The CAA has adopted Standards for Accreditation as necessary conditions for accreditation of eligible graduate education programs. Compliance with all standards represents the minimum requirement for accreditation, regardless of mode of delivery, including distance education. All CAA reviews and decisions, including candidacy, are based on the program’s compliance with the CAA’s Standards for Accreditation.
As a recognized accrediting agency by the U.S. Secretary of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation, the CAA is required to conduct a comprehensive review of its standards on a periodic basis, and does so every 5 to 8 years. The CAA also may conduct an interim review on an as-needed basis to provide clarification or to ensure continued compliance with recognition criteria. When revisions are identified through either a comprehensive or an interim review, the CAA will initiate action to make the changes and complete that process, which will include opportunity for stakeholders to review proposed changes and offer comment.
After the last comprehensive review, the CAA implemented revised Standards for Accreditation of Graduate Education Programs in Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology on August 1, 2017.
Additional modifications went into effect on August 1, 2020 for the Requirements for Review for Standards 1.8 (Equitable Treatment), 1.9 (Public Information), and 4.10 (Verification of Student Identity for Distance Education). Please review the changes and rationale in the August 2020 side-by-side document [PDF].
New revisions will go into effect on January 1, 2023 for the Requirements for Review for Standards: 1.1 (Institutional Accreditation), 1.9 (Public Information), 3.1A (Audiology Curriculum), 3.1B (Speech-Language Pathology Curriculum), 3.4A/3.4B (Diversity Reflected in the Curriculum), 3.8A/3.8B (Clinical Education-Client Welfare), 5.2 (Program Assessment of Students), 5.7 (Employment Rate) and 5.8 (Analysis of Student Outcome Measures). The CAA streamlined the Professional Practice Competencies listed under Standard 3.1A and Standard 3.1B. The CAA has developed targeted resources to support programs with the 2023 revisions in addition to the side-by-side comparison [PDF].