IACPS

Accreditation methodology - general framework

International Association of Communication Psychology and Psychoeducation

Chapter I - General Provisions

Article 1

  1. The International Association of Communication Psychology and Psychoeducation is a professional association with legal personality. For the purpose of this methodology, this association is identified as IACPS.
  2. This Methodology establishes the conditions for accreditation of initial and ongoing training programs in the field of the Psychology of Communication.

Article 2

  1. Adults shall have the right to professional training without discrimination on grounds of age, race, sex, ethnic origin, religion or political affiliation.
  2. The universities, professional organizations, individuals with the minimum specialization required and legally constituted may authorize initial and ongoing training programs in the field of the Psychology of Communication.

Article 3

The main objectives of the training are:

  • a) training and improving competencies in the field of the Psychology of Communication;
  • b) preparation of human resources capable of increasing the competitiveness of the work force in the field of the Psychology of Communication;
  • c) updating knowledge and professional improvement in the main profession, as well as in related professions;
  • d) acquiring advanced knowledge, modern methods and procedures;
  • e) promoting lifelong learning.

Article 4

  1. The principles for quality assurance in trainings in the Psychology of Communication are the following:
    • a) quality assurance is an integral part of the internal management of the training institutions in the field of the Psychology of Communication;
    • b) quality assurance includes the initial and ongoing assessment of accredited institutions as well as their programs;
    • c) quality assurance includes information on situations, contributions, processes and outcomes, focusing on the effects and learning outcomes;
    • d) quality assurance initiatives are coordinated at international and national level to ensure the supervision, coherence, synergy and analysis of the whole system;
  2. the quality assurance systems include the following:
    • a) clear and measurable objectives and standards;
    • b) guidelines for implementation, including stakeholder involvement;
    • c) adequate resources;
    • d) coherent assessment methods, associating self-evaluation with external examinations;
    • e) reporting mechanisms and improvement procedures;
    • f) broadly accessible evaluation results.

Article 5

Professional training in the field of the Psychology of Communication may be carried out under the conditions set out in this Methodology by natural or legal persons, whether public or private, in the countries where they reside, hereinafter referred to as training providers. This methodology does not replace the legal regulations imposed by each country on its territory.

Chapter II - Accreditation of training programs in the Psychology of Communication

Article 6

  1. The categories of training program providers are the following:
    • a) State and private higher education institutions, through authorized faculties or legally established structures therein;
    • b) national public interest institutions providing initial and ongoing training in psychology, psycho-pedagogy, education sciences, sociology, social assistance;
    • c) foundations, professional associations and other types of non-governmental organizations having as their legal field the initial and ongoing training in the field of psychology, psycho-pedagogy, education sciences, sociology, social assistance, human resources;
    • d) legal persons, public or private, having as their legal field, initial and continuous training in the field of psychology, psycho-pedagogy, education sciences, sociology, social assistance, human resources;
    • e) companies, public or legal, who have employees with training responsibilities within the human resources department;
    • f) psychological, psychotherapeutic, legally established cabinets.
  2. Being a training provider in the field of Communication Psychology is defined in relation to a training program proposed for accreditation, someone becoming training provider upon the accreditation of the program, position valid during the accreditation of the program and until the end of its accreditation period.
  3. A provider may propose for accreditation one or more training programs in the field of the Psychology of Communication.
  4. Types of training programs:
    • a) training programs for trainers;
    • b) training programs for beginners;
    • c) development training programs.
  5. The training programs for trainers shall be subject to a specific procedure adapted to the type of organization and the field. A training provider may request the procedure by email, at iacps@ia-cps.org, the IACPS secretariat having the obligation to send, within 30 working days, the procedure to which they attach:
    • a) administrative documentation;
    • b) curricular criteria;
    • c) the evaluation criteria;
    • d) the performance standard.
  6. The initial training programs and the development training programs are subject to the accreditation procedure described in this methodology, according to art. 7.
  7. Each accredited program receives the Accreditation with the following data:
    • a) name of the program;
    • b) the name of the training provider;
    • c) period of accreditation;
    • d) identification data: series, number, date of issue (Annex 1).
  8. Once accredited, the program is enrolled in the International Register of Accreditation Training Programs in the field of the Psychology of Communication. Information about the program accreditation can be found on the websitewww.ia-cps.org, depending on the name of the training provider and / or the series and the Accreditation number.

Article 7

  1. In order to authorize the training of trainers programs in the field of the Psychology of Communication, it is necessary to submit to the secretariat of the association a request and the accreditation documentation, observing the following criteria and conditions:
    • a) administrative (Annex 2);
    • b) curriculum (Annex 3);
    • c) human resources (Annex 4);
    • d) material and teaching resources (Annex 5).
  2. All documentation shall be sent electronically to the address iacps@ia-cps.org. The IACPS Secretariat has the obligation to verify the documentation submitted and to request, within 5 working days, completions or amendments, if necessary. Where completions or modifications by the training provider of the program submitted for accreditation are required, they shall be submitted to IACPS within 30 working days.
  3. The IACPS Secretariat shall send the complete, approved documentation to the IACPS Professional Board within 5 business days.

