When it comes to certification, BACB always tries to keep its exam up to date with the latest content and information. And, now with the beginning of the new year of 2022, there will be a lot of modifications happening for BCBA and BCaBA certification exams. That is to say, BACB is using every chance to improve BCBA and BCaBA testing. Additionally, BACB has all you need to know about these changes. And, to make things even easier for you, we’ll go through the major changes and modifications in the BACB exams. First, let’s check a quick overview of the updates!
Quick Check on BACB Certification Exam Updates:
Before beginning with the BCBA and BCaBA exam changes. Let’s take a quick look at the changes.
On January 1, 2022, several BACB standards and criteria will be dramatically altered. The following are the major changes you may anticipate:
- Firstly, the fifth edition of the BCBA and BCaBA Task Lists will implement. And, all BCBA and BCaBA examinations will be based on them.
- Secondly, new qualifications for BCBA and BCaBA certification will implement.
- Then, the Behavior Analysts’ Ethics Code will take effect.
- Next, the RBT Ethics Code (version 2.0) will implement.
- Lastly, the new consulting supervisor requirement for first-year BCBAs supervising BCBA or BCaBA trainees (accumulating fieldwork) will take effect.
Modifications in the BCBA and BCaBA Exam: 2022
You must decide whether you want to apply before or after 2022. To get help in this, check the below points.
That is to say, you must submit an approved application for BCBA or BCaBA certification by January 1, 2022, if you want to apply under the current 4th edition standards. Else, you’ll have to apply under the 2022 requirements.
Approvable application:
An approvable application has all of the components required for approval. An acceptable BCBA or BCaBA application filed before 2022, for example, would include the following:
- Firstly, payment in full complete and accurate Final Experience Verification Form(s)
- Secondly, documents demonstrating that all content requirements for the courses must fulfil
- Thirdly, proof of an acceptable degree that meets all applicable requirements
- Lastly, official transcripts with conferral dates sent physically or electronically by the university
To better understand the changes let,s take a look at the BCBA or BCaBA exam changes in detail. For more check here.
1. Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA): Exam Updates
The Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) can be considered as a graduate-level certification in behavior analysis. Professionals certified at the BCBA level are independent practitioners with skills for providing behavior-analytic services.
Further, BCBAs supervise Board Certified Assistant Behavior Analysts (BCaBAs), Registered Behavior Technicians (RBTs), and other behavior-analytic professionals.
Exam Guide Modifications:
Candidates who had their BCBA petitions approved before January 1, 2022: Your ability to take exams for the next two years will be extended until January 1, 2022, when the BCBA Task List (5th ed.) will be implemented. As a result, if you do not pass the certification test by January 1, 2022, and you still have attempts left, you will be required to take the exam using the 5th edition task list.
If you’re unclear whether you’ll apply for BCBA certification before or after the new eligibility requirements take effect on January 1, 2022, we recommend preparing ahead to ensure you fulfill both the existing and new standards.
BCBA New Eligibility Requirements:
1. Degree
The BCBA degree requirements will vary just a little, but there will be two notable differences:
- Applicants with a master’s degree in a field other than psychology, education, or behavior analysis should: A graduate degree in any subject of study will be accepted as of January 1, 2022. However, you must fulfill all other current qualifying criteria, including the coursework and fieldwork requirements for 2022.
- Applicants with a master’s or doctorate degree from an ABAI-accredited program: If you hold a graduate degree from an ABAI-accredited institution, you do not need to satisfy the 2022 coursework requirements under this new path. If you apply before 2022, however, you must show that you have completed the 4th edition coursework requirements. Meet with your VCS Coordinator to confirm that your coursework meets the 4th edition standards if you want to take Pathway 1 in 2022 but plan to apply early.
2. Coursework
The prerequisites for BCBA courses will modify in a variety of ways (e.g., freestanding requirements, number of content hours, content hour categories). During this changeover, the following advice and conversion tables may be useful:
- Applicants who expect to apply on or after January 1, 2022, and are enrolled in some or all 4th edition courses: The majority of your content hours from your coursework can be allocated to the 2022 requirements.
Steps to take next:
- Determine the content hours for the courses you’ve finished with the help of your adviser or VCS Coordinator.
- Convert those hours to those in the 2022 required content categories using the chart below.
- Compare those hours to the course requirements for 2022.
- Applicants who want to apply before January 1, 2022, and are enrolled in several 2022 required courses in a VCS: Your coursework content hours can be used to content hours in the 4th edition.
Steps to take next:
- Determine the content hours for the courses you’ve finished with the help of your adviser or VCS Coordinator.
