The CAA approved the following edits to the Accreditation Handbook [PDF].
July 2026 Meeting
- CAA Site Visitors and Compliance Review Committee (Chapter VIII): Revised to add procedures around the composition and selection of Compliance Review Committee (CRC) volunteers.
- Enrollment Monitoring and Reporting (Chapter XI): Added to codify the practices of annual enrollment monitoring for accredited and candidate programs.
- Public Notice of Accreditation Actions (Chapter XIII): Revised to clarify the methods of reporting accreditation decisions to programs, the U.S. Department of Education, and the public.
- CAA Reporting and Communication with the Department of Education (Chapter XII): Revised to further codify the practices of accreditation staff when communicating with the Department of Education in accordance with regulatory criterion.
- Decisions Rendered by Institutional Accreditation and State Agencies (Chapter XI): Revised to clarify the requirement to consider a separate negative accreditation decision if another agency issues an adverse action.
- References to “regional” accreditors (Chapters V, VII, X): Revised to remove all references to “regional” accreditation agencies.
July 2025 Meeting
- Development and Review of Standards (Chapter XIV): Revised to allow for faster review and implementation of the standards due to extenuating circumstances or regulatory changes.
- Records Maintenance (Chapter V): Revised to clarify that all decision letters are maintained permanently.
- Changes in Institutional Accreditation Status (Chapter XI): Revised to better align with 34 CFR §602.28 and the Criteria for Recognition by the Department of Education.
- CAA Reporting and Communication with the Department of Education (Chapter XII): Added to codify the practices of accreditation staff when communicating with the Department of Education.
- Initial and Reaccreditation Applications (Chapter XVII): Revised to clarify that programs may not return to Candidacy status if they are unable to maintain initial accreditation.
- Appeals (Chapter XVIII): Revised to clarify that the decision of an appeals panel will be submitted to the program, CAA, and ASHA Vice Presidents for Academic Affairs in writing.
- Application for Candidacy (Chapter XVI): Updated to include a fifth Candidacy submission slot dedicated to developing audiology programs, per cohort.
September 2024 Meeting
- Composition (Chapter V): Updated to reflect the addition of the "Immediate Past Chair" to the CAA, bringing the total number of council members to 19.
July and September 2023 Meetings
- Complaints Against Graduate Education Programs and Complaints Against the Council on Academic Accreditation (Chapter XIII): Updated to include email addresses to submit complaints virtually and remove the requirement to submit a physical complaint in writing.
- Further Consideration and Appeal Procedures (Chapter XVIII): Revised to clarify further consideration scenarios, the appeals process and procedures, timelines, and costs.
- Hybrid Site Visits (Chapter XIX): Edited to clarify the use and timing of hybrid or virtual site visits for candidacy and accreditation reviews.
March 2023 Meeting
- Student Achievement Measures/Initial and Reaccreditation Applications – Employment Rate Data (Chapter XI and XVII): Edited to remove language mentioning employment rate as a required student outcome measurement.
- Appeals Process Mailing Address (Chapter XVIII): Updated the mailing address for appeals requests based on changes stemming from ASHA’s remote work policy to ensure timely receipt of requests.
- Committees (Chapter V): Updated language in the Handbook to reflect the CAA’s decision to disband the Operations Committee in January 2023.
July 2022 Meeting
- Reporting Administrative Structure Change (Chapter XI): Edited to clarify differences between reporting on internal changes and the CAA’s new policy and procedures for more complex institutional structure changes.
- Reporting Institutional Structure Changes (Chapter XI): Added new policy and procedures to address complex institutional structure changes and their impact on CAA accredited or candidate programs.
- Investigation of Adverse Information (Chapter XIII): Updated procedures and process timelines to align with existing procedures (e.g., decision notification, complaints).
- Effective Date for Final Adverse Actions Taken by the CAA (Chapter XVII, XVIII): Updated the language throughout the Handbook to make consistent when a final adverse action taken by the CAA would take effect (e.g., withhold or withdraw an accreditation status from a program).
February 2022 Meeting
- Site Visitor Qualifications and Eligibility (Chapter VII): Modified qualifications and eligibility conditions for academic faculty and clinical faculty site visitors to now allow the following:
- Individuals with experience in an accredited program but working in a candidacy program may qualify for positions that were previously banned for new applicants.
- Individuals who are newly retired from university positions are now eligible to apply for these site visitor positions (within 3 years of anticipated appointment date); this was previously banned for new applicants.