Article 8

  1. The IACPS Professional Board shall convene the Accreditation Commission within a maximum of 5 working days from the receipt of the documentation submitted by the IACPS Secretariat, based on a decision sent to their members.
  2. The Accreditation Commission shall consist of:
    • a) a member of the IACPS Professional Board;
    • b) two members delegated by affiliated universities with expertise in the field.
  3. The Accreditation Commission checks the program proposed for accreditation and approves or rejects the accreditation within 10 working days from receipt of the documentation from the IACPS professional board.
  4. The training provider shall receive the accreditation within 2 working days of the deliberation of the accreditation commission. In the event of rejection of the program proposed for accreditation, the training provider shall receive, within 2 working days of the deliberation of the accreditation commission, the rejection decision and the arguments behind the rejection.
  5. The training provider whose program has been rejected may resume the accreditation procedure for the same program, taking into account the arguments in the rejection decision.
  6. Following the accreditation of the first training program, the training provider receives the access code to thewww.ia-cps.org platform, necessary for effective collaboration with IACPS and certification of graduates of accredited training programs. The training provider receives a single access code, regardless of the number of accredited programs. Using the access code, they can access the www.ia-cps.orgplatform from the moment of accreditation of the first training program until the last accredited or re-accredited training program expires.

Article 9

  1. A training program, regardless of type, may be accredited for a period of 4 years.
  2. For re-accreditation, the training provider submits to the IACPS secretariat the performance criteria matrix (Annex 6) 30 days before the end of the accreditation period.
  3. The Performance Criteria Matrix is endorsed by the IACPS Secretary and forwarded to the IACPS Professional Board within 5 working days.
  4. The IACPS Professional Board analyzes the matrix of performance criteria and decides whether or not the training provider will be re-accredited. The decision to re-accredit or reject is communicated to the training provider within 3 working days of the deliberation.
  5. If the re-accreditation of a training program is rejected, the IACPS professional board issues the rejection decision, together with the arguments behind the rejection. The training provider may file the appeal within 20 working days of the communication of the decision at the IACPS secretariat, www.iacps@ia-cps.org
  6. The professional board shall analyze the complaint submitted by the training provider and, within maximum 5 working days from the date of its registration, shall send to the training provider the re-accreditation or decision to reject the appeal.
  7. A program that has not been re-accredited within the required deadline or whose re-accredited has been rejected, and the performance criteria are not met, may be subject to a new accreditation procedure, according to the art. 7 of this methodology.

Chapter III - Periodic Evaluation

Article 10

  1. In order to guarantee the quality of accredited IACPS training programs, they are subject to the periodic evaluation procedure.
  2. The IACPS shall periodically send to the training provider the matrix of performance criteria, with the obligation to deliver them, completed, within 20 working days of being submitted by IACPS.
  3. An accredited training program is subject to the assessment procedure at least 2 times in 4 years, up to 4 times in 4 years, except for the petitions registered at the IACPS Secretariat.
  4. Periodic evaluation matrices of performance criteria are assessed by the IACPS professional board. The Board proposes personalized measures when the situation imposes it, specifying the time needed to remedy the deficiencies found.
  5. Failure to comply with the measures imposed by the IACPS professional board within the period established after the periodic evaluation entails the suspension of the accreditation of the program until the identified deficiencies have been rectified. The suspension of the accreditation may be imposed for a maximum of 60 business days. If the training provider did not remedy the deficiencies during the suspension, the program's accreditation is canceled.
  6. Periodic evaluation by IACPS is carried out by reference to a training program, not to the activity of the training provider as a whole.
  7. A training program whose accreditation has been canceled may be subject to a new accreditation procedure, according to art. 7, only after obtaining the positive opinion of the IACPS Board of Directors from the training provider.

Chapter IV - Final provisions

Article 11

  1. This methodology is supplemented by the annexes which set out:
    • a) annex 1- accreditation model;
    • b) annex 2 - administrative documents;
    • c) annex 3- curricular criteria documentation;
    • d) annex 4 - human resources documentation;
    • d) annex 5 - material and teaching resources;
    • f) annex 6- matrix of performance criteria.
  2. The accreditation methodology of the training programs in the field of the Psychology of Communication is complemented by the certification methodology of the graduates of the accredited IACPS training programs.

Article 12

  1. IACPS is a nonprofit professional organization. The accreditation of a training program in the Psychology of Communication is done without a fee.
  2. The accreditation of a training program shall be sent electronically, by secure means, to the training provider. If the training provider asks for accreditation in printed form, with IACPS security / IACPS stamp / seal, they commit to the payment for the expedition.