- Convert those hours to those in the 4th edition topic categories using the chart below.
- Compare those hours to the coursework requirements for the 4th edition.
- Applicants who want to apply before January 1, 2022, and are enrolled in a full VCS that satisfies the 2022 requirements: Both the 4th edition and the 2022 standards should be met.
- However, depending on the dates that you completed the courses, it’s still worth checking with your VCS teacher to be sure you did the entire sequence. For example, a course may have the same titles and numbers for both criteria, but the content hours may differ on a certain date.
3. Experience and Fieldwork
All fieldwork and experience must fulfill the standards in effect at the time the certification application is submitted.
Trainees who are accumulating experience/fieldwork hours but are undecided about applying before or after 2022: To guarantee that your hours are counted, we highly advise that you complete both sets of standards. This involves:
- completing all fieldwork and experience requirements.
- completing paperwork for both systems (e.g., completing a Monthly Experience Verification Form and a Monthly Fieldwork Verification Form)
- maintaining documentation systems for both so that you can show that you are satisfying the necessary criteria in the case of an audit (e.g., number of observations, number of contacts)
- verifying that you have earned all of your hours that fulfill the current standards within a 5-year period
2. Board Certified Assistant Behavior Analyst (BCaBA): Exam Updates
The Board Certified Assistant Behavior Analyst (BCaBA) is a behavior analysis credential for undergraduates. BCaBA-certified professionals work under the supervision of a Board Certified Behavior Analyst to provide behavior-analytic services (BCBA). Without the supervision of a BCBA, professionals qualified at the BCaBA level may not conduct behavior-analytic services. Registered Behavior Technicians may be supervised by BCaBAs (RBTs).
Exam Guide Modifications:
Candidates receiving approval for their BCaBA petitions before January 1, 2022: Your two-year examination permission will extend until January 1, 2022, when examinations under the BCaBA Task List (5th ed.) will introduce. As a result, if you do not pass the certification test by January 1, 2022, and you still have attempts left, you will require to take the exam using the 5th edition task list.
If you’re unclear whether you’ll apply for BCaBA certification before or after the new eligibility requirements take effect on January 1, 2022, we recommend preparing ahead to ensure you fulfill both the existing and new standards.
BCaBA New Eligibility Requirements:
1. Degree
The BCaBA degree requirements will vary just a little, however, there are two notable differences:
- Applicants with a degree from a country other than the United States: To fulfill the BCaBA degree standards, your degree must be equivalent to a bachelor’s degree earned in the United States. However, if your degree qualifies you for a graduate school in the nation where you got it, it may fulfill the degree requirements beginning in 2022. If your degree does not fulfill the present standards, you must wait until 2022 to apply and complete all other qualifying conditions then in place.
- Applicants with a bachelor’s degree from an ABAI-accredited bachelor’s program must meet the following requirements: If you hold a bachelor’s degree from an ABAI-accredited institution, you won’t have to satisfy the 2022 coursework requirements under this new path. If you apply before 2022, however, you must show that you have completed the 4th edition coursework requirements. Meet with your VCS Coordinator to confirm that your coursework meets the 4th edition standards if you want to take Pathway 1 in 2022 but plan to apply early.
2. Coursework
The coursework requirements for the BCaBA will change in a number of ways. For example, content hour categories, freestanding requirements, number of content hours. During this change, the following advice and conversion tables may be useful:
- Applicants who expect to apply on or after January 1, 2022, and are enrolled in some or all 4th edition courses: The majority of your coursework content hours can be used to the criteria for 2022.
Steps to take next:
- Determine the content hours for the courses you’ve finished with the help of your adviser or VCS Coordinator.
- Convert those hours to those in the 2022 required content categories using the chart below.
- Compare those hours to the course requirements for 2022.
- Applicants who want to apply before January 1, 2022, and are enrolled in several 2022 required courses in a VCS: Your coursework content hours can be used to content hours in the 4th edition.
Steps to take next:
- Determine the content hours for the courses you’ve finished with the help of your adviser or VCS Coordinator.
- Convert those hours to those in the 4th edition topic categories using the chart below.
- Compare those hours to the coursework requirements in the 4th edition.
- Applicants who want to apply before January 1, 2022, and are enrolled in a full VCS that satisfies the 2022 requirements: Both the 4th edition and the 2022 standards should be met.
- However, depending on the dates that you completed the courses, it’s still worth checking with your VCS teacher to be sure you did the entire sequence. For example, a course may have the same titles and numbers for both criteria, but the content hours may differ on a certain date.
