Become an APA Site Visitor

The Commission on Accreditation (CoA) is actively recruiting accreditation site visitors! Join the team, give your CV a boost, and play a critical role in maintaining the integrity of the field of psychology. Also, every site visitor who completes a site visit may claim 25 CEs OR APA membership for one year (once per calendar year) at no cost to the site visitor.


The site visit is an essential and unique step in the accreditation process — site visitors serve a critical role in providing information to the Commission on Accreditation about the quality of educational programs. Site visitors act as the "eyes and ears" of the Commission. It is through the written report of the site visitors that it is possible to verify self-study information and receive a perspective about the program operation that can only be obtained through direct observation.

Site visitor application process

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Submit a Nomination

The Commission on Accreditation invites nominations of individuals to serve as APA accreditation site visitors who meet the required criteria. In submitting a nomination, the nominator should provide a brief statement about why they think the nominee has the appropriate background and personal qualities to be included in the site visitor pool. Self-nominations are welcome.


Please email statement along with a current CV to:

apasitevisit@apa.org

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Attend Training

Prior to participating in the site visit process, prospective site visitors must first receive training. Training is typically one-day in length and includes both didactic and experiential exposure to the Standards of Accreditation and the role and functions of the site visitor. Check the Upcoming Accreditation Workshops. 

Site visitors are classified either as educators, practitioners, or both:

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Educator

(regularly engages/engaged within their professional role in teaching and training in psychology or a related field)

Site visitor criteria

 

  • For doctoral, internship, and postdoctoral programs, has a doctoral degree from an APA-Accredited program or (if the degree is outside the scope of APA accreditation) from an accredited institution, and a minimum of five years of experience. This experience may include postdoctoral training.
  • For a master’s program, has a doctoral degree (as defined above) or a master’s degree (from an accredited institution) and a minimum of five years of experience.
  • Has involvement as faculty in an academic department or school within an accredited institution or has involvement as training staff in an APA-accredited training program, or has had an association with an APA-accredited training program within the past five years.
  • Is knowledgeable about educational, professional, and scientific issues in psychology relevant to the APA Standards of Accreditation.
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Practitioner

(holds appropriate licensure or certification and regularly engages/engaged within their professional role in the delivery of psychological services) 

Site visitor criteria

 

  • For doctoral, internship, and postdoctoral programs, has a doctoral degree from an APA-accredited program and a minimum of five years of professional experience subsequent to completion of the doctoral degree. This experience may include postdoctoral training.
  • For a master’s program, has a doctoral degree (as defined above) or a master’s degree (from an accredited institution) and a minimum of five years of experience and/or expertise in master’s program delivery.
  • Is engaged in service delivery and has had a formal association (e.g., adjunct faculty, external supervisor, didactic presenter) with an APA-accredited training program within the past five years.
  • Is knowledgeable about educational, professional, and scientific issues in psychology relevant to the APA Standards of Accreditation.

What is a site visit?

The Commission on Accreditation conducts over 200 site visits per year, necessitating the participation of well over 400 site visitors from all areas of psychology.

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On Site Review

The site visit is an on-site review of a program to help the Commission confirm that the program meets the Standards of Accreditation and the self-study information is valid.

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Point of Contact

Since representatives of the programs do not appear before the Commission, only the site visit team has face-to-face contact with the psychologists involved in the program.
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Verification

Site visitors act as the "eyes and ears" of the Commission. It is through the written report of the site visitors that it is possible to verify self-study information and receive information about the program operation that can only be obtained through direct observation.

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An Essential Step

The site visit is an essential and unique step in the accreditation process. As such, site visitors serve a critical role in providing information to the Commission about educational programs.

FAQs about Becoming a Site Visitor

  • Do I have to be faculty/staff of an accredited program to be eligible as a site visitor?

    Not necessarily. For doctoral-level individuals with a degree within the scope of accreditation (Clinical, Counseling, School), the criteria requires involvement as faculty/staff or an association with an accredited training program. In other words, you must have direct contact with students or trainees from an accredited program. This includes being an adjunct faculty member, being a teacher of seminars to students/trainees in an accredited program or being a supervisor of students/trainees at external sites. If you are involved in Master’s training or have a degree outside the scope of accreditation, having an association with an accredited institution may be sufficient. If you are unsure if you are eligible, please consult with the Office of Program Consultation and Accreditation (OPCA).

  • How many people compose a site visit team?

    Each team will have a chair who is an experienced site visitor. In addition to the chair, site visit teams for master’s and doctoral programs will have at least two other members, and internship and postdoctoral residency programs will have at least one other member.

  • What is the process for being selected to be on a site visit team?

    Once you are trained, your name will appear on lists of potential site visitors to programs. The program will be provided with your contact information as well as your degree and employment institutions. The program will directly contact each person on the list(s) until it finds someone who is available for the proposed dates of the visit, and who has no potential conflict of interest with the program. Site visit team chairs are appointed to programs by the CoA/OPCA.

  • How many visits will I be expected to participate in each year? Is there a limit to the number I can agree to?

    You can accept or decline as many site visit requests as you wish. Being a site visitor is purely voluntary and you should only accept an invitation to do a visit if it will work with your schedule

  • How often will I be contacted to participate in a site visit?

    Unfortunately, this question is very difficult to answer. It is very dependent on your area of expertise and the types of programs up for review. Our new site visitors are always first on lists so that they may experience a visit while the training is still fresh.

  • How much time am I obligating myself to when I agree to do a site visit?

    A typical site visit is scheduled for two full days at the program site. Travel to and from the program should also be factored in. Additional time is needed prior to the visit for review of the self-study and other program materials, as well as after the visit for the writing of the site visit report (with the help of the other visitor[s]). The time needed for the site visit report varies on the complexity of the visit and delegation of work among the team members. The site visit report is due to the OPCA 30 days following the visit.

  • Will I be reimbursed for all of my expenses?

    Expenses for food, hotel, and travel are reimbursed following the visit. Instructions for booking travel arrangements and submitting requests for reimbursement are provided to the team at the time of visit confirmation. 

Related Pages

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Applying for Accreditation and Intent to Apply Status

Current Site Visitors
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Programs Applying for Initial Accreditation

Accreditation Process
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Programs Seeking Intent to Apply Status

Upcoming Accreditation Workshops