Newport Beach, CA
April 17, 2015
PRESENTERS
Kim L. Tillery, Ph.D., CCC-A
Yula C. Serpanos, Ph.D., CCC-A

 Initial Contact and Agenda
 Preparation of the Documentation
 Site Visit
 Aftermath of the Site Visit

After attending this session, participants will be able to:
1.
Create an outline and timeline of required tasks toward re-accreditation.
2.
Effectively organize materials for presentation as exhibits for CAA standards during a CAA re-accreditation site visit.
3.
Identify appropriate administrative and faculty members involved in the re-accreditation process and strategize delineation of workload requirements.

The CAA has an abundant amount of information posted on website:
Accreditation Resources http://www.asha.org/academic/accreditation/acc_resources/
Site Visits http://www.asha.org/Academic/accreditation/CAASiteVisits/
Site Visit Manual http://www.asha.org/academic/accreditation/svmanual/

 The site visit is typically scheduled to occur no later than one semester following the date the application was submitted.
 The Program Director is provided, from the
Accreditation Office, several dates for the department members to select from.
 The public meeting is scheduled.

Programs will submit an application for reaccreditation on one of two standard dates: either
February 1 or August 1. Programs with an anniversary date of November through April should submit applications by February 1 and will have a site visit scheduled the subsequent Fall semester.
Programs with an anniversary date of May through
October should submit application by August 1, and will have a site visit scheduled for the subsequent Spring semester. Site visits may be scheduled during summer months if the program is fully operational during that time period.

Programs scheduled for review also are responsible for soliciting public comment from students and consumers by holding a public meeting during the scheduled site visit.
The program must widely publish an announcement regarding this meeting no later than fifteen (15) days prior to the site visit. The announcement should indicate that a copy of the Standards for Accreditation and/or the CAA's policy on public comments [PDF] may be obtained by contacting the Accreditation Office at ASHA, 2200
Research Boulevard, Rockville, Maryland 20850; calling
ASHA's Action Center at 800-498-2071; or accessing the documents online.

Individuals who wish to provide input about a program seeking continued accreditation may do so in two ways, by: submitting written comments prior to the accreditation site visit in accordance with the procedures specified in the Policy and Procedures on Public Comment, or providing comments to the site visit team during the program's scheduled site visit.

The site visit chair makes the initial contact to the department chairperson for an introduction, and to discuss the site visit schedule and to give a
‘needs’ listing. Travel arrangements are done by the site visitors, except for the hotel.

 How to schedule student and community citizen interviews, off-site clinic supervisors and alumni phone calls.
 Lunch menu needs / dinner suggestions
 # of laptops to provide, a printer, etc. in the main office designated for the site team
 Time allotments for the interviews
 Information of the distance from airport to the university, etc.

Communicate with administrators’ secretaries to
“save the date” on the schedules. During the date selection with the ASHA office, ensure that the
Dean and Provost will be available. The site visitors rarely meet with the institution’s President.

Administrators who will not be interviewed by the site team- can be informed of the Public Meeting session (e.g., Dean of College of Education,
Assistant Deans (due to data collection needs),
Registrar (if new degree programs were implemented), VP of Foundation (scholarship information).

Inform the technology department of the site visit and the possible need for assistance with any of the computers and printers in the designated meeting room.

The site team chairperson usually will encourage open communication with your questions. Inquire of the chairperson’s desired manner for such communication!

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A two-day visit: 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM on both days
-Evenings before and during the site visit are typically considered working time for the site visit team
-An hour should be built in for lunch and two 15 minute breaks.

 Inspect the program's physical facilities
 Discuss with instructional staff the academic and clinical aspects of the program
 Interview the support staff
 Confer with the institution's administrators concerning their attitudes toward and plans for the program

 Review course materials, syllabi, etc.
 Review materials and records of the clinical aspects of the program, which does not violate client confidentiality
 Review records of students' academic and clinical experiences
 Interview off-campus practicum supervisors
 Interview students

Facilitate the public meeting scheduled by the program director at which instructional staff, administration, students, and the general public may comment on the program or institution.

