of the site visit report, or final CAA accreditation actions or decisions, the CAA will notify the chief executive officer of the institution and the program director, informing them that corrective action must be taken. If corrective action is not taken, the CAA will release a public statement that provides correct information and may invoke other sanctions as may be appropriate.
Procedures Related to Notification of Changes in Institutional Accreditation Status
If the CAA receives notice that a program's sponsoring institution has had its recognition status denied or revoked by a recognized institutional accrediting agency, the CAA will promptly review the accreditation or candidacy status of that program to determine if the CAA should take adverse action against the program. Likewise, the CAA will promptly review the accreditation or candidacy status of a program when informed that a state agency has suspended, revoked, or terminated the institution's legal authority to provide postsecondary education within the state. In considering whether to grant initial accreditation or candidacy status to a program, the CAA will take into account actions by (a) recognized institutional accrediting agencies that have denied accreditation or preaccreditation to the institution offering the program, placed the institution on public probationary status, or revoked the accreditation or preaccreditation of the institution; and (b) a state agency that has suspended, revoked, or terminated the institution's legal authority to provide postsecondary education.
The CAA will provide the ED with a thorough explanation, consistent with its accreditation standards, for why it has awarded or continued accreditation or candidacy status during any period in which the sponsoring institution:
- is the subject of an interim action by a recognized institutional accrediting agency potentially leading to the suspension, revocation, or termination of any recognition status;
- is the subject of an interim action by a state agency potentially leading to the suspension, revocation, or termination of the institution's legal authority to provide postsecondary education;
- has been notified of a threatened loss of accreditation and the due process procedures required by the action have not been completed;
- has been notified of a threatened suspension, revocation, or termination by the state of the institution's legal authority to provide postsecondary education and the due process procedures required by the action have not been completed.
Programs must notify the CAA of program director changes as soon as possible, but no later than 30 days after the change, including temporary appointments and sabbaticals. Failure to notify the CAA Accreditation Office within the time lines may jeopardize the program’s accreditation status.
The program must submit notification in writing on department letterhead to the CAA Accreditation Office indicating the name, title, and contact information of the new program director, along with the effective date of the appointment and whether the appointment is on an interim basis or permanent. The notice also must include the justification for the change. If the position is vacant, written notification should include the plan for filling the position.
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