Accreditation Handbook—Chapter II: Mission and Principles of the CAA
In the fall of 2017, the CAA fielded its triennial Accreditation Customer Feedback Survey (CFS) to just under 6,000 program directors, academic faculty, and clinical faculty at CAA-accredited and candidate programs. This survey gave faculty the opportunity to provide feedback about:
- Site visits
- Annual report and re-accreditation processes
- 2017 Standards for Accreditation
- Value of CAA Accreditation
- Satisfaction with the accreditation program
- Areas for CAA to consider for future focus and resource development
A total of 1,086 individuals (19%) of those invited to participate responded to the 2017 survey, providing over 2,500 individual comments in response to open-ended questions in several categories.
Overall Satisfaction
In terms of overall satisfaction with CAA’s accreditation program, 74% of respondents indicated that they were somewhat or very satisfied, continuing the upward trend from 65% and 58% of respondents satisfied with the CAA’s accreditation program in 2013 and 2010, respectively. Open-ended comments under the satisfaction category have been grouped into several areas for the CAA to examine further to identify common themes and suggest targeted improvements.
Vision, Purpose, and Core Values
In terms of the CAA meeting its vision and purpose, respondents noted the following:
- 92% of respondents feel that the CAA is successfully meeting its vision “to engage academic programs in strategic partnerships for the advancement of quality education and enhancement of the professions”
- 94% of respondents feel that the CAA is successfully meeting its purpose “to assure quality in preparation of students in audiology and speech-language pathology to serve the professions and the public”
For its core values, the CAA received its highest ratings for accountability and credibility (95% of respondents feel that the CAA is somewhat or very successful at meeting those two values); creativity and innovation garnered the lowest ratings (85% of respondents feel the CAA is somewhat or very successful at meeting those two values).
Next Steps
The CAA thanks all academic faculty, clinical faculty, and program directors who provided feedback via the 2017 CFS and assures stakeholders that their voices have been heard. The CAA greatly values suggestions for improvements from those who are most familiar with the process and the accreditation program itself.
The CAA is currently reviewing the more than 2,500 comments received, and will use the data to drive the CAA’s work in making improvements to existing processes, develop new initiatives and resources, and serve as the foundation for developing its next Strategic Plan. Stay tuned for more details about the improvements and efficiencies resulting from the 2017 Accreditation CFS how your thoughtful input supports CAA’s vision and purpose.
