CAA Site Visits: What to Expect, How to Prepare
Adapted for the Web from Lunch-time Session presented
11/18/06
at ASHA Convention in Miami Beach, Florida.
CAA Site Visit Subcommittee for 2006
- Ellayne Ganzfried
- Fred Britten
- Susan Snover
- Wayne Swisher
Session Objectives
- Site Visit - purpose & timing in review
- Agenda Development & Logistics
- Preparing Documentation
- After the Site Visit
- Site Visit Report
- CAA's final review and decision
- Evaluations
- Update on CAA activities and policies
Purpose of the Site Visit
- One of several mechanisms used by CAA to determine
compliance with the Standards for Accreditation
- Review by a team of peers
- Verifies the accuracy of information provided in the
application
- Resolves any questions or concerns that resulted from
review of the application
- Results in recommendations and suggestions on how the
program can improve the quality of education
- Provides additional information to CAA to make
accreditation decisions
- Past verification looked only at the process.
- Now, in addition to reviewing the policies and processes,
we look at
- how well the program meets its goals
- whether the program is successful with respect to student
achievement
A Few Basic Questions
- What should your graduates look like?
- How did you determine this?
- Did you share this vision with all students, faculty, and
supervisors?
Prior to the Visit
- CAA reviews application & provides initial observations
back to the program
- Program has opportunity to respond to observations
- Site visit team receives copies of CAA's observations
& the program's response
Does the program have input on when the visit occurs?
Yes. Program identifies the dates for team to come to
campus.
- Team expected to see "typical" days in the
program
- Don't provide dates during Spring Break or Final
Exams!
- Bear in mind dates of other accreditation site visits that
may affect the program (e.g., NCATE)
- CAA is happy to coordinate simultaneous visits with
sufficient notice.
- Potential dates should be provided to the National Office
staff when application is submitted.
Team Composition
How many people are coming to campus?
- Standard team = 3 members
- 2 academics + 1 practitioner
- Trainees or observers
- Team for SLP-only
- Team for audiology-only
- Team for SLP & audiology
- 1 academic from each area, practitioner could be from
either
Does the program have input on who serves on the team?
- Yes. Program is asked to eliminate individuals from the
site visitor roster that pose a conflict of interest
before
the visit is scheduled.
- In addition, site visitors are asked to identify programs
that may be a conflict of interest for them to serve as a site
visitor.
Observers on Site Visits
- Members of the CAA routinely observe site visits to
- complete CAA members' education
- allow opportunity for assessment of site visit process
for consistency, best practices, and ideas for training and
continuing education of pool of site visitors
- Individual programs are not the focus of an observation
visit
- CAA has established precautions to protect program
if/when an observer is assigned
Myth vs. Fact #1
Site visitors have the authority to recommend
accreditation status for a program, including
probation.
No, the above statement is a
Myth. The role of the site visitors is to verify evidence a
program's compliance with standards. The CAA has the sole
authority to make accreditation decisions, considering
information contained in the site visit report as well as any
updates provided by the program in its response to the site visit
report.
Agenda Development
Who's responsible for developing the agenda?
- Program Director should take the lead to draft
- Build-in time for breaks and travel between locations if
events are scheduled in different buildings
- Sample agenda provided in the Site Visit Manual
- Consult with the chair of the site visit team at least 30
days in advance
- Share draft agenda
- Site Visit Chair will make recommendations about order of
events, logistics, people, or time
Scheduling Site Visitors
- Site visitors should be scheduled separately
- to visit with individual faculty and supervisors
- for public and/or student meeting(s)
- Site visitors should be scheduled
together
for meetings with Program Director, Dean, Provost, etc.
- It is not necessary to schedule observations in the
clinic.
How long will the team be visiting?
- Standard visit is 2 full days
- Monday-Tuesday
- Thursday-Friday
- Days may be added if the program
- Has
multiple
campuses
- Has
satellite
campus(es)
- Is part of a
consortium
Who participates in the visit?
- Program Director, Clinic Director, Dept. Chair (if
different than program director)
- Full- and part-time academic faculty
- Clinical educators & supervisors (on- &
off-campus)
- Administrators - deans, provost, president
- Students & Alumni
- Support staff
- Employers
- Clients & their families
- Members of the campus or local communities
What do I need to do about organizing a "public
meeting"?
- CAA
policy
requires programs to schedule meetings for students and
consumers
- separate meetings may be held for each
- Must "widely" publish an announcement
- no later than 15 days prior to the site visit
- program determines vehicle (campus/local newspaper,
clinic or campus flyers, etc.)
- Announcement should indicate
- date, time, & place of meeting(s) with site
visitors
- how CAA Standards and/or Policy on Public Comment may be
obtained
Can programs solicit public comments for submission to CAA
before the visit?
- Yes. Programs may contact students, alumni, clients,
community members, etc. to inform them about the options to
provide comments before or during the site visit. CAA's
Policy on Public Comment outlines the process for submitting
information to the CAA.
