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AAPI OnlineThe APPIC Board is
providing the following information, in the form of Frequently Asked Questions,
about the online centralized application service called the AAPI Online.
The AAPI Online was approved by a supermajority of APPIC members who voted on
the Spring 2008 ballot. We hope that all members will familiarize themselves with
information about the AAPI online as it is made available. All APPIC member
internship programs will be required to use the AAPI Online in the place
of the current hard-copy, mailed-in application system beginning in the fall of
2009 for selection of the 2010-2011 training class. Also, please let the Board
know any questions or concerns you might have about the online application, or
feedback you may have regarding features you would like to see in the AAPI Online.
While we may not be able to fulfill every request, the development phase is the
best time to make this application as useful as possible. Questions and concerns
about the online application can be directed to Dr.
Jeanette Hsu, (650/493-5000 Ext. 64743) Vice-Chair, APPIC Board of Directors,
and Chair of the AAPI Online Committee. See AAPI Online demo (pdf format)
 View
a sample of an online application (pdf format) Read
testimonials of Training Directors who use an online application 1.
Why has APPIC decided to pursue development of an online application?
2.
What are the benefits of an online application for programs?
3.
What are the benefits to applicants of an online application?
4.
Why has APPIC waited so long to do this?
5.
If hard copies are not available with the online AAPI, what do programs do if
they need a hard copy?
6.
What is the anticipated consequence of such a system on the number of applications
a given program will receive?
7.
The current AAPI is over 30 pages. Some programs may desire to print it to accommodate
their application review process, which would be cost prohibitive.
8.
How will the electronic copies of the AAPI and other materials be sent to training
directors? Will special technology or special arrangements to receive the application
materials be needed?
9. We
have multiple interviewers on our selection committee and not all have computers
- how do we get several people to read the applications?
10.
Could you give some more detail about how the new system would allow programs
to request program-specific essays, supplemental forms, and work samples?
11.
What about "official" transcripts and letters of recommendation?
12.
Applicant information is highly sensitive data and is personnel-type records to
which it will be important to control access. How is APPIC addressing these security
issues?
13. How about accessing
past applicant information? Will this data be archived somewhere?
14.
Could you give us more specifics on how we will be navigating and using the features
of this AAPI Online website? I'd like to see what the system really looks like
before deciding if it will work for our program.
1.
Why has APPIC decided to pursue development of an online application? While
the implementation of the standardized APPIC Application for Psychology Internships
(AAPI) more than ten years ago did much to streamline the application process,
both applicants and programs continue to spend considerable time, effort, and
money under the current system. For example, last year's applicants spent an average
of $218 per person in preparing and submitting their applications. Programs tell
us about the time-consuming and costly task of receiving, sorting, and reviewing
dozens (or often hundreds) of applications. And, from an ecological perspective,
students as a whole submit approximately two million pieces of paper to APPIC
member programs each year. A Centralized Application Service can provide
substantial benefits to Internship programs and applicants. At this time, the
APPIC Board anticipates that the cost of this service will be covered by applicant
fees, with no new costs to member programs. 2.
What are the benefits to programs? -Single repository of all
application information (AAPI, CV, recommendation letters, transcripts)
-Multiple
users on selection committee can have access to applicant information at the same
time
-Capability of sorting applicants by various fields (e.g., accreditation
status, hours, degree type, university)
-Capability of downloading applicant
data into member program's own database
-Ability to track application status
of applicant pool (e.g., complete, incomplete)
-Reduction of some internship
administrative time and costs in receiving and tracking applications
-Option
to print copies of internship applications
-Data collection and statistics
by the APPIC Board about an entire applicant pool
3.
What are the benefits to applicants? -Secure access to own
application information
-Savings of time and money in applying to multiple
programs (e.g., no FedExing, only one copy of official transcript needed)
-Ability to edit application information until due dates
-Ability to track
application status (e.g., complete,
incomplete)
-Ability to upload program-specific
essays, supplemental forms, and work samples
-For the typical applicant,
the cost for use of the system will be significantly offset by reductions in other
expenses such as mailing, copying, paper, and obtaining multiple transcripts.
4.