The site team chair may request for you to review examples of schedules posted on the website.

Set aside a separate phone contact area for one site visitor to call pre-arranged alumni, and off campus supervisors.

Usually, interviews with central administration are best deferred until the second day of the visit.
After a full day of all observations, and review of materials, the site visit members will be able to ask more focused questions when meeting with administrators.

The site team members will interview the program chairperson – usually with inquiries derived from the review of the program’s application. Following this 45 minute session the team will meet with the entire department faculty and support staff. This meeting sets the ‘stage’ for the process.

• The second section is the preparation for the site visit including the preparation of the documentation for review.
• The CAA provides a list of expected documentation, and timelines.

FROM: http://www.asha.org/Academic/accreditation/CAASVReviewMaterials.htm
 Beginning with site visits scheduled for Fall 2013, programs are required to provide electronic access to the following documents to the site visit team at least one month in advance of the site visit. Programs may choose to upload files to a flash drive and mail to the site visitors, may provide URLs for materials that can be accessed on the program's website, or grant temporary access to an internal site, such as a department or faculty intranet site, or establish a unique website to which site visit team members have access; the program may use a combination of these options to meet this requirement.
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Department student handbook
Department clinical handbook, if different from above (given to students &/or supervisors)
University handbooks given to
(graduate) students
University faculty handbooks
University's promotion and tenure guidelines
University catalog/bulletin
University's calendar for recent academic year
Flow chart showing university hierarchy, with names, if available
Copies of all course syllabi
Policies and procedures of the college
Copy of typical recruitment package sent to prospective students

FROM: http://www.asha.org/Academic/accreditation/CAASVReviewMaterials.htm
 The following materials must be made available at the time of the site visit, and may be provided electronically or in hard copy. The program director should work with the site visit team chair to identify any other materials that would be needed for the purpose of the site visit.
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Faculty meeting minutes
Minutes and/or procedures from department admissions committee
Minutes from department curriculum committee
Minutes/agenda/dates of any advisory board meetings
Lists of student files, current and past 3 years
Copies of course evaluation forms, practicum evaluation forms (student and supervisor/site)
Copies of employer, alumni, and exit surveys
Data compiled from assessments

University/College Policy Documents
 University handbooks given to (graduate) students
 University faculty handbooks
 University's promotion and tenure guidelines
 University catalog/bulletin
 University's calendar for recent academic year
 Policies and procedures of the college
 Flow chart showing university hierarchy, with names, if available

Program documents
 Minutes
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Faculty meeting minutes
Minutes and/or procedures from department admissions committee
Minutes from department curriculum committee
 Minutes/agenda/dates of any advisory board meetings
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Faculty vitae
Department student handbook
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Copies of all course syllabi
Copy of typical recruitment package sent to prospective students
 Student files, current and past 3 years
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Strategic plan
Program mission/goal
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Website
Budget [Annual reflection regarding the institution’s financial support can be maintained from the annual CAA report with pay roll departments submitting the salaries of your department faculties, scholarships, fund raising events, donations, library funds, and clinic and department refurbishments]

 Department clinical handbook*
 Preceptor handbook* (*if separate from program handbook)
 Client folders may be reviewed (provided that no identifying information is available and the procedure for review is consistent with patient privacy policies)
 Clinical practicum schedule sheets
 Clinic logs
 Copies of course evaluation forms
 Practicum evaluation forms (student and supervisor/site)
 Copies of employer, alumni, and exit surveys
 Data compiled from assessments, i.e., Praxis scores, graduation and employment outcome measures
 Guidelines for remediation opportunities

 START DATE: 1 year before site visit
 DUE DATE: 1 month prior to site visit (electronic documents due to CAA)

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This is a large task and may require several individuals to oversee it; designate the key individuals a year before the visit.
 Meet with upper administration to:
 determine whether extra support would be provided such as administrative assistants, IT, etc.
 request additional compensation for specific individuals as appropriate

