ABSTRACT
The most controversial issue in program quality control concerns the locus of authority for control. Academic departments have traditionally employed their own internal mechanisms for assuring quality. Review of student performance and peer review by faculty are among the many means by which standards of quality are maintained in academic departments. The issue of authority for quality control has been difficult for psychology, partly because of the widespread adoption of the scientist-practitioner model for educating professional psychologists. The licensure and certification of practitioners and the accreditation of programs for educating practitioners began with the growth of professional psychology after World War II. The history of credentialling in psychology overlaps largely with psychologists own professional history in the field. The Boulder conference legitimized and gave form to doctoral training in clinical psychology. The 1973 Vail conference sanctioned the education of psychologists through diverse models of education and in a wide range of educational settings.