Why has APPIC waited so long to do this? While some may wish that the
APPIC Board had moved forward more quickly in implementing a Centralized Application
Service (CAS), the Board was determined to exercise due diligence and to be extremely
cautious in implementing such a significant change. Ultimately, the Board did
not act until it was convinced that a Centralized Application Service was the
right thing for its members and for students. APPIC began to look seriously
into the development of a CAS nearly five years ago. After meeting with a number
of vendors, and after discussions with representatives from other professions,
the Board determined that the technology available at that time was quite expensive,
was primarily paper-based, and would not provide sufficient benefits to members
and students. Furthermore, several other professions had experienced less-than-smooth
transitions to this type of service. Thus, while a CAS sounded great in theory,
the Board determined that there were too many risks in moving forward at that
time, and the project was put on hold for several years. In 2007, the Board
revisited the issue and found that the technology had advanced considerably in
those intervening years. The Board learned that its goal of an entirely electronic
CAS was now both feasible and cost-effective. Other professions' Centralized Application
Services were running smoothly, and their feedback to us was far more encouraging,
supportive, and positive. The Board determined that it could implement a system
that would both save applicants money AND require no financial expense to its
member programs. Furthermore, while some of the APPIC membership remained hesitant
about the implementation of such a system, an increasing number of Training Directors
told us that they were ready and willing to use this type of service. 5.
You have said that hard copies will not be provided but that electronic copies
of applications will be available online. What do we do when we need hard copies
of the AAPI?Our hope is that sites will find it very convenient to view
the AAPI from a desktop or laptop and won't need to print anything. The web-based
application will actually be easier to read and navigate than the paper version
(no flipping through pages trying to find the field you need, as you can "tab"
directly to different sections). The new system would also have the benefit of
built-in sorting capability (e.g., by university, accreditation status, numbers
of hours/publications/reports) which may make some of the initial screening of
applications a bit easier and quicker. However, if you still want or need a hard
copy, the online AAPI will allow you to target what you want to print (e.g., only
the summary of hours, or only the essays).
Importantly, the new system
would also reduce or even eliminate the administrative work involved in receiving,
sorting, and filing applications. This cost savings may offset any other printing
costs or time.
For example, at one member site (VA Palo Alto), they
received over 200 applications electronically through email, and after the different
pieces of the applications were sorted and placed in electronic folders, the selection
committee members could easily access them on their computers at work or at home.
Also, it was helpful to have electronic copies of the applications during interviews
because interviewers could glance at the application materials just before seeing
an applicant, rather than trying to find out who had the hard copy folder (which
had been passed around in previous years). 6.
What is the anticipated consequence of such a system on the number of applications
a given program will receive? If all application materials are in a single place
online, what would prevent them from applying to 50 or 100 sites, if it is little
extra work to do so? Receiving more applications would not be helpful to most
sites and would be extra work or result in even less time to really read and evaluate
an application. We have had extensive discussions about this issue, and
have developed a fee structure that we believe will strongly discourage applicants
from sending more than the average number of applications. Specifically, applicants
will pay a reasonable fee for their first 15 applications (the current average
is between 13 and 14); after 15 applications, the fee increases dramatically and
will serve as a disincentive to sending a large number of applications. Furthermore,
under this new system, each academic Director of Clinical Training will have greater
oversight over students' applications, and many will likely provide their students
with guidance about an appropriate number of applications to submit.
More
specifically, here is our plan: Applicants will be charged $35 for the first application
and $10 for each additional application up to 15. Since the mean number of applications
submitted is between 13 and 14, this will take care of the majority of applicants.
Applying to 16-20 sites will cost $25 per application, 21-25 sites will cost $35
per application, and over 25 will cost $50 per application. So, for example,
an applicant applying to the mean of 13 sites will pay $155, but applicants applying
to 25 sites will pay $475, and for 30 sites $725. We hope this increasing fee
structure, plus continued intensive education to applicants that applying to more
sites does not increase their chances of matching, will keep the numbers down.
Of course, we won't know until we try it, and may need to increase the disincentives
further. 7. The current AAPI is over 30 pages. We
may need to print it to accommodate our application review process and this would
be prohibitive for us to print these for over 50 applicants.APPIC is working
with the web vendor to re-design the current AAPI to remove all instructions from
the version viewed and printed by internship programs and to consolidate applicant
data on fewer pages. For those programs still needing to print AAPIs, you will
likely find that the length of the AAPI will be reduced by about half, and that
it will be far easier to read and navigate. The web vendor has examples from other
application systems that they have implemented, but we have asked them to develop
one that is specific to APPIC and the information we request on the AAPI. We hope
to have some samples of such application pages for members to view in the next
few weeks and we'll send out another email to let you know when sample applications
pages will be viewable on the APPIC website. 8.
