<New Experience Standards

BACB APPROVED UNIVERSITY EXPERIENCE
BOARD CERTIFIED ASSOCIATE BEHAVIOR ANALYST (BCABA)
June 2006

Categories of Supervised Experience:

There are three categories of experience: Supervised Independent Fieldwork, Practicum, and Intensive Practicum.  Students may accrue experience in only one category at a time.  Practicum and Intensive Practicum may be accrued only in a BACB approved university experience program.

Amount of Supervised Experience Required: 

Supervised Independent Fieldwork: Students must complete 1000 hours of Supervised Independent Fieldwork in behavior analysis.  The distribution of Supervised Independent Fieldwork hours must be at least 10 hours per week, but not more than 30 hours per week, for a minimum of 3 weeks per month.
 
Practicum (University only):  Students must complete 670 hours of Practicum in behavior analysis within a university experience program approved by the BACB.  The distribution of Practicum hours must be at least 10 hours per week, but not more than 25 hours per week, for a minimum of 3 weeks per month.

Intensive Practicum (University only):  Students must complete 500 hours of Intensive Practicum in behavior analysis within a university experience program approved by the BACB.  The distribution of Intensive Practicum hours must be at least 10 hours per week, but not more than 25 hours per week, for a minimum of 3 weeks per month.

Approved University Experience: 

Current Contact Faculty for universities with BACB approved course sequences may apply to the BACB for approved experience on a form provided by the BACB.  Universities may seek approval using a single experience category or a combination of Practicum, Intensive Practicum, and/or Supervised Independent Fieldwork; however students may accrue experience in only one category at a time.  Practicum has 1½ times the value of Supervised Independent Fieldwork, and Intensive Practicum has 2 times the value of Supervised Independent Fieldwork.  All approved university experience, including Supervised Independent Fieldwork, must be completed for academic credit with a passing grade.

Amount of Supervision Required:

Supervised Independent Fieldwork:  Students must be supervised at least once every 2 weeks for 5% of the total hours they spend in Supervised Independent Fieldwork.  Total supervision must be at least 50 hours.  A supervisory period is two weeks.

Practicum*:  Students must be supervised at least weekly for 10% (7.5% minimum) of the total hours they spend in University Practicum.  Total supervision must be at least 67 hours (50 minimum).  A supervisory period is one week.

Intensive Practicum*:  Students must be supervised at least twice weekly for 15% (10% minimum) of the total hours they spend in Intensive University Practicum.  Total supervision must be at least 75 hours (50 minimum).  A supervisory period is one week.

* Supervision requirements for Practicum and Intensive Practicum are given at both recommended and minimum (italicized) levels.  The BACB reserves the right to enforce supervision at the recommended levels pursuant to reasonable notice.

COMPARISON OF CATEGORIES

Onset of Experience: 

Students may not start accumulating experience until they have begun the coursework required to meet the BACB coursework requirements.

Appropriate Student Activities: 

The student’s primary focus should be on learning new behavior analytic skills related to the BACB Third Edition Task List.  Activities must adhere to the dimensions of applied behavior analysis identified by Baer, Wolf, and Risley (1968) in the article Some Current Dimensions of Applied Behavior Analysis published in the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis.  Students are encouraged to have experiences in multiple sites and with multiple supervisors. 

Appropriate experience activities include:

1. Conducting assessment activities related to the need for behavioral interventions,
   
   
2. Designing, implementing, and monitoring behavior analysis programs for clients,
   
   
3. Overseeing the implementation of behavior analysis programs by others,
   
   
4. Other activities normally performed by a behavior analyst that are directly related to behavior analysis such as attending planning meetings regarding the behavior analysis program, researching the literature related to the program, talking to individuals about the program; plus any additional activities related to oversight of behavioral programming such as behavior analyst supervision issues, or evaluation of behavior analysts' performance.  The supervisor will determine if activities qualify.

Examples of activities that are not appropriate as experience activities include: attending meetings with little or no behavior analytic content, providing interventions that are not based in behavior analysis, doing non-behavior analytic administrative activities, or any other activities that are not directly related to behavior analysis.

Appropriate Clients: 

Clients may be any persons for whom behavior analysis services are appropriate.  However, the student may not be the client's caretaker (primary or otherwise), related to the client's caretaker or related to the client.  Students must work with multiple clients during the experience period.

Supervisor Qualifications: 

During the experience period, the supervisor must be:

1. A Board Certified Behavior Analyst in good standing, or


2. Approved University Experience:  A faculty member who has been approved by the BACB as an instructor in the university’s approved course sequence.

The supervisor may not be the student's relative, subordinate or employee during the experience period. The supervisor will not be considered an employee of the student if the only compensation received by the supervisor from the student consists of payment for supervision.

Contractual and Ethical Considerations: 

The supervisor and student should execute a contract prior to the onset of the experience that states the responsibilities of both parties, delineates the consequences should the parties not adhere to their responsibilities (including proper termination of the relationship), and includes an attestation that both parties will adhere to the BACB Guidelines for Responsible Conduct.  The parties should pay particular attention to Sections 1, 2, and three of the Guidelines and consider the supervisor to be the client of the student except as noted above.

Nature of Supervision: 

The supervisor must observe the student engaging in behavior analytic activities in the natural environment at least once every two weeks.  The supervisor must provide specific feedback to students on their performance.  During the initial half of the total experience hours, observation should concentrate on student-client interactions.  This observation may be conducted via web-cameras, videotape, videoconferencing, or similar means in lieu of the supervisor being physically present.  Supervision may be conducted in small groups of 10 or fewer participants for no more than half of the total supervised hours in each supervisory period.  The remainder of the total supervision hours in each supervisory period must consist of direct one-to-one contact.  Supervision hours may be counted toward the total number of experience hours required.

Documentation of Supervision: 

University supervisors are responsible for providing documentation for each supervisory period on a feedback form provided by the BACB.  The feedback form will require documentation of number of hours of experience, number of supervised hours, feedback on the student’s performance, the supervisor for each supervisory period, and signatures of the student and supervisor.  The supervisor must review the completed feedback forms with the student each supervisory period.  The university supervisor is responsible for retaining copies of the forms.  Universities may apply for approval of a feedback form containing the core documentation.  The BACB reserves the right to request this documentation at any time following an individual’s application to take the certification exam.  In addition, the university supervisor will be required to verify the student’s supervision on the Experience Verification Form that is provided within the application for examination.

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