At the heart of the CAAHEP accreditation system are the nationally recognized Standards and Guidelines for each profession within CAAHEP.
The CAAHEP Standards and Guidelines Template
To facilitate the Standards revision process, CAAHEP provides to its member Committees on Accreditation (CoAs) the CAAHEP Standards and Guidelines Template – this template provides a framework for every set of CAAHEP Standards. The Template is a reflection of CAAHEP's commitment to the assessment of outcomes, fair business and educational practices, ethical standards, due process and consistency throughout the CAAHEP system.
CAAHEP defines Standards as the minimum requirements to which an accredited program is held accountable.
Guidelines are simply descriptions, examples or recommendations that elaborate on the Standards. Guidelines are not required, but can assist with possible interpretations of the Standards.
The Standards Review and Revision Process
The process of creating and revising Standards and Guidelines is complex. Minimally CAAHEP calls upon the CoAs to review and/or revise the Standards and Guidelines at least once every 5 years.
The CoAs with whom CAAHEP collaborates in the accreditation process are responsible for identifying issues within their profession and developing new Standards language. Language that originates within the CoAs as part of the Standards review and revision process is shared with the CAAHEP Standards Committee. The CAAHEP Standards Committee (per CAAHEP Policy) works with each CoA to ensure that the Standards are clear and that they adhere to the CAAHEP Standards Template. Once the review is complete, and the CoA(s) and the Standards Committee are in agreement, the CoA sends the revised Standards to its sponsoring organization(s) for approval. Then an open hearing is held and, if appropriate, the Standards Committee forwards the revised Standards to the CAAHEP Board of Directors for final approval.
CAAHEP requires that throughout the standards revision process the CoAs must seek input from their sponsoring organizations, their identified communities of interest and the CAAHEP Standards Committee. This system of review takes time in order to ensure that all changes are necessary and accurately reflect the current state of the profession. Changes to the Standards and Guidelines are significant because they ultimately affect hundreds of programs and thousands of students and future health practitioners.
Emergency Preparedness and CAAHEP Standards
CAAHEP believes that all entry level allied health students must have an understanding of their specific role in an emergency environment, both as citizens and health professionals.
The CAAHEP Board of Directors has identified emergency preparedness as a relevant concern and is urging its inclusion in every set of CAAHEP Standards and Guidelines. Thus, each CoA has been asked to consider revising the Standards and Guidelines for their profession to include, to the extent appropriate, language concerning emergency preparedness. To facilitate the inclusion of emergency preparedness into each set of CAAHEP Standards, staff assistance and support is being provided to each CoA. This support includes the development of model emergency preparedness language that CoAs can adopt or they can develop their own language.
Not all CAAHEP professions will need to introduce emergency preparedness into their Standards and Guidelines as the topic is already present. But even these professions are being urged to re-emphasize or elaborate on emergency preparedness language that may already be in the Standards and Guidelines.
How Do You Feel About Emergency Preparedness?
An important part of the CAAHEP Standards Review and Revision process is the opportunity for public comment from all interested parties (health care professionals, educators etc.). CAAHEP has created a community and facilitated the public comment process by making space available on this website for both general comment and, as new language is proposed by CoAs, for specific reactions by profession. As always, an open hearing will be held on any proposed revised Standards prior to a set of Standards being forwarded to the CAAHEP Board of Directors for approval. Click here to access our forum.