How will the electronic copies of the AAPI and other materials be sent to us?
Will I need special technology or special arrangements to receive the application
materials?
Using your web browser (e.g., Internet Explorer,
Mozilla Firefox), you will log onto the APPIC website and go directly to a webpage
that will have all the names of your applicants listed. The program will let you
know which applications are complete and which are still awaiting other materials
(e.g., transcripts, recommendation letters). From there, you can view different
sections of their application, make notes, and sort by some specific fields (e.g.,
name, university, number of hours, APA-accredited). So all the information will
be stored at this central server and you can view, download and/or print any part
or all of the application for each applicant. Access to the server is password-protected
and the website is SSL encrypted, much more secure than sending application materials
by email. Also, by not sending materials via email it will not fill up your inbox
with a large volume of emails and attachments 9.
We have multiple interviewers on our selection committee and not all have computers
- how do we get several people to read the applications?Multiple staff
can have access to the website as designated by the TD. Your program would just
need one computer for multiple staff to access the documents online, or they could
share computers or use a home computer or laptop. 10.
The only concern we would have is the capacity to add our Supplemental Application
to the CAS which includes some additional data and an extra essay. Could you give
me some more detail about how the new system would allow us to request program-specific
essays, supplemental forms, and work samples?While APPIC generally discourages
sites from requiring supplemental application forms and/or essays, the new CAS
can easily accommodate such requirements. Each applicant can upload any number
of documents to add to their general application. Each program would still need
to provide an electronic copy of your supplemental application (perhaps on your
own website), which the applicant can copy, complete, and then upload to their
application on the CAS. Supplemental forms/work samples/essays would be designated
to attach to one or more specific programs, so a supplemental application can
go to you, work samples may go to you and 2 other programs, and specific essays
#5 would go to separate programs. 11. What about
"official" transcripts and letters of recommendation?Official
transcripts will be sent to the web application company. Our web vendor has experience
for over 10 years validating official transcripts which will then be viewable
and printable by internship programs. Validating each transcript as official involves
checking for watermarks and that the transcript matches up to the applicant. If
you need an official hard copy of the transcript after the Match, you will need
to request this from your newly matched interns along with other employment-related
forms. Regarding letters of recommendation, each applicant would designate
their letter writers and specific institutional email addresses. The AAPI Online
system will email these letter writers, who will have secure access to the Reference/LOR
portal. Letter writers can either write their letters in an open text box or upload
previously written electronic copies of their letters (e.g., in Word or Adobe
pdf) to the system. These letters will then be viewable by internship TDs and
staff, but are NOT viewable by the applicants. As with hard copy letters, there
is room for fraud (e.g., false letter writers sending in letters on institutional
letterhead), but we believe this system is no more vulnerable to such activities
and can easily be verified by contacting the actual letter writer. 12.
Applicant information is highly sensitive data and is personnel-type records to
which it will be important to control access. How is APPIC addressing these security
issues?With regard to secure access to the online server, the website
will be a non-published URL, access will be password-protected, and the website
will have built-in security features (e.g., SSL). This will be more secure than
the current common practice of "checking out" or passing around applicant
hard copy folders, which may pose some concerns given FERPA and confidentiality
around educational records. Our web vendor has been using a similar system for
several other professional education associations with no security problems. On
a related note, for those of you who want to know how all the data is backed up
in the case of a power failure, natural disaster, or system problem, the servers
can be run off generators for 30 days, the entire database is backed up nightly,
hard drives are mirrored, and nightly backup tapes are stored in a secure off-site
location. 13. How about accessing past applicant
information? Will this data be archived somewhere?We believe it will be
much easier for sites to keep a record of their applications. No physical storage
required! You can export data from your entire applicant pool or from just your
matched internship class into common file formats (e.g., Excel, rtf) to save on
your own computer hard drive or server. You can do this at the end of each selection
season in March to save and view next year or at your next accreditation site
visit, if needed. The AAPI Online system won't archive last year's data for you. 14.
Could you give us more specifics on how we will be navigating and using the features
of this AAPI Online website? I'd like to see what the system really looks like
before deciding if it will work for our program.See AAPI Online demo (pdf
format) View
a sample of an online application (pdf format)
15
May 2008 | |
