Faculty roles and responsibilities in governing the CCAP Program (or Who to go to for what?)

The core CCAP faculty are responsible for the governance and operation of the program. As such, the faculty, through discussion, shape the curriculum of the program, agree on the policies and procedures that will govern its operation, and jointly evaluate the progress of our students over the course of their studies. The core faculty serve as the research advisors of most CCAP students and often serve as members of the advisory committees. Core faculty teach a majority of the courses in the program. Finally, some of the core faculty provide consultation and clinical supervision to our students at the Maplewoods Centre, our on-campus training clinic.

The major area portfolios are Director of Clinical Training (DCT), the Clinic Director, and the Graduate Program Committee Representative.

The DCT is responsible for the overall operation of the program and ensuring that the accreditation standards of CPA are upheld. The DCT represents the program at meetings of CPA, Canadian Council of Professional Psychology Programs (CCPPP), and College of Psychologists and Behaviour Analysts of Ontario (CPBAO) and works closely with the Clinic Director to monitor the clinical training progress of all program students. The DCT maintains the record of cognates for each student. The DCT also meets regularly with students to address any questions or challenges they may be encountering within their training. Finally, the DCT is responsible for the writing of all documents representing the program as a whole (e.g., CPA annual accreditation reports, reaccreditation documents, and residency application letters).

The Clinic Director is responsible for assigning cases to students and clinical supervisors within Maplewoods Centre ensuring that the students are receiving the appropriate experiences over a range of supervisors and activities. The Clinic Director also typically coordinates the application of students to practicum sites for their external practica and completes regular evaluation of student clinical performance. The Clinic Director also writes the assessment of clinical progress used by the Qualifying Examination Committee in the PhD to determine whether a student meets the levels of competence expected for the clinical component of the Qualifying Examination. Finally, the Clinic Director is responsible for keeping the DCT apprised of student progress throughout their practical clinical training.

The Graduate Program Committee (GPC) representative coordinates with the departmental Graduate Coordinator and the representatives from the other graduate areas. The GPC representative also supports the DCT and the area in terms of progression through the program. More specifically, the GPC: represents the area in GPC meetings, coordinates with the Graduate Coordinator and other GPC representatives for the department, carrying out required tasks as needed. 

There are Graduate Student Representatives to the CCAP area. The representatives’ primary function is to communicate between faculty and graduate students on issues regarding the CCAP area, and they aim to fairly represent the opinions and concerns of a varied student body to the faculty.