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Eligibility & Selection | Conflict of Interest | Team Composition | Appointment of the Site Visit Team | Responsibilities of the Site Visit Team | Behavior of Site Visitors | Training of New Site Visitors | Continuing Education | Evaluation of Site Visitors
The site visit is an essential and unique step in the accreditation process. The site visit enables members of the team to gain insight into relevant data within the context of the program that is often not conducive to a written description and that can be obtained only by direct observation. Because the site visit and report are very important and valued elements of the program evaluation process by the CAA, the Council has developed a plan for the selection, training, and evaluation of site visitors for the accreditation process, and which elements are reflected in this Manual.
The CAA develops and monitors a roster of site visitors. Academics and practitioners will serve on each site visit team and share all responsibilities in the conduct of the site visit.
The CAA has identified the following qualifications for academic site visitors —
- Earned doctoral degree from a regionally accredited institution
- Rank of associate professor or above or comparably experienced clinical educator
- Faculty appointment in a CAA-accredited program (does not include programs holding candidacy status)
- Maintain membership in the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) and/or hold a Certificate of Clinical Competence (CCC) in Audiology and/or Speech-Language Pathology.
The CAA has identified the following qualifications for practitioner site visitors —
- Earned master's or doctoral degree from a regionally accredited institution in audiology, speech-language pathology, or a related discipline.
- Possess valid Certificate of Clinical Competence (CCC) from ASHA.
- Worked as a practitioner in the area that ASHA certification is held for at least five (5) years.
- Primary employment function is in the direct delivery of speech-language-hearing services. Note: Applicants whose primary employment function is as an on-campus clinical director or supervisor for the purposes of student training within an institution of higher education that offers a graduate education program do not meet this criterion.
ASHA members and/or certificate holders who meet these qualifications may apply to serve as CAA site visitors. The CAA recognizes that, as new processes are developed, there may be need for certain waivers or exceptions to the above qualifications and criteria on an occasional and case-by-case basis in the best interests of the accreditation process. Individuals who are retired, including academics that hold emeritus status, are not eligible to apply as a site visitor. Current members of the Council on Academic Accreditation, the ASHA Executive Board, and staff members at the Accreditation Office may not serve as site visitors.
When applying to be considered to serve as a site visitor, an individual should submit to the CAA at the ASHA Accreditation Office a signed application with a statement of experience in accreditation, clinical education, standards development, and site visit experiences; curriculum vitae; and three references.
Site visitors are appointed for a 4-year academic year term. All CAA site visitors must attend an initial 2-day training workshop held at the ASHA National Office, participate in a trainee visit, and take part in annual training updates at ASHA Convention or in a format to be determined by the CAA. Practitioner site visitors are expected to participate in a minimum of two visits per year. Academic site visitors are expected to participate in up to three site visits per year, and serve as chair if requested. Site visitors are not eligible to serve as a team chair until after serving on at least two site visit teams as a full member.
Continuation on the site visitor roster for the duration of the 4-year term and reappointment to a new term are contingent upon ongoing satisfactory performance of site visitor responsibilities, as outlined below. Site visitors must maintain membership and/or certification with ASHA while continuing in the role of site visitors. Members of the site visitor pool who retire from their professional positions during their term may continue active service as a visitor, but will not be eligible for re-appointment for a new 4-year term.
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Site visitors are representatives of the CAA and the Association. In addition to performing all of their responsibilities on a timely basis and in a suitably professional manner consistent with their roles as representatives of the CAA and the Association, site visitors must avoid all conflicts of interest. The responsibility to determine and avoid any possible conflicts of interest lies primarily with the site visitor and the program being visited.
Conflict of interest is defined by ASHA's Board of Ethics in its Issue in Ethics Statement: "Conflicts of Professional Interest" as:
Situations where personal and/or financial considerations compromise judgment in any professional activity (e.g., clinical, research, consultation, instruction, administration, etc.) or where the situation may appear to provide the potential for professional judgment to be compromised.
This definition is fully applicable to site visitors. Site visiting is a professional activity that must be undertaken with the highest degree of integrity and objectivity. For this reason, site visitors must use extreme caution to avoid any situation affecting, or which may be construed as affecting, the integrity and objectivity of the site visiting process.
Specifically, a CAA site visitor:
- shall not serve as a consultant to any program for which he/she was a member of the site visit team until after the final accreditation decision for that program has been rendered by the CAA.
- shall declare himself/herself ineligible to serve as a site visitor to any program for which he/she has previously served as a consultant.
