Procedures and Policies

Prior to being admitted into the clinical program, students are assigned a faculty mentor. Thus, students are aware of their assigned mentor before accepting an offer to the program. If at any time the student or the mentor decides that the match is not appropriate or optimal, the student may attempt to change mentors. However, the availability of an alternate mentor cannot be guaranteed. If at any time a student secures a new mentor, it is the student’s responsibility to inform the Director of Clinical Training and the Assistant Chair for Graduate Studies of the change. If the assigned mentor is a faculty member in the experimental section, the student will also be assigned an academic advisor from the Clinical Section. The academic advisor is to be a member of the student’s thesis and dissertation committees and be involved in assisting the student with programmatic planning.

In all correspondence outside of the training clinic, students should refer to themselves as Graduate Student as a title. This is to prevent misunderstanding by individuals outside of clinical psychology about the degree status of our students.

International students should work closely with the International Student and Faculty Services Office (now known as International Student and Scholar Services ) to ensure that they are following all updated policies and procedures for maintaining their student status. This includes completing CPT paperwork for when completing practicum/traineeship and internship training and for maintaining consistent enrollment.

Each year, clinical graduate students select one student to represent them at meetings of the Clinical Section and one student to represent them at meetings of the department faculty. The student representatives are voting members of their respective groups. The student representative to the Clinical Section meetings is invited to participate in all discussions and decision-making of the section, with the exception of the evaluations of his or her peers by the faculty and student grievances that are related to evaluative decisions by the faculty. The student who is the representative to the meetings of the department faculty may also attend Clinical Section meetings if she or he wishes. In addition, there is one student representative who serves on the Internship and Training Committee, the Comprehensive Examination Committee, and the Clinic Advisory Committee. Students also serve on ad hoc committees such as faculty recruitment committees.

Purpose

To provide undergraduate and graduate students with a procedure for appealing decisions made by faculty, administrators, committees, and sections in the Department of Psychology.

Province

These procedures are to be used for appeals bearing on policies and procedures developed within the Department of Psychology; they are not appropriate for appeals on issues for which the policy or procedure was established by a different administrative unit. For example, a student who wishes to appeal a grade should follow the grievance procedure given in Section IV.C.3 of the Faculty Handbook.

Procedures for Appeals

The first step in the appeal process for an undergraduate student is to discuss the issue with the Assistant Chair for Undergraduate Studies; a graduate student should discuss the issue with the Assistant Chair for Graduate Studies. In either case, the assistant chair will work to resolve the student’s problem. If the assistant chair is unable to resolve the problem to the student’s satisfaction, then, at the student’s request, the assistant chair will notify the Chair of the Judicial Committee of a coming grievance. The Judicial Committee will conduct a hearing (see the departmental policy on the Judicial Committee). If the student or the instructor is not satisfied with the recommendations of the Judicial Committee, either party may appeal to the department chair. If the student or the instructor is not satisfied with the decision of the department chair, either party may appeal to the Dean of the College of Arts & Sciences.

Special Provisions

Consultation with the Ohio University Ombudsman is available to a student at any stage of a grievance process, although many grievances may be settled at the departmental level.

A grievance against either of the assistant chairs is to be filed first with the other assistant chair. A grievance against the department chair is to be filed directly with the Judicial Committee, which then makes its recommendations directly to the Dean of the College of Arts & Sciences.

The instructor assigned to a class has full responsibility for grading, subject to the appeal process described in this section. In unusual circumstances (e.g., death, incapacity, or indefinite inaccessibility of the instructor), the departmental chairperson is responsible for the final grade, subject to appeal by the student to the dean as described in this section.

The burden of proof for a grade change is on the student, except in those cases involving charges of academic dishonesty. A student appealing a grade must make a concerted effort to resolve the matter with the instructor of the course. Failing such a resolution, the student may appeal the grade to the department chair or school director. The chair/director must attempt a resolution acceptable to both the student and the instructor but does not have the authority to change the grade. The department chair or director may enlist departmental grievance procedures to assist in resolving the grade appeal at the departmental level. If the resolution at the departmental level is unsuccessful within the semester following submission of the grade and the student wishes to appeal, the chair/director shall forward the appeal to the dean of the college for action. If the chair/director is the instructor, the student appeals directly to the dean.

If the dean concludes that the student has insufficient grounds for an appeal, there can be no further appeal by the student. If the dean concludes that sufficient grounds do exist for an appeal, the dean shall appoint a faculty committee of five members to consider the case. If a majority on the committee decides that the grade should be changed and the instructor does not accept the recommendation, the committee can authorize the Registrar to change the grade. The decision of the committee is not subject to further appeal. In appeal cases in which the dean is the instructor, the role of the dean will be assumed by the Provost. In those appeal cases involving courses taught by faculty from more than one college, the Dean of University College will review the appeal and, if necessary, appoint the appeals committee.