3. Experience and Fieldwork
All fieldwork and experience must fulfill the standards in effect at the time the certification application gets the submission.
Trainees who are accumulating experience/fieldwork hours and are unsure whether they will apply before or after 2022, or who want to put some of the hours toward the BCaBA requirements: We strongly encourage that you complete both sets of requirements to ensure that your time is well spent. This entails:
- completing all fieldwork and experience requirements
- completing paperwork for both systems (e.g., completing a Monthly Experience Verification Form and a Monthly Fieldwork Verification Form)
- maintaining documentation systems for both so that, in the case of an audit, you can show that you’re fulfilling the applicable standards (e.g., number of observations, number of contacts) and that all of your hours that satisfy the current requirements are accrued within a 5-year time period.
Quick Summary
- Firstly, Experience hours earned under the existing 4th edition standards will not count for an application filed after 2022 unless you complete the 2022 supervised fieldwork requirements.
- This information is crucial for anyone who planned to satisfy the experience criteria (i.e., those who planned to apply in 2021) but will be unable to do so until after 2022. Your experience hours may not count toward an application filed in 2022 due to changes in standards (e.g., number of contacts). And, even if you collect extra hours to fulfill the total hour requirements. If you’re satisfying all of the requirements in place at the time of your application. Then, you’re probably on the correct route.
- Secondly, beginning January 1, 2022, first-year BCBAs who supervise BCBA or BCaBA trainees who have completed fieldwork hours must meet with a consulting supervisor each month for the balance of their first year.
- Lastly, beginning January 1, 2022, all BCBA and BCaBA tests will be based on 5th edition content.
- And, for those who applied under the current 4th edition requirements, don’t worry. Your examination authorization period will be valid for the whole two-year term if you live in the United States, Canada, Australia, or the United Kingdom, regardless of when you applied.
Moving on, above we have understood the major modifications for BACB and BCaBA exam that is happening in January 2022 but showing its effects now only. However, in the next section, we will focus on the areas that you need to look at to create better clarity about the modifications.
What to do during these modifications?
- Firstly, make contact with your supervisor(s) and, if relevant, the VCS Coordinator to confirm that you’re on track for a seamless transition. Trying to submit an application or study for a test during this time may be difficult, so enlisting the support of someone you trust is a good idea. Getting a second opinion, especially from someone with expertise, never hurts.
- If you’re applying in 2021, use Experience Verification Forms, and if you’re applying in 2022, use Fieldwork Verification Forms. Because these documents are so similar, it’s simple to submit the wrong one—but submitting the wrong one might result in a delayed or denied application. Our recommendation is to have your supervisor double-check all of your submitting documents (s).
- Don’t start your application now if you want to apply in 2022. On January 1, 2022, all non-approvable applications will get erase from the BACB account database. Please save your application documents and start submitting after January 1, 2022 to prevent losing your hard work.
- Examine your materials thoroughly before submitting your application. Are you up to date on your application fees? Is the BACB ID number on your document(s) identical to the one in your BACB account? When it comes to your application, every document, signature, and requirement must be completed. So, make sure you dot the i’s and cross the t’s before clicking submit.
One more area to focus on is that now there will be Immediate Results and Year-round Availability for BCBA and BCaBA exams. Check here.
Tips Before Getting Started:
- To begin, go over the eligibility and maintenance criteria outlined in this manual. Determine which eligibility option you want to pursue after this evaluation. Option 1 is used by the majority of BCBA certificants, hence this section focuses mostly on that option.
- Second, figure out when you’ll be able to apply. Keep in mind that meeting all of the requirements may take many years. So, you may not be eligible to apply until after January 1, 2022. At that time, you must fulfil the BCBA 2022 Eligibility Requirements document’s eligibility and examination requirements. To verify that you fulfil all of the criteria, use the BCBA 2022 Eligibility Requirements paper rather than this manual.
- Third, follow these instructions to create a BACB account:
- Fill in your entire legal name as it appears on your government-issued ID. You will not be able to take the exam if it does not match perfectly. Because name changes must get approval of BACB personnel. And, they may cause a delay in your eligibility to take the exam.
- Rather than using a work or school email address, use a personal one. Because important notifications and reminders get transfer to this address. So, you will not get reminders, correspondence, or password resets if you change employment or lose access to your school email account.
- Create your own profile and don’t give out your account details to anybody else, including your boss. This is your certificate, and no one else should be in charge of it.
- As soon as something changes in your BACB account, update it (e.g., name change, address change).
So, go through the above modifications that BACB is planning for BCBA and BCaBA exams in the coming 2022. And, get yourself up to date with the certification exams!
