Accreditation

Programs of Clinical Pastoral Education at UNC Hospitals are accredited by the Association of Clinical Pastoral Education (ACPE) to offer Level I/II and Certified Educator CPE.

The Association of Clinical Pastoral Education may be contacted at:

ACPE: The Standard for Spiritual Care and Education
We Work, Floor 4
120 West Trinity Place
Decatur GA 30030
(404) 320-1472

The Association for Clinical Pastoral Education, Inc. (ACPE) is the only agency recognized by the United States Department of Education (USDE) to accredit programs of Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) in the United States. ACPE currently accredits over 300 CPE programs offered in hospitals, prisons, churches, seminaries, community-based organizations, and other settings across the United States.

Accreditation is a primary means of quality assurance in the field of CPE. Having originated in institutions of higher education in North America, accreditation is a voluntary activity in which institutions agree on standards of institutional and educational quality and hold themselves, as well as other institutions, accountable to those standards. Accreditation offers an opportunity to institutions to demonstrate that they are committed to maintain a high level of quality in their programs and that their programs are performing at the level required by the field. Continued accreditation by ACPE provides lasting benefits to students, the institution, faculty members and employees, the profession and the larger community.

Annual Notice

Student Record Information: UNC Hospitals Clinical Pastoral Education Program

This ACPE CPE center/program guarantees to its students the rights to inspect and review education records, to seek to amend them, to specified control over release of record information, and to specify control over release of record information.

Directory Information

Directory Information is student information not generally considered harmful or an invasion of privacy if released. At UNC Hospitals, directory information includes:

Name
Address
Email Address
Telephone
Date of birth
Religion
Previous Education, and
Photograph.

Opting Out

Current students can restrict directory information and/or record access at any time during attendance by crossing off any of the items above and returning this notice with your signature, or by writing a letter to the Associate Director for CPE (Accreditation) indicating your desire to opt out and what directory information you wish to restrict. Restrictions will be honored even after the student’s departure. Former students cannot initiate new restrictions after departure.

Definition of Student Records

A student record is: (1) any record (paper, electronic, video, audio, biometric, etc.) directly related to the student from which the student’s identity can be recognized; and (2) maintained by the education program/institution or a person acting for the institution.

Record Management Protocol and Students’ Rights to Objection to Content

Policy

The Pastoral Care Department’s record management policy is set forth in Educational Policy CPE-8 which is attached hereto and is also set forth in the Student Handbook.

Objections

A student has the right to object to record content. If not negotiable, the written objection will be kept with and released with the record.

Students must give written permission to the use of their clinical material as well as recorded and/or live observation media pertinent to the educator’s peer review and the Certified Educator Candidate’s process toward certification. To participate in an ACPE program a student must sign the “Use of Clinical Materials Consent Form.” Students being accepted into a unit of CPE are to review and sign the “Use of Clinical Materials Consent Form” prior to formal admission to a Clinical Pastoral Education Program or a unit of CPE Level I/Level II.

Following the action of a certification committee or the Certification Commission, and when the time limit for appeal has lapsed, all materials submitted about students will be destroyed.

The Certification Commission may keep on file a face sheet of the person seeking certification, copies of the Presenters' Reports, and copies of all Action Reports on the person seeking certification. Other materials should be returned to the person seeking certification.

ACPE may keep on file a copy of the face sheet and regional certification committee Action Reports, copies of all Certification Commission Presenters' Reports, and copies of all Certification Commission Action Reports

Research

If information in student records or in an ACPE Certified Educator’s records is considered of research value, and UNC Hospitals or ACPE desires to collect and use such material for research, a release form shall be made available for the person's signature. No personally identifiable material will be used for research without the person's written permission for its use.

Individuals with Access to Student Records

The only individuals within the Department of Pastoral Care that have access to Student Records without specific student consent are educational officials with legitimate interest in student records. Educational officials with a legitimate educational interest in student records at UNC Hospitals are:

ACPE Certified Educators/Educator Candidates employed by the Department of Pastoral Care
The Executive Assistant employed by the Department of Pastoral Care.
The Director of the Department of Pastoral Care
Staff Chaplains who may be given access to Student Records as needed to serve as interviewers for applicants and/or when assigned as a clinical mentor for a resident(s).

Access to student records may be permitted for purposes of ACPE accreditation review or in the event that a student complaint is filed.

Violations

Violations of Annual Notice protocols may be reported to the Chair of the Accreditation Commission at