Telesupervision is defined by the American Psychological Association’s Commission on Accreditation as “clinical supervision of psychological services through a synchronous audio and video format where the supervisor is not in the same physical facility as the trainee.” (Standards of Accreditation Implementing Regulation C-13D). C-13D requires that programs who use any telesupervision have an explicit policy about its use. Our policy is detailed below.

Our training clinic will make students aware of this policy and will ensure that faculty supervisors provide supervision consistent with this policy. In addition, any external traineeship placement that plans to utilize any telesupervision with our students will be made aware of this policy and will ensure that they provide supervision consistent with this policy (as documented in the signed placement letter of understanding).

According to the Standards of Accreditation, telesupervision cannot account for more than 50% of the total minimum required supervision at a given practicum site. Note that the policy applies only to the minimum number of required supervision hours that are dictated by the traineeship or practicum placement. For example, if a placement requires a minimum 1 hour of supervision weekly, then this policy applies to the first hour of supervision in that week. If additional supervision occurs beyond the minimum, then this policy does not apply.

According to the Standards of Accreditation, telesupervision cannot be utilized until a student has completed their first practicum experience, as it is the program’s responsibility to ensure that a student has had sufficient supervised experience and has a sufficient level of competence before utilizing telesupervision. Therefore, supervisors who are supervising students in the fall and spring semesters of their second year (first year in the training clinic) cannot utilize telesupervision with these students (unless it is supervision beyond whatever the minimum number of required supervision hours are).

Explicit rationale for using telesupervision:  In the circumstances when we permit telesupervision, it will be to allow students to participate in relevant clinical training that would not otherwise be available to them (for example, placements at a physical distance where using some telesupervision would allow some flexibility for the student’s travel and schedule).

Consistency with program aims: Limited use of telesupervision allows us to provide students with training in areas specific to their clinical and clinical research interests that would otherwise be hindered (such as distance placements).

How and when supervision is utilized: Telesupervision will be allowed, under the parameters already stated above, when the supervisor or supervisee is not able to be on-site and when the supervisor/placement is providing training that is not otherwise available from core faculty.

Determination of which trainees can participate: Trainees who have completed their first two semesters of practicum in the training clinic with face to face supervision, who have been rated as competent in their development of clinical skills by their supervisor, who have not shown any concerns about their responsiveness to supervision or their preparation for supervision sessions, and who completed the required telepsychology training, will be considered eligible for telesupervision.

Establishment of the relationship between supervisor and trainee: There must be at least one initial face to face meeting between supervisor and trainee to discuss the parameters of the telesupervision, standard operating procedures for the placement experience, and emergency procedures.

Responsibility of the supervisor for clinical cases:  The licensed professional conducting telesupervision must maintain full responsibility for clinical cases.  All aspects of clinical care must be fully compliant with state and federal law.

Management of non-scheduled consultation and crisis coverage. The traineeship placement must provide the student with an explicit plan for provision of consultation and how crises will be managed. Practicum placements within our clinic that use any telesupervision will follow our Clinic Policies and Procedures manual.

Privacy and confidentiality: The traineeship placement must provide the student with specific guidelines about how privacy and confidentiality will be maintained (for example, restrictions on the technology used or the location in which supervisor/student will be during supervision sessions). Practicum placements using any telesupervision will follow our Clinic Policies and Procedures manual.

Technology requirements and technology training: As noted above, all students will have completed our required telepsychology training prior to engaging in telesupervision in any training setting. Practicum placements within our clinic that use any telesupervision will follow our Clinic Policies and Procedures manual with regard to the technology that will be used for telesupervision. Supervisors of traineeship placements that utilize telesupervision are responsible for ensuring that any required technology is available to conduct telesupervision and that the supervisor is adequately trained on technology. If the traineeship placement requires additional telepsychology training beyond what we already require, they will inform the student and ensure that training is completed prior to utilizing telesupervision with the student.

In our APA-accredited program, we are committed to a training process that ensures graduate students develop the knowledge, skills, and attitudes to work effectively with members of the public who embody intersecting demographics, attitudes, beliefs, and values. When graduate students’ attitudes, beliefs, or values create tensions that negatively impact the training process or their ability to effectively treat members of the public, the program faculty and supervisors are committed to a developmental training approach designed to support the acquisition of professional competence. We support graduate students in finding a belief- or value-congruent path that allows them to work in a professionally competent manner with all clients/patients.

For some trainees, integrating personal beliefs or values with professional competence in working with all clients/patients may require additional time and faculty support. Ultimately, though, to complete our program successfully, all graduate students must be able to work with any client placed in their care in a beneficial and non-injurious manner. Professional competencies are determined by the profession for the benefit and protection of the public; consequently, students do not have the option to avoid working with particular client populations or refuse to develop professional competencies because of conflicts with their attitudes, beliefs, or values. If trainees do not feel comfortable or capable of providing competent services to a client because it conflicts with the trainee’s beliefs or values, it is the trainee’s responsibility to bring this issue to the attention of their supervisor. Because client welfare and safety are always the first priority, decisions about client assignment and reassignment are the responsibility of the faculty/supervisors.