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Designate the individual/s who will be responsible for the review of the documents
 Organize faculty meetings to review and update materials as needed a year before the visit to give time to update/revise documents and include faculty discussion.
 e.g., our program holds 1) an annual assessment meeting and
2) an annual strategic planning meeting, held 6 months apart.
These mandatory meetings enable all members to participate and have knowledge and input on all data and improvements.
Site visitors will inquire how the department decides and changes curriculum – is it data based driven?
 create a timeline for completion

Specific documents (below) may require more time to review/organize:
Program Strategic Plan, Mission, Goal Statements
 ensure are current, accurate, and consistent
 should be posted in program and clinic handbooks, on website
Course Syllabi
 ensure objectives are tied to specified CCC standards
 indicate which assessments relate to course objectives
Website
 program strategic plan, mission, goal statements
 student outcomes data for past 3 years
 admissions criteria
 program of study

Student Files
 student files for the past 3 years in your program will be reviewed
 CAA team will choose to review a sample of at least 10 student folders in each area accreditation is sought for past 3 years
 go through student files and ensure tracking information for completion of requirements is present and updated
 confidential information such as student complaints, issues, recommendation letters should not be kept in the student file, but in a separate confidential file (see below)
 ensure student files are kept in a secure locked cabinet/location

Confidential Files: Student Complaints, Issues
 should be in a separate, secure locked location housed by the program director
 should not appear in student files
Public Meeting Announcements for students and consumers
(could be separate meetings)
 15 days prior to site visit “widely publish” announcement of the site visit with date/time/place of open sessions with the site visitors with indication of how CAA Standards and/or
Policy on Public Comment may be obtained:
Access policy online: http://www.asha.org/academic/accreditation
/svmanual/part4.htm#public_comment2
 i.e., campus/local newspaper, clinic or campus flyers, post on website, etc.

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Begin to organize and house the documents a year before site visit
Designate the individual/s who will be responsible for the preparation/display of the documents
Create an electronic site to house all required documents required by the CAA in one location. This makes it easier for the site team to locate them easily and from an off-site location.
*Create a back-up hard-copy using labeled binders with dividers to organize information and allow for easy location and review by site team.

https://moodle.adelphi.edu/course/view.php?id=54522

 best to be proactive with documentation to provide support to new issues or concerns that have arisen since the initial observation response to the CAA so that site visit team is informed of an action plan
 e.g., our program noted a decline in praxis scores just prior to the CAA site visit; we prepared an action plan and documentation that was shared with the site visitors
 e.g., our program noted an inequality of assigned clinic hours per the graduate student exit survey. This was shared with the site visitors with an action plan.

 A one-hour meeting to provide the financial data, admission data, effective leadership, voiced support from the institution re: positions, provided space, travel funds, and new scholarship donations, etc.
 The CAA manual offers what possible questions may be asked to the administrators. http://www.asha.org/academic/accreditation/svmanual/part4/#intervi ews

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A year prior to the site visit, all members should be given a binder of information on the process so that members can refer to this during the preparation meetings, and have a place to store all incoming information of the site visit (e.g., agenda, site visitors’ bios).
A meeting should take place to overview the process and the information
New faculty members may need a separate meeting with the chairperson to explain the process and to assist with any fears of the process. It is reassuring that such a process ‘assists us to be our best’.
The possible questions that may be asked by the site visit team should be provided for review http://www.asha.org/academic/accreditation/svmanual/part4/#interviews

 send an announcement about the site visit and brief overview of the process
 schedule meetings as appropriate
 prepare a sampling of alumni, preceptors and employers for site team to contact during site visit
 the possible questions that may be asked by the site visit team should be provided for review http://www.asha.org/academic/accreditation/svmanual/part4/#interviews

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 To verify and clarify information contained in the application.
 To obtain information not included in the application; and/or to clarify information that may be discrepant.
 Refer to CAA manual on the type of interviews and the manner of recording the data during the interview.
There is an extensive amount of information provided by CAA.

Initial meeting with chairperson, orientation meeting with the department members and the exit report meeting!

