Team Member FAQs

Becoming a Team Member

Team Member Selection

Logistics

After Serving on a Visit

Becoming a Team Member

What are the criteria for becoming a team member?

The current criteria are as follows:

For Doctoral‐Level Full‐Time Faculty Members: Have an earned doctoral degree in counselor education and supervision, preferably from a CACREP accredited program, or have been employed as a full‐time faculty member in a counselor education program for a minimum of one full academic year before July 1, 2013.

For Part‐time Faculty, Non‐doctoral‐level faculty, or Counseling Practitioners: Have a master’s degree in counseling or a closely related field.

Have three years of counseling and/or counselor education‐related experience (excluding practica and internships)

Identify with the counseling profession through memberships in professional organizations (i.e., the American Counseling Association and/or its divisions), and through appropriate certifications and/or licenses pertinent to the counseling profession.

For Faculty Members: Engage in activities of the counseling profession and its professional organizations, including all of the following:

  • development/renewal (e.g., appropriate professional meetings, conventions, workshops, seminars);
  • research and scholarly activity; and
  • service and advocacy (e.g., program presentations, workshops, consultations,speeches, direct service).

For Counseling Practitioners: Engage in activities of the counseling profession and its professional organizations, including all of the following:

  • development/renewal (e.g., appropriate professional meetings, conventions, workshops, seminars);
  • service and advocacy (e.g., program presentations, workshops, consultations,  speeches, direct service).

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What do I need to do to become a team member?

You should first check with the CACREP office to see if applications currently are being accepted for new team members. If so, you should  submit an application packet including the following:

1) Completed application (available on CACREP website);

2) A current vita providing evidence of meeting the qualifications specified above;

3) A statement of intent addressing:

  1. Why you want to be a CACREP Site Team Member; and
  2. Your professional counseling identity.

4) A letter from your employer or supervisor endorsing you for the position of CACREP Site Team Member

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What type of training is required to become a team member?

The initial Team Member training is a multi-stage process, often consisting of both online and face-to-face components. CACREP will inform approved applicants of upcoming training schedules.

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How do I become a team chair?

Becoming a team chair is an invitation-based process. A team member may become eligible to be a team chair after having served on a minimum of 3 visits as a team member. CACREP bases its decision on whether to invite an individual to be a team chair on feedback from institutions and fellow team members, as well as recommendations from other team chairs. If you have served on the requisite minimum number of visits and are interested in training to be a team chair, you are welcome to inform the CACREP staff of your interest.

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Team Member Selection

How do I get selected to serve on a team?

Institutions are sent a list of potential team chairs and members when approved for a site visit. Based on CACREP’s new process for selection of site teams, the institution goes through the list and identifies chairs and members for which there are potential conflicts of interest. These individuals are then removed from consideration for that particular site visit. The CACREP staff then work to assemble a team based on a number of factors including experience, the number of programs and sites being reviewed, efforts to ensure that new team members have an opportunity to serve, the need for team chair mentors, and a number of other factors.

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What factors should I consider when choosing whether or not to serve on a site visit?

There are multiple factors to consider prior to agreeing to serve on a site visit. First, do you have any possible conflicts of interest with the institution or program being reviewed? For example, did you ever apply to work there? Have you worked there? Did you graduate from the institution or program? Are you friends with any of the faculty there? Have you engaged in any cooperative professional activities with any of the faculty members? In a similar vein, do you have any biases about the type of program that would prevent you from engaging in a fair and impartial review of the program? If there are no conflicts of interest identified, then you need to consider whether or not you could be there for the entire visit, including travel time.  Site visits generally begin with a team meeting on Sunday afternoon or early evening and conclude by noon on Wednesday following the exit presentation. All team members should be present for the exit presentation. Another factor to consider is whether or not you will have the requisite time necessary prior to the site visit to review all materials in-depth and to be fully prepared for the visit. If you are uncertain about any of the above factors you should not agree to serve on that particular visit.

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What if I am not certain whether or not I can serve on a visit?

If you have any uncertainty as to whether you can serve or not, for whatever reason, it is best if you do not agree to serve on the visit. It is much better that you do not agree to serve than to agree and then have to withdraw and be replaced, potentially at the last minute.

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What should I do if it’s been a while since I’ve been contacted about serving on a visit?

There is never any harm in contacting the CACREP office to indicate your interest and/or availability to serve on a visit. This does not ensure that you will be selected for a visit in the immediate future but it can be helpful to the CACREP staff as they are working to plan visits.

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What is a conflict of interest?

A conflict of interest (COI) is anything that may prevent you from engaging in a fair and impartial review of a program or that could potentially lead to any questioning of whether or not there was a fair and impartial review, positively or negatively. Please consult Policies Governing Conflicts of Interest 13.b. – Conflict of Interest Policy for CACREP Team Members for further information and prior to considering whether to serve on a visit.  If you have a question about COIs, please feel free to contact the CACREP staff.

