The Practical Practicum Process

Why bother with BAPIC (Bay Area Practicum Information Collaborative)?

By Soseh Esmaeili, Spring 2009

You may have already read the documents provided by the Office of Professional Training that details how the new procedures for practicum acceptance and offers works, but some questions still remain--will this process work and why was it formed?

In some important ways, BAPIC was modeled after the APPIC (Association of Psychology Postdoctoral and Internship Centers) and CAPIC (California Psychology Internship Council) application processes. So, ideally, BAPIC is more beneficial for the student applying to various agencies.

In the past, practicum offers were offered weeks apart and students were forced to accept the first offer they received even if they were anticipating more acceptance phone calls. BAPIC allows us to have a unified day, April 14, where we, the students, can actually hold, decline or accept our practicum site. Here are a few guidelines provided by OPT:

• Unified notification day is April 14.
• Agencies must call students from 8:30 a.m. to noon with offers.
• Students can place only one agency on hold at a time.
• Over the phone acceptance is binding.
• Applicants will be notified by April 7 if they are not being considered.
• Agencies are not allowed to let applicants know whether they are accepted or how they are ranked before April 14.
• Students must accept an offer given by noon on April 14.
• If a student does not get matched by that time, he or she should contact OPT for more info on Clearing House procedures.

Although this day can be stressful, I believe BAPIC procedures can provide us with unification and organization. Please check out official BAPIC guidelines for more information.