 Conduct entrance interview with program director and others as appropriate
 A short tour of program facilities
 Meet with faculty and staff
 Meet with a representative sample of graduate and undergraduate students
 Review files of representative sample of at least 10 student folders
 Review course materials
 Facilitate public meeting

 Review data gathered during the day
 Organize the report format
 Review initial observations generated by the CAA

 Meet with institution's president or designee
 Meet with dean or deans
 Observe treatment and diagnostics
 Continue with faculty and staff meetings
 Phone/meet with off-campus supervisors or visit off campus practicum sites
 Meet with department chair, if different from program director
 Conduct additional record review, if necessary

 Prepare for exit report
 Conduct exit report session with program director and others she/he may wish to invited

The site team will provide that each standard has:
 Evidence Observed/Verified,
 Partial Evidence Observed/Verified, or
 Evidence Not Observed/Verified

Provide the CAA points to the department members on what to expect during the interviews.

The student meeting may be held in the evening – due to graduate courses are usually provided in the evening. The public meeting may be in the evening, also.
Site visitors may team up to attend one meeting vs the other – if these meetings are scheduled at the same time.

Our program invites the Dean and Provost to the exit report session, along with all the faculty, and support staff. This site team provides strengths and any areas of need to improve. This is an important session for the department team and for the administrators to hear all the facts!

At the exit report, the chairperson of the site team may indicate that when the official visit has completed s/he may state so – and offer time for the department members and administrators to ask questions
‘off the record’.
Usually at this time there are several thank you statements from your department members and the
ASHA team!

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• The arrival of the written site visit report begins the fourth section of the site visit process.
This can be expected 6-8 weeks after the site visit.
The program's written response to the site visit report must be sent to the Accreditation Office within 30 days of the date on which the report was mailed to the program director.

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FROM: http://www.asha.org/academic/accreditation/svmanual/part5/
Purposes of the Site Visit Report
 For the site visitors, the report provides a means of documenting findings and of recording comments and factual data.
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For the CAA, the site visit report documents the verification of application materials and addresses
CAA's initial observations noted from its initial review of the application, so that a decision regarding accreditation can be reached.
For the program, the site visit report provides a summary of the findings of the site visit team relative to each
Standard for Accreditation, as well as noted strengths and limitations. A copy of the report is also sent to the president of the institution, or designee.
Timeline of report and response procedures:
 The Accreditation Office must receive the final draft of the site visit report no later than 30 calendar days after the visit.
 The Accreditation Office then forwards a copy of the site visit report within 10 business days of receiving it to the program director, with a copy to the institution's president or president's designee, for the program's response.
 The program's written response to the site visit report must be sent to the
Accreditation Office within 30 days of the date on which the report was mailed to the program director. The program director's comments concerning the site visit report are sent to the site visit team for any further response.

 START DATE: immediately following the site visit
 DUE DATE: within 30 days of the date on which the site visit report was mailed to the program director

 Meet with relevant faculty and administrators to outline appropriate action plans and a first draft response to the concerns/issues identified at the oral exit report
 Plan to receive the written site visit report 6-8 weeks after the visit
 Arrange meeting/s with relevant faculty and administrators to review the official report and to discuss the recommendations.
This is an important time to reflect on potential areas of growth and communicate any program needs to the CAA and your administrators. The program director will provide a formal written response to CAA.

FROM: http://www.asha.org/academic/accreditation/svmanual/part5/
 The CAA reviews the application, the program's response to the CAA's initial observations, the site visit report, the program's response to the report, and any site visitor comments and makes a final accreditation decision.
 The CAA sends a letter to the program director and the institution's president or president's designee notifying them of the CAA's decision within 30 days of its decision.

FROM: http://www.asha.org/uploadedFiles/CAA-Site-Visit-Preparation.pdf
 CAA makes most final accreditation decisions at faceto-face meetings 2x/year
 Spring site visits = July meeting
 Fall site visits = February meeting
 Programs can typically expect decisions 3-5 months after site visit; 12 months
 after application submission... and no later than 30 days after the CAA meeting