- Written comments must be signed and include contact
information to allow for verification.
- Any comments are not shared directly with programs; rather
they are considered as part of the aggregate data.
Will the team need to go off-campus to conduct
reviews/interviews?
- Not necessarily. Phone interviews can be arranged to speak
with external supervisors, employers, or alumni.
- If there is not an on-campus clinic, teams prefer to go to
regularly used clinical site(s)
close
to campus, if possible.
Logistics for site visit team
- Secure work space/office
- Access to computer with printer & Internet
- Access to phone for interviews
- Restaurant/food options
- Assistance with transportation
- Hotel Accommodations
- Program chair usually selects hotel, makes
reservations
- Program chair will provide visitors with hotel contact
information
- Site visitor may need to contact hotel to guarantee
room
- Site visitor will pay for room (and then is reimbursed by
ASHA)
Myth vs. Fact #2
The program should provide evening entertainment while
the site visitors are in town.
The above statement is a
Myth! The site visitors are expected to meet with their teammates in
the evenings to prepare for the next day's events. Also,
social activities may be perceived as a conflict of interest for
the site visitor during the time of the visit.
- Other examples of conflicts for site visitors would
be:
- asking for or accepting gifts
- accepting or requesting a sample of wares
- accepting payment for meals
- recruiting instructional staff
- recruiting students
- accepting employment positions
Documentation
- What will site visitors be looking for?
- Information that provides evidence that the program is
complying with all standards.
- How do site visitors use the documentation viewed
on-site?
- To verify information from application
- To ensure policies are in practice - and practices are in
policies
- To confirm student achievement/progress tracking
- What specific documents will site visitors expect to have
prepared for their review?
Two resources that were developed to assist programs in their
preparations are:
Access to Files
- FERPA - students
- Allows access to student files for purposes of
accreditation
- Site visitors will not record or report any identifying
information
- HIPAA - clinic "covered entity"
- Need release forms for access to client files or site
visitors may sign a form acknowledging confidentiality
- Program may prepare files to strip client's
identifying information, but it is not necessary
Myth vs. Fact #3
Site visitors will expect to find a "KASA"
form for each student.
The above statement is a
Myth. The CAA does not require programs to keep a Knowledge and
Skills Acquisition (KASA) summary form in each student file. [The
KASA form is part of the ASHA certification application.]
However, evidence should exist for tracking a
student's:
- acquisition of knowledge and skills does
- supervised practicum clinical hours
- progress toward graduation
- progress toward state and national credentials
Myth vs. Fact #4
Site visitors' in-depth knowledge of the program is
typically limited to the current accreditation application and
related resources, i.e. program's Web site.
The above statement is a
Fact. The site visit team is
not
provided past applications or annual reports for their review for
the visit. Nor is a history of the program's identified
strengths, weaknesses, etc. provided. Site visitors are
encouraged to review the Web pages of the program and university
to verify data and its currency.
Site Visit Report
- Site visit team is required to generate a report of the
site visit
- SV Report becomes official record of team's
observations
- Seen as critical element by the CAA to make fair,
impartial, and informed decisions on program's
accreditation
- Presented twice to the program:
- orally at the end of visit (Exit Report)
- written and submitted to National Office within 30 days
of the visit
- Program can expect to receive their copy 4-8 weeks after
visit
Myth vs. Fact #5
Observations reported by the team may be different than
those identified by the CAA in its review of the
application.
The above statement is a
Fact.
The site visit team has access to documentation on site that the
CAA does not have while conducting its initial review of the
application and, as a s result, the site visitors may offer a
different perspective on compliance.
Site Visit Report Response
- Program & administration, typically the president or
dean, receive copies of the site visit report
- May provide written response regarding the accuracy of the
site visitors' observations before the CAA makes a final
accreditation decision.
CAA Decisions
CAA makes the most final accreditation decisions at
face-to-face meetings twice a year:
- Spring site visits = Summer meeting decision
- Fall site visits = Winter/early Spring meeting
decision
Programs can typically expect decisions 3-5 months after site
visit; 12 months after application submission.
Myth vs. Fact #6
The site visit team's report findings are the only
data used by CAA for final accreditation decisions and
citations.
The above statement is a
Myth. The CAA considers all information, from the accreditation
application through the program's response to the site visit
report and any program updates, to determine a program's
compliance with each standard and the resulting accreditation
decision.
Evaluations
- Remember to complete and return your program questionnaire
on the visit and the team members immediately following the
site visit.
- The evaluation form can be accessed online as an appendix
to the
Site
Visit Manual.
Myth vs. Fact #7
Returning completed site visit and visitor evaluations
before the final decision is rendered will affect the results
of the accreditation decision.
The above statement is a
Myth! The evaluations are used to improve the site visit process and
performance of site visitors. Evaluation materials are not
considered when the CAA renders accreditation decisions.
Resources