TO: /
The Honorable the Members of the Board of Regents
FROM: / Frank MuñozSUBJECT: / Report of the Committee on the Professions Regarding Licensing Petitions
DATE: / July 6, 2010
STRATEGIC GOAL: / Goal 3
AUTHORIZATION(S):
Summary
Issue for Decision (Consent Agenda)
Should the Regents approve the recommendations of the Committee on the Professions pertaining to licensing petitions as listed on the attachment?
Proposed Handling
This question will come before the full board at its July 2010 meeting where it will be voted on and action taken.
Procedural History
Section 6506(5) of the Education Law and Section 24.7 of the Rules of the Board of Regents authorize the Regents to waive education, experience and examination requirements for a professional license as well as to confer the degree Doctor of Medicine.
Background Information
There are 5 licensing petitions and 14 requests for the conferral of the degree Doctor of Medicine for review and approval.
Recommendation
It is recommended that the Regents approve the recommendations of the Committee on the Professions regarding licensing petitions.
Timetable for Implementation
Approval of the Committee on the Professions’ recommendations will be effective July 20, 2010.
Cases Presented to Board of Regents on: July 20, 2010 SUMMARY REPORTPROFESSION / EDUCATION / EXAMINATION / Experience / Confer Degree Doctor of Medicine / Three-Year
Limited License
Pre-Professional / Professional / Post-Graduate / Proficiency / Licensing
Certified Public Accountancy / 10-04-07
Dentistry / 10-05-50 / 10-05-50 / 10-01-59
Medicine / 10-87-60* / 10-87-60* / 10-87-60* / 10-87-60* / 10-84-60C
to
10-97-60C
Psychology / 10-01-68
Veterinary Medicine / 10-10-74
10-11-74
OTHER: *Endorsement of Austrian Medical License / Total for fiscal year to date: 85
Total for calendar year to date: 127
Board of Regents: July 20, 2010
DENTISTRY
10-05-50
Snehal Gajendra
Rochester, New York 14625
(Government Dental College and Hospital, Mumbai, India, Bachelor of Dental Surgery, December 1988)
Petition for:Acceptance of education.
Statement of Problem:Regulations of the Commissioner require an applicant for licensure in dentistry to complete not less than 60 semester hours of pre-professional education including courses in general chemistry, organic chemistry, biology or zoology and physics. Dr. Gajendra completed one-year of pre-professional education (including chemistry, physics and biology) prior to his matriculation into a four-year dental program at the Government Dental College and Research Institute, Mumbai, India. Following dental school, he received a Master of Dental Surgery in Orthodontia (March 1993) from the Government Dental College and Research Institute, Bangalore, India. The State Board for Dentistry recommends that the Master’s degree be considered as fulfillment of the pre-professional education requirement.
Additionally, Dr. Gajendra did not complete the two academic years of study required in an accredited dental school program culminating in certification that the applicant has achieved the level of knowledge and clinical proficiency expected of a graduate of that school. Such study is required for applicants completing a program of dental education in an unregistered or unaccredited dental school. He enrolled in the two-year advanced program in general dentistry at the Eastman Dental Center of the University of Rochester and successfully completed the program in June 2009. This program is acknowledged by the State Board for Dentistry as the substantial equivalent of the two-year program required in regulation.
APPLICABLE REQUIREMENTS: / QUALIFICATIONS:Section 61 of the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education requires:
(1) Not less than 60 semester hours of pre-professional education including courses in general chemistry, organic chemistry, biology or zoology, and physics. / (1)(a) One-year of pre-professional education (physics, chemistry, biology), Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education, June 1983.
(1)(b) Government Dental College and Research Institute, Bangalore, India, Master of Dental Surgery in Orthodontia, March 1993.
(2)Four academic years of dental education culminating in a degree in an acceptable dental school. / (2)Four years of acceptable dental education culminating in the degree of Bachelor of Dental Surgery, Government Dental College and Hospital, Mumbai, India, December 1988.
(3) Two academic years of study in an accredited dental school program culminating in certification that the applicant has achieved the level of knowledge and clinical proficiency expected of a graduate of that school. / (3) Two-year advanced program in general dentistry at the University of Rochester, Eastman Dental Center, Rochester, New York, completed June 2009.
