School psychology program earns full accreditation renewal
The UF College of Education’s doctoral degree program in school psychology recently earned the full seven-year accreditation renewal from the commission on accreditation for the American Psychological Association.
The continued accreditation status is the longest term achievable for a Doctor of Philosophy program in school psychology and extends until 2021.
Professor John Kranzler, director of UF’s school psychology program, likens APA national accreditation to the “Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval” for training programs in the psychology field, but also says it’s much more than that.
“Accreditation is not simply a status, it’s also a process,” he said. “Accreditation signifies that the program is committed to the practice of self-study to continuously seek ways to improve the quality of education and training.”
The process for UF’s school psychology program began more than a year ago with the submission of a 666-page self-study report, which assessed and documented virtually every aspect of the program, from training goals to financial resources to the quality of students and faculty. An APA review team of academic peers visited the College of Education campus last December and then prepared preliminary and final reports with their findings.
In its report, the accreditation team noted particular strengths in the UF program’s high quality and diversity of its students, the excellence of its practicum placements and field supervision, and the use of data-based decision-making to enhance the students’ doctoral training experience.
The College of Education’s Ed.S. and Ph.D. programs in school psychology also have long been accredited by the Florida Department of Education and approved as “nationally recognized” by the national Council for Accreditation of Education Preparation (formerly known as the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education).
“Maintaining concurrent accreditation by multiple state and national organizations is no easy task, because the criteria and standards for each are somewhat different and each requires a great deal of self-study and documentation,” Kranzler said.
CONTACTS
SOURCE: John Kranzler, director, school psychology program, UF College of Education, jkranzler@coe.ufl.edu; 352-273-4119
WRITER: Larry Lansford, director, news and communications, UF College of Education; llansford@coe.ufl.edu; 352-273-4137
