The Standards of Accreditation for Health Service Psychology (SoA) and Standards of Accreditation for Master’s Programs in Health Service Psychology (SoA-M) are CoA policy documents that outline training requirements for programs at the master’s, doctoral, doctoral internship, and postdoctoral levels. The AOP outline procedures that guide the accreditation process for programs accredited by the APA. Correspondent to the SoA are Implementing Regulations (IRs), which are official policy documents that “elucidate, interpret and operationally define” the CoA’s policies and procedures. IRs are divided into several different sections (A through E), which are subject to regular review and revision by the CoA. Through this iterative process, opportunities for clarification have arisen regarding IRs in Section C, which relate specifically to the SoA/SoA-M, and Section D, which relate specifically to the AOP.
Clinical Experiences, Faculty Qualifications, Outcome Data, and Direct Observation
Per Standard II.B.3 of the SoA-M, the CoA identifies clinical experiences as a required training element, such as clinical experience, field experience, or master’s-level internship. IRs C-12 M and C-14 M have been clarified to note that the psychologists that provide clinical experiences and supervision are doctoral-level psychologists.
To better align with Doctoral Standard IV.B.2 of the SoA, IR C-23 D has been modified with examples of current and relevant expertise that qualified faculty hold.
The Commission addresses accredited programs’ outcomes and program effectiveness via evaluation in Internship Standard II.D and Postdoctoral Standard II.D.1 of the SoA. IRs C-16 I and C-16 P have been updated with information about the interval of distal data collection that accredited internship and postdoctoral programs should follow.
Per Internship Standard II.D.1.a.iv-v and Postdoctoral Standard II.D.1.b.ii of the SoA, the CoA requires that accredited programs routinely complete an evaluation based on direct observation of evaluated competencies. More information about evaluations for competencies at accredited internship and postdoctoral programs have been added to IRs C-17 I and C-17 P.
In accordance with the APA “Policies for Accreditation Governance” and U.S. Department of Education regulations for notice and comment, the CoA will make the proposed revisions available for a sixty (60) day period of public review and comment. The comment period began at 5:00 pm Eastern Time on November 5, 2026 and will continue through 5:00pm Eastern Time on January 4, 2027. Information about the proposed standards and public comment is available at apps.apa.org/accredcomment/.
Accreditation Status and CoA Contact Information
The CoA requires that accredited programs must disclose their accreditation status and provide contact information for the CoA via Master’s, Doctoral, and Postdoctoral Standards V.A.1.b, Doctoral V.A.1.b and Internship Standard V.A.1.d. The Commission has updated the mandatory disclosures in IRs C-25 M, C-25 D, C-23 I, and C-19 P to require that programs include information on how to file a complaint against an APA-accredited program.
In accordance with the APA “Policies for Accreditation Governance” and U.S. Department of Education regulations for notice and comment, the CoA will make the proposed revisions available for a forty-five (45) day period of public review and comment. The comment period began at 5:00 pm Eastern Time on November 5, 2026 and will continue through 5:00pm Eastern Time on December 20, 2026. Information about the proposed standards and public comment is available at apps.apa.org/accredcomment/.
Thresholds for Student Achievement Outcomes in Doctoral Programs
IR D.4-7(b) outlines the thresholds for student achievement outcomes in doctoral programs, and the CoA is proposing some changes to these thresholds. The CoA reviewed the thresholds used for compliance which are established by determining the number in each area that would place a program in the bottom 5% based on a three-year average of all programs and recommends increasing the Time to Degree average and decreasing the 3-year Attrition Rate. There is no recommended change to the Time to Degree median, Internship Acceptance Rate, nor the Student-Faculty Ratio.
In accordance with the APA “Policies for Accreditation Governance” and U.S. Department of Education regulations for notice and comment, the CoA will make the proposed revisions available for a thirty (30) day period of public review and comment. The comment period began at 5:00 pm Eastern Time on November 4, 2026 and will continue through 5:00pm Eastern Time on December 5, 2026. Information about the proposed standards and public comment is available at apps.apa.org/accredcomment/.
To promote thoughtful discussion, the CoA is providing an electronic-based form for public comment submission. Comments and other information, including users’ identities will be public while email addresses used in the registration process will be confidential. The CoA will consider all comments received and make appropriate revisions should they be deemed necessary before approval of the final versions of the IRs.
Should you have any questions of concerns, please contact the Office of Program Consultation and Accreditation at (202) 336-5979 or apaaccred@apa.org. On behalf of the CoA, thank you for your review and comments.