Obviously, professional judgments by site visitors must not be biased, or influenced in any way, by economic interests in, commitments to, or benefits from the program being visited. Additionally, for the sake of the integrity of the process and confidence in the validity of the results obtained, any situation that might fairly be said to create such a bias or influence should be avoided. A site visitor's personal belief that his or her professional judgment or objectivity is unaffected by gifts or other economic benefits of significant value from the program being visited is not, in and of itself, sufficient protection against conflict of interest.
Although there is no catalog of situations that define conflicts of interest, general guidance can be found in the ASHA Code of Ethics and Issues in Ethics Statement referred to above. Specifically, as applied to site visitors, the following principles pertain.
- Site visitors should neither ask for nor accept gifts or any economic benefit of any kind from the program or institution being visited.
- Site visitors should pay for their own meals as a normal expense of the site visit.
- Site visitors should refrain from involvement in any social activities during the visit. Evenings are reserved for time to confer, to initiate the site visit report, and to prepare for the next day. Invitations usually can be refused gracefully on the basis of workload, paperwork to be completed, and so on.
- Site visitors should refrain from taking advantage of the opportunity afforded by their position on the team to recruit instructional staff members for their own programs.
- Site visitors should not solicit or accept temporary or permanent employment positions with the institution being visited. However, the site visit teams may serve in an advisory capacity at the close of the formal site visit evaluation process, but only at the specific request of the program being visited. Site visit teams must be very clear about the differences in their roles as evaluators of the program as related to compliance with the accreditation standards as noted in the site visit report and as advisors providing suggestions related to the specific requests of the program faculty after the exit report.
- Site visitors should neither request nor accept samples of wares, books, products, or services performed by the institution visited except as germane to the accreditation process.
- Gifts of insignificant or trivial value may be accepted if it is clear that acceptance cannot fairly be said to compromise the integrity or objectivity of the site visitor. Similarly, normal hospitality in connection with the site visit, such as an invitation to lunch with the instructional staff of a program, can be accepted as falling into this category.
Site visitors must remain aware of the potential for conflicts of interest in the discharge of their responsibilities and take the initiative to manage, disclose, or resolve potential conflicts of interest situations appropriately. Voluntary and full disclosure of relevant information is strongly urged in that such disclosure demonstrates good faith on the part of the site visitor and may be a significant factor in evaluating whether a conflict of interest is present. Unresolved potential conflicts should be discussed with the chair of the site visiting team, the chair of the Council on Academic Accreditation, or Accreditation Office staff.
In summary, site visitors must carefully consider all circumstances surrounding an offer of a gift, consultant position, or benefit of any kind, including the apparent purpose of the donor, how the transaction may reasonably be viewed by impartial observers, and the potential impact on the integrity and objectivity of the site visiting process. Preservation of the highest ethical standards is vital to the conduct of independent judgments in the site visiting and accreditation process. Conflicts of professional interest erode the public's trust in this process and must be avoided.
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If a program applies for accreditation in both speech-language pathology and audiology, the site visit team shall consist of at least one speech-language pathologist and one audiologist who are employed in academic institutions. The practitioner member may represent either profession. If a program applies for accreditation in only one area, the site visit team shall consist of two academic members, at least one of whom is in the area in which academic accreditation is sought. The practitioner member will represent the area in which accreditation is sought.
The Accreditation Office staff designate one of the academic members as the site visit team chair. No site visitor can serve as chair until he/she has served as full member of at least two previous site visit teams. Observers may accompany the site visit team.
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The program is given a list of potential site visitors and is asked to remove any names that present a conflict of interest. The program returns the modified list to the Accreditation Office before scheduling of the visit can begin.
An individual may not serve as a site visitor to a given program if he/she (a) lives in the state in which the program is located or in close geographic proximity to the program, (b) has been a member of the faculty/instructional staff of the program, (c) was a student in the program, (d) served as a consultant or as a site visitor to the program during the last accreditation review, or (e) is a faculty member whose program was site visited within the past 5 years by a faculty member of the program currently being evaluated.
Although Accreditation Office staff attempt to monitor these criteria, responsibility for determining any possible conflict of interest, actual or implied, lies with both the program and the site visitor. Site visitors must consider the degree to which they are able to make objective observations, reports, and recommendations. A person who for any reason cannot be objective (e.g., because of personal friendship with a member of the instructional staff of the applicant program, future employment considerations, or biases toward the program) must not serve as a site visitor to a particular program.
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All Site Visitors
- Review thoroughly the current CAA Accreditation Manual before the visit. The Manual specifies the CAA standards, procedures, and policies against which the program is to be evaluated. Complete understanding of the standards is essential to the CAA evaluation process.
- Review thoroughly the program's application, the CAA's letter specifying concerns, the program's response to those concerns, addenda, and correspondence provided by the Accreditation Office. A primary purpose of the site visit is to verify information in the application. The information received should be checked for completeness. The director of the program should expect all site visitors to understand the major aspects of the program.
