Behavior Analysis Studies, MS: Technical Standards

Applies To

This policy applies to Behavior Analysis Studies students in the College of Health Professions.

Policy Statement

SUNY Upstate Medical University complies with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act. All applicants and students are held to the same academic and technical standards of admissions and training. Reasonable accommodations will be made for qualified individuals with a disability. However, the student is expected to perform these functions in a reasonably independent manner.

Technical Standards 

Behavior analysts seek to produce socially significant behavior change by assessing the characteristics of clients’ behavior and modifying the environment to promote effective learning. Intervention goals may be to increase desirable behavior or to reduce behaviors of concern, program for maintenance and generalization of treatment gains, and train caregivers and other stakeholders to implement behavioral interventions. These goals ultimately increase clients’ abilities to function in their environments and enhance their quality of life.

Behavior Analysis Studies students are held accountable for the following Technical Standards:

1. Acquire and accurately interpret information from demonstrations and experiences in applied settings, including but not limited to information conveyed through clinical observations and direct client care.
2. Acquire and accurately interpret information from written documents and identify information presented in images from paper, videos, transparencies, slides, computer monitors, and other types of visual and auditory displays.
3. Accurately elicit from a client or their caregivers a history and other information required to adequately and effectively evaluate behaviors of concern.
4. Select and perform assessments of clients’ preference, behavior function, skill proficiency, and barriers to learning.
5. Use and interpret information from direct (e.g., hands-on assessments and direct observations) and indirect (e.g., medical-record review, caregiver interview, rating scales) sources during a comprehensive behavioral evaluation.
6. Synthesize information to develop a plan of care for clients.
7. Problem solve and critically think in order to manage all aspects of behavioral assessment and treatment for clients.
8. Safely perform interventions including but not limited to functional communication training and other differential-reinforcement procedures, extinction, discrimination training and other stimulus-control procedures, delay-tolerance training, discrete-trial instruction, and behavioral skills training.
9. Collect, organize, and graphically display relevant client data to evaluate treatment efficacy in a manner that adheres to HIPAA laws and ethical standards of the Behavior Analyst Certification Board.
10. Demonstrate reading, writing, and verbal skills in the English language sufficient to accomplish curricular requirements and provide clinical care to clients in a variety of classroom and clinical settings.
11. Communicate effectively, sensitively, and efficiently in oral, written, and nonverbal modes with faculty, clients, families, and all members of the healthcare team.
12. Develop effective, professional relationships with faculty, clients and families, peers, and relevant others in a manner that consistently demonstrates accountability, compassion, and integrity.
13. Utilize intellectual ability, demonstrate emotional stability, and exercise sound judgment in urgent and emergency situations, as well as in a variety of situations and environments, including but not limited to circumstances of stress, uncertainty, and taxing workloads.

Definitions

There are no definitions associated with this policy.

Related Information

• Student Code of Conduct
• College of Health Professions Program Website

Policy History

Review Date:	Change Description:
12/5/24	New Policy reviewed and approved by the Dean’s Advisory Council