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Can I tell anyone about which institution I am visiting?

Site team members should honor the confidentiality of programs being reviewed. It will likely be necessary to inform family members and supervisors or employers of the request to serve on a site team. This can be done while still respecting the program’s confidentiality by simply indicating that it is for a CACREP accreditation site visit and the length of time for which you would be gone. In a similar vein, you may indicate on your CV your service as a team member and, if desired, the number of visits on which you have served, but you should not list the names of the institutions visited.

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What resources are available to assist me in my role as a team chair or team member?

CACREP has manuals available on the website to assist both team members and chairs in the conduct of their work. Team chairs have extensive prior experience as team members and are excellent resources for team members on the visits. The emails and attached documents you receive from the CACREP office, once the team has been established, include contact information for a travel agency to assist with travel planning, as well as other information to assist in planning your visit. The CACREP staff is available to assist teams as needed. The program will send you the Self-Study Report, and Addendum if one has been developed, to review thoroughly prior to the visit.

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Logistics

When should I plan to arrive on site?

Site visits run from Sunday afternoon or early evening through Wednesday ending by noon. Teams generally plan a team meeting and/or a meeting with the liaison late Sunday afternoon or early Sunday evening.  Team members should make contact with the team chair upon being assigned to a team. The team chair will communicate with the team members about the specific schedule for the visit.

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When should I plan on the site visit ending?

Site visits generally conclude by noon on the Wednesday of the visit.  On the Wednesday of the visit, the team holds its exit presentation informing programs about the team’s general observations during the visit. All team members should plan to be present at the site through the exit presentation. It is possible that the exit presentation will occur in the morning on Wednesday. Site team members should not make their travel plans until they are sure when the exit presentation is and that their plans will enable them to be present through the full exit presentation.

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How do I make my travel arrangements?

Site team members may make their own travel arrangements or utilize the travel agency CACREP uses. Information on contacting the travel agency is included in the site team information memo sent to team members once a full team is comprised for a visit. If you utilize the travel agency, the cost for the tickets will be direct billed to CACREP. If you choose to make your own travel arrangements, you can submit for reimbursement at the conclusion of the visit. Individual team members should not arrange to rent cars for a visit. The host institution should arrange for team travel throughout the visit. If it is determined that a rental car is necessary, the team chair would work with CACREP staff to obtain pre-approval. If a car is rented without prior approval from the CACREP office, the cost may not be eligible for reimbursement.

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Can I rent a car?

Individual team members should not rent cars for the visit. The host institution should arrange for team travel throughout the visit. If it is determined that a rental car is necessary, the team chair would work with CACREP staff to obtain pre-approval. If a car is rented without prior approval from the CACREP office, the cost may not be eligible for reimbursement.

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Can I use my own vehicle to travel to site visits?

While team members can use their own vehicles to travel to and from a site visit, CACREP will only reimburse up to the cost of what a standard plane ticket would have cost for travel to the site location. It is the team member’s responsibility to determine in advance what the plane ticket cost would be and submit supporting documentation at the time of seeking reimbursement for mileage (e.g., print-out of plane ticket cost from airline website).

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Who pays for our travel expenses (e.g., hotels, meals, transportation)?

The flat rate institutions pay for each site visitor covers lodging, meal per diems, and transportation. While the host institution is responsible for arranging for hotel accommodations, it is likely they will not have the hotel billed directly and the team members will need to pay for the hotel on their own. These costs can be submitted for reimbursement following the visit.

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After Serving on a Visit

What do I need to do after serving on a visit?

The most important thing to do after a site visit is to assist the team chair as needed in completing the site team’s report and review the draft of the report carefully to ensure it accurately presents the team’s experiences and conclusions. In addition, team members should complete and submit to the CACREP office evaluations of fellow team members and reimbursement requests, if applicable. Instructions for completing these documents are included in the site team information emailed to team members once the team has been established for the visit.

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How do I go about getting reimbursed for expenses I incurred on a visit?

Information on obtaining reimbursement is included in the site team information emailed to team members once the team has been established for the visit. Information is also available in the Team Member section of the CACREP website.

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Should I claim per diem or submit meal receipts?

A team member can choose to submit meal receipts or claim per diem. Most team members simply request per diem as CACREP reimburses meals up to the per diem rate. Per diem reimbursement is the easiest way to get reimbursed as no receipts are required.

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Can I get CEU credit for serving on a site team?

CACREP does not issue CEU credits for serving on site teams. However, it may be possible to get service credit at your place of employment for your service on site teams. This would, of course, be dependent on the rules of the institution or other organization.  Site team members who are NCCs or CRCs may be able to get credit from NBCC or CRCC respectively for their service on site visits.

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