- Review the site visit agenda critically. The site visitors should discuss preliminary areas of concern so that the chair of the site visit team may request modifications to the agenda in advance of the site visit. The agenda should permit the site visitors to conduct a comprehensive evaluation of the program.
- Outline items in the application and addenda that require clarification. Such items should be explored during the initial interview so that they can be verified during the visit.
- Review the current Standards for the Certificates of Clinical Competence (SCCC) and the implementation procedures for the SCCC. Portions of the CAA accreditation standards relate to an evaluation of the adequacy of a program's preparation of graduate students to meet professional credentialing requirements, including the ASHA CCC, state licensure, and teacher certification.
- Arrange travel plans to allow for a preliminary meeting with all members of the site visit team, preferably in the evening before the start of site visit. Sufficient time should be allowed to define the roles of individual team members in terms of available time and tasks to be performed, areas of concern and strategies to investigate them, the agenda, and the writing of the final report.
- Arrange travel plans to ensure that the program receives its full measure of time. A minimum of 2 full days is required to review the program. In some instances, more than 2 days may be necessary to accommodate the program's needs. If the only return flight on a given day would shorten the site visit, contact the Accreditation Office to request permission to remain an extra night.
- Arrange travel plans to allow adequate time to prepare and deliver the site visitors' exit report and for any other report development tasks currently required by the CAA. Sufficient time should be allowed at the end of the site visit to confer with the program director to obtain clarification and additional information, as necessary.
- Prepare the site visit report in accordance with current CAA guidelines and time lines.
- Complete and return to the CAA all required evaluations.
- Respond to all CAA requests for information and dates of availability, and make every effort to participate actively as a site visitor on a regular basis.
Site Visit Chair
- Communicate with the other team member(s) regarding the:
- agenda,
- establishment of a time for a preliminary meeting,
- observations/concerns about the program.
- Communicate with the program director regarding necessary changes in the agenda, access to program materials, and logistical considerations.
- Assume a leadership role regarding —
- observation and reporting procedures
- roles and responsibilities
- general format of the visit
- explanation of the process for other team members and observers.
- Submit a completed site visit report developed in cooperation with the team members. Current CAA procedures, format, and time lines for preparation of this report should be adhered to closely. The Accreditation Office provides electronically the site visit report template to the site visit chair in advance of the visit. Timely completion of the site visit report and its return to the CAA are essential to ensure that the accreditation process proceeds smoothly. Failure to submit site visit reports promptly may result in the site visitor's removal from the roster.
- Complete and return all required evaluation forms to the Accreditation Office.
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Site visitors serve as representatives of the CAA. They are expected to perform all responsibilities in an ethical, moral, timely, and professional manner. The following suggestions are intended to serve as reminders.
- Site visitors should dress professionally.
- Site visitors should be prompt and allow sufficient time to satisfy comfortably all commitments of the visit; avoid late arrivals and early departures.
- Site visitors should exercise tact and care in everything they say and do, both when soliciting information and when answering questions. The site visitors are invited guests of the institution and are expected to render a professional service for which the facility has paid.
- Site visitors should exhibit an attitude of encouragement. Words with negative connotations should be avoided, as should reprimands and lectures.
- Site visitors must maintain confidentiality. All information gathered by the site visitors is confidential. Problems in the specific facility must never be discussed with others.
- Site visitors should appear calm and confident, although it is normal to feel some apprehension the first time one serves as a site visitor. A site visitor should not inform people at the site that he/she is inexperienced.
- Site visitors should be sensitive to feelings of anxiety or apprehension evidenced by others during the site visit review. Program directors will have arranged interviews with presidents, deans, instructional staff, students, alumni, employers, and the public.
- Site visitors must pay for their own meals as a normal expense of the site visit. An exception might be an invitation to a luncheon meeting with certain groups (e.g., instructional staff or off-campus supervisors).
- Site visitors should use extreme caution to avoid any situation that might be construed as affecting their integrity or objectivity in the site visit process.
- Site visitors should refrain from involvement in any social activities during the site visit. Evenings are reserved for time to confer, to initiate the site visit report, and to prepare for the next day. Invitations usually can be refused gracefully on the basis of workload, paperwork to be completed, etc.
- Site visitors should refrain from taking advantage of the opportunity afforded by their position on the team to recruit instructional staff members for their own programs.
- Site visitors should not suggest themselves as consultants to or as temporary or permanent employees of the institution.
- Site visitors should not accept or even request a sample of the wares of an institution—a book, product, or a service performed—unless appropriate to collecting materials for the site visit report.
