Important information from APAGS for students applying to clinical graduate programs in the coming years: ***Unaccredited Programs and the Internship Match*** THE ISSUE: The July/August 2013 issue of the Monitor describes some recent efforts made on the internship crisis (see: apa.org/monitor/2013/07-08/internship-match.aspx). The article states, “In March, APPIC revealed its plan for rolling out one of the relevant changes. Beginning in 2017, the match will be limited to students from accredited graduate programs: This means that students from programs not accredited by the APA or CPA (Canadian Psychological Association) would be ineligible to participate in the match program.” For more than a year and a half, the American Psychological Association of Graduate Students (APAGS) has officially supported accredited internships for students from accredited doctoral programs. APAGS believes that accreditation is very important not only to ensure quality training and the highest level of service delivery to the public, but also to ensure due process for students should problems arise. Thus, we advocate for a system that is based on accreditation at all levels of training. We have communicated our position to APPIC, an organization separate from APA that handles the nation’s largest internship match for psychology doctoral students. Several other groups, including training councils, have advocated on a similar position. DECISION TO LIMIT THE MATCH APPIC made a decision this year to close its Match in 2017 and later years to students only from accredited programs. This means that students starting in an unaccredited doctoral program this fall or later – and those current students who are not able to match through APPIC before 2017 – will need to find an internship through means other than the APPIC Match. It also means that students from unaccredited doctoral programs will not have access to accredited internships that are typically found in the APPIC directory in 2017 and later. Although APAGS has talked about the importance of accredited training opportunities for several years, we recognize that this change is new and has very significant consequences for approximately 400 students per year from unaccredited programs who participate in the APPIC Match. Indirectly, this change may also have consequences for students from accredited programs as they could see fewer ‘competitors’ in the Match pool. APAGS ACTIONS We have advocated that implementation be delayed so that current students do not suffer. In June 2013, APAGS made the following statement (in this case, to APA’s Board of Educational Affairs about a related issue): “APAGS lends it support on the basis of two conditions. First, we realize that lack of awareness or adherence to this policy could put future students at a costly dead-end. Therefore, education about the importance of choosing accredited training programs and internships must reach all prospective candidates and applicants or else we risk setting some students up to fail. Second, APAGS will support this measure provided that the policy is forward-looking, not retroactive. In other words, no individual who enters, is in enrolled in, or is a graduate from an unaccredited training program/site prior to the policy’s adoption shall be negatively impacted.” Our position has not changed. This is not a perfectly smooth change and some students may be caught unaware. APAGS will do our part by faithfully focusing on educating as many prospective applicants as possible about the importance of accredited training. - We are developing educational information for the web and print. - We plan to equip our Campus Representatives and student leaders with materials they can use in outreach to applicants. Staff and committee members of APAGS are also getting the word out in local and national presentations. We will weather this change by working with other stakeholders to ensure that we can protect students in the short-term while making beneficial long term changes. SHARED RESPONSIBILITY -It is not clear if unaccredited programs will inform applicants and current students about APPIC’s change. -APAGS encourages students in unaccredited programs to advocate to their faculty and administration for program accreditation. - Other groups who interact with prospective candidates and new students should get the word out in a consistent manner. -If you have suggestions about how we can build more awareness on this issue, we would love to hear your ideas. Please send an email to [email protected].
Posted on: Wed, 17 Jul 2013 19:44:56 +0000
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