- Public Disclosure of Accreditation Status (Chapters XI and XII) – The following changes were made to these chapters:
- Updated the expectations to include the stipulation that applicant and candidacy applicant programs must use the specified template language in this policy.
- Added a requirement that the status statement specify all approved modalities to be included in the program’s accreditation – residential, distance education, satellite location, and/or contractual arrangement.
- Added a requirement for those programs seeking approval to add a modality to their accreditation status to publish a “pending” status on its website or in promotional materials until CAA has approved the additional modality.
- Translation Services (Chapters XV and XIX) – The following changes were made to these chapters:
- Clarified CAA’s expectations for the conduct of accreditation reviews in English, including site visits.
- Updated language to reflect more contemporary references to interpreters, translators, and transliterators.
- Religious Mission Exemption Declaration (Chapter XV): Added a policy that requires programs housed in institutions that may qualify for exemption from any federal antidiscrimination provisions based on the institution’s religious tenets to disclose that status and provide documentation. The CAA will consider this information on a case-by-case basis and will determine whether or how it affects a program’s compliance with accreditation standards.
- Focused Site Visits (Chapter XIX): Codified CAA’s practice that CAA will not publish dates of focused site visits but may require a program to inform stakeholders or host a public meeting during a focused site visit, if warranted. Focused site visits are a vehicle available to the CAA to collect more information about a program’s compliance with standards by visiting campus when a decision is pending.
September 2021 Meeting
- Maintaining Qualifications as a Site Visitor (Chapter V): Approved changes to the process for assignment of site visitors to a team when their role in the site visitor pool changes.
- Program Eligibility (Chapter X): Added clarifying language for applicant programs to CAA’s conditions for a program’s eligibility to seek an accreditation status.
- Seeking Approval of Substantive Changes – Satellite Location (Chapter XI): Modified definition for satellite location—removing references to branch campus—and added a definition of "independent program."
- Investigation of Adverse Information (Chapter XIII): Added new policy and procedures to outline how the CAA would consider potentially adverse information and to investigate a program’s compliance with standards or policies based on information received outside of the complaint and public comment processes.
- Site Visit Team Composition (Chapter XIX): Added a statement that to the extent possible, CAA would not place site visitors employed by the same academic institution on the same site visit team.
July 2021 Meeting
- Selection Procedures for CAA and CAA Nominating Committee (Chapter VI): Codified processes that allow for qualified applicants to run opposed; allows the CAA to appoint CAA Nominating Committee members in the event no qualified applicants submit applications.
- Site Visit Chair Qualifications (Chapter VII): Approved language to allow for exceptions to site visit chair qualifications on a case-by-case basis but would continue to support integrity of accreditation program.
- Structure of Accreditation Fees/Payment of Accreditation Fees (Chapter IX): Updated language to reflect business practices for invoicing and collection of accreditation fees.
- Notice of Intent Fee (Chapters IX, XVI): Added language to reflect new Notice of Intent fee to be required as part of the pre-submission process for candidacy applicants as of January 1, 2022.
- Candidacy Application Timelines (Chapters XI, XVI): Revised candidacy application timelines to better align processes and provide timely notification of candidacy decisions.
- Public Notice of Accreditation Status (Chapter XII): Updated language in the policy and the examples to clarify CAA’s intent that the title and the abbreviation of the degree program that holds an accreditation status must be clearly specified in the program’s accreditation statement.
- Consultative Conferences (Chapters XV, XVI, XVII): Approved procedures for when CAA will require or strongly recommend programs deemed in jeopardy participate in a consultative conference with CAA and accreditation staff.
- Enforcement of Standards (Chapter XVII): Added clarifying language to CAA’s policy for monitoring programs so that when the review of a second consecutive report reveals that noncompliance issues continue for the same standard(s), regardless of which requirements for review are identified, a program will be placed on probation or accreditation withdrawn.
February 2021 Meeting
- Consultative Framework (Chapter V): Added opportunity for consultative conversations for at-risk programs, e.g, program placed on probation, to discuss issues, expectations, and progress. The CAA is piloting this process during spring 2021.
- Distance Education (Chapters XII, XV): Updated definition to reflect changes in July 2021 regarding USDE regulations on defining distance education definition and substantive interactions. The CAA is updating its report forms to reflect the changes for programs reporting beginning August 1, 2021.