- Site visitors should keep in mind that programs are reviewed in terms of the program's and institution's stated mission and goals; visitors should avoid biased comments or suggestions. The site visitor's role is to verify information in the application, not to serve as an advisor, except if requested by the program at the completion of the exit report.
- Site visitors should not indicate whether or not they believe the program being visited will be awarded accreditation. That is the responsibility of the CAA.
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The CAA recognizes that there is a significant learning process in becoming sufficiently familiar with CAA standards and site visit mechanisms to function independently as a site visitor. In recognition of this need for training, newly appointed site visitors participate in a series of educational experiences designed to prepare them to serve as effective visitors.
Following initial appointment to the site visitor roster, new site visitors are provided with a copy of materials pertinent to effective CAA site visitation, including the CAA Accreditation Manual and CAA Site Visit Manual.
New site visitors are required to attend a 2-day training workshop at the ASHA Accreditation Office following their appointment. This session provides training in the logistics of the on-site review process, the interview process, focusing on appropriate site visit team dynamics and questioning strategies, and interpretation of the CAA accreditation standards.
Each new site visitor is sent as a trainee on his/her initial visit. The chair of the site visit team should provide clarification and feedback to the trainee throughout the planning meetings and visit, as appropriate. At the end of this site visit the chair will provide a written evaluation of the new site visitor to the CAA. If serious concerns are raised about aspects of the new site visitor's performance, the CAA may choose a variety of options to extend the training process.
After the trainee visit and a positive evaluation, new site visitors will assume full responsibility as a site visit member. At the end of this first official site visit the chair will provide a written evaluation to the CAA.
This entire training process is intended to be a positive experience that provides the new site visitor with sufficient hands-on experience and feedback to feel confident in his/her role.
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Over time, changes may occur in CAA's accreditation standards and their interpretations. All site visitors are sent updates on all such changes. In addition, continuing education sessions are offered annually at the ASHA Convention to clarify any changes for both site visitors and program directors.
Site visitors are expected to attend professional development sessions conducted annually at the ASHA Convention during their 4-year term. A site visitor can appeal to the chair of the CAA to be excused from the Convention workshop in a given year because of schedule conflicts. In the spirit of commitment, a site visitor should not be absent 2 consecutive years.
In addition, the CAA is committed to providing site visitors with ongoing training and opportunities for self-assessment. Site visit team members receive a final copy of the site visit report, which has been reviewed for grammar, consistency, and clarity by the CAA chair and staff before being sent to the program. This final report is provided with any edits highlighted in an effort to provide feedback to the authors. In addition, the final CAA accreditation decision and rationale regarding a specific program will be provided to the individuals who conducted the site visit to that program on behalf of the CAA. This information should be kept confidential and not be divulged to any outside party. All materials related to the site visit should be purged once the final accreditation decision letter is received.
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After the site visit:
- The program director completes the Program Site Visit Questionnaire (Appendix A) to evaluate the members of the site visit team as well as the process and forwards the completed questionnaire to the Accreditation Office.
- Each member of the team completes a Site Visit Team Peer Evaluation (Appendix B) on his/her team mate(s) and forwards the evaluation(s) to the Accreditation Office.
- The site visit chair also will complete an evaluation of the trainee using New Site Visitor Peer/Self-Evaluation (Appendix C), when appropriate. The chair is encouraged to provide feedback to the trainee within one week of the visit to discuss the conduct of the visit as well as their performance. The chair may submit the other completed peer evaluation at the same time as the site visit report.
- The trainee may wish to use Appendix C as a self-evaluation during the initial visit.
These written site visitor evaluations form part of an ongoing assessment process that is carried out by the CAA. The CAA site visitors make a significant contribution to the professions through their outstanding volunteer efforts to ensure the maintenance of high standards in the graduate education of future audiologists and speech-language pathologists. To assist site visitors in performing their responsibilities effectively and to ensure that the site visit portion of the accreditation process is conducted in an exemplary fashion, the CAA maintains confidential records on site visitor performance. These evaluative records are reviewed on a regular basis by the CAA, and feedback is provided to site visitors.
Records also are used to revise the site visitor roster. Criteria for removal from the site visitor roster include (a) a change affecting eligibility, (b) consistent substandard performance, (c) failure to participate in annual training updates during 4-year term, (d) documented violation of the ASHA Code of Ethics, and (e) continued unavailability for visits. In addition, receipt of consistent complaints (over more than one site visit) and consistent late submission of reports are performance factors that are monitored and reviewed annually.
In addition to completing the Program Site Visit Questionnaire, a program director may contact the CAA chair or the chair of the CAA Site Visit Subcommittee at any time to discuss specific concerns regarding a site visit or team member.
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