BOARD OF DIRECTORS UPDATE – September 2015

By Dianne M. Cearlock, PhD, Chief Executive Officer

At the September 18, 2015 meeting of the NAACLS Board of Directors, in addition to accreditation and approval awards recommended by the RCAP and PARC, the following items were addressed:

• The Board voted to release for public comment a proposed change to Standard VII.A.1 to accept the ASCPi-BOC credential as acceptable for program directors of accredited US and international based programs. Currently, the ASCPi-BOC credential is accepted for program directors of international, but not national, programs. The proposal also states that people possessing the ASCPi credential prior to adoption will meet the certification requirement under Standard VII. As of October 2014, exam questions for ASCPi applicants transitioned to the same question database that is used for US applicants, and applicants will also be tested on US regulatory requirements. Both ASCP/ASCPⁱ examinees will be utilizing the same exam question database. ASCP/ASCPⁱ examinees will have also been found eligible to sit for the examination using comparable eligibility requirements for education, training and experience.
• The Board voted to release for public comment a proposed change to the Standard II.B.1 to delete “or licensure” from the list of required outcomes measures results to be used in program assessment. Certification scores and licensure results are two different outcomes that cannot be combined or compared in such a way that both can serve as a NAACLS program benchmark. The public comment period will be announced on the NAACLS website soon.
• Language was adopted in the Standards Compliance Guide and Self Study Template to provide directions for the appropriate way to calculate required benchmark data for certification pass rates.
• Additional language was adopted in the Standards Compliance Guide indicating that programs seeking initial accreditation are not required to address Standard II.B and C (assessment and continuous quality improvement) during the self-study and site visit process.
• Several edits to the Program Official Approval form were adopted, including the requirement to submit primary source verification of certification from the ASCP-BOC.
• The inclusion of AMT and NCCT to the list of accepted certification agencies for benchmark data for phlebotomy programs (along with ASCP BOC) was adopted.
• Several editorial changes were approved for the Standards, Standards Compliance Guide, and Self Study template to improve clarity. These documents as amended will be found on the NAACLS website by November, 2015.
• An Action Plan template designed to assist program directors in addressing benchmarks that are not met was adopted. The Action Plan template will be located on the NAACLS website by November, 2015.
• Elections were held for leadership positions on the NAACLS Board of Directors. They are:

President – Yasmen Simonian (ASCLS Representative)

Immediate Past President – Fred Rodriguez (ASCP Representative)

Vice President – William Hunt (ASCLS Representative)

Treasurer – Elton Richards (Public Member)

Secretary – Sondra Flemming (2 Year Institution Administrator)

Member at Large – Julie O’Sullivan Maillet (4 Year Institution Administrator)