(4) Satisfactory scores on Parts I and II of the National Dental Board Examinations. / (4)
(5) Acceptable clinically-based dental residency program of at least one year’s duration. / (5)
(6) United States citizen or alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence in the United States. / (6)
(7) Evidence of the required course in the identification and reporting of child abuse and maltreatment. / (7) Completed the required course in the identification and reporting of child abuse and maltreatment.
RECOMMENDATION: The Committee on the Professions, in concurrence with the Executive Secretary of the State Board for Dentistry, recommends that the applicant's pre-professional and professional education requirements be considered satisfied.
Board of Regents: July 20, 2010
PSYCHOLOGY
10-01-68
DRAFT
Ellen L. Mezan
Katonah, NY 10536
(California Graduate Institute, Los Angeles, California, Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology, 2006)
Petition for: Acceptance of education as substantial equivalent
Statement of Problem:Dr. Mezan graduated from a doctoral program in clinical psychology from the California Graduate Institute. The program was not registered by the Department and designated as licensure qualifying, and the institution school was not “accredited by an accrediting organization acceptable to the Department” as required for U.S. graduates. The only accrediting bodies acceptable to the Department for doctoral programs in psychology in the United States are regional accrediting bodies recognized by the US Department of Education. For colleges in California, this would be the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC). The California Graduate Institute was approved by the now defunct State of California Bureau for Private Post-Secondary and Vocational Education (BPPVE). The Department and the Board of Regents have never accepted education from a college only approved by BPPVE. until July 1, 2008 but had no accreditation. California’s former approval system appears to be unique to California, since essentially most states require, at a minimum, regional accreditation for the approval of doctoral education for licensure in psychology.
The applicant is petitioning for her school to be accepted as an “institution … recognized by the appropriate civil authorities of the jurisdiction in which the school is located as an acceptable doctoral program in psychology” and for her doctoral education combined with completion of a re-specialization program in Psychology at Hofstra University to be determined by the Department to be the substantial equivalent in design, scope, content and resources to a New York State registered program that is licensure qualifying as defined in subdivision (b) of this Ssection 72.1 of the Regulations of the Commissioner.
The “recognized by the appropriate civil authorities of the jurisdiction in which the school is located” regulatory provision was designed for doctoral programs in psychology located outside the United States, so that persons from other countries could meet the education requirement for licensure in psychology. Historically, the Department has applied this provision only for programs completed outside the United States, both in Psychology and other Title VIII professions.
Even though Dr. Mezan applied for licensure initially in 2006, the educational documentation needed to complete her licensure application was not submittedsent until 2009, after she had completed the Hofstra University re-specialization program. Consequently, no official evaluation of her education occurred in 2006. The applicant claims that she relied upon the information given in telephone conversations with an authorized representative of the New York State Board for Psychology in undertaking and successfully completing a Hofstra University Re-specialization Program in Psychology, expended significant sums of money and time doing so, and has otherwise satisfied the necessary requirements for licensure. She submitted an attestation by Jessica Gendelman Cassaday, Ph.D., a graduate of the same doctoral program in psychology in California, who claims that she received the same advice by telephone two years earlier from the same staff person, who has since retired. There are no Departmental records of these telephone conversations, although Dr. Mezan mentioned them in an undated letter written to the same staff person, presumably in 2006. A review of the archives of the generic e-mailbox for the State Board for Psychology for a ten-year period finds no e-mail communications with Dr. Mezan or Dr. Cassaday. Dr. Cassaday did not submit an application for a license in psychology in New York State. The Executive Secretary of the New York State Board for Psychology contacted the retired staff person by telephone and asked about these conversations. He denied that he provided the information that is reported, and stated that he would have advised such applicants to contact an approved school to check if the school would consider accepting the doctoral education from the unapproved degree-granting institution for entry into their doctoral degree program with advanced standing.
The DepartmentNew York State has not registered, nor does it accept any re-specialization programs in place of the required doctoral degree program in psychology from a regionally accredited college or university. The Department New York also has a regulation that at least 30 semester hours be completed in the doctoral-granting program. Psychology re-specialization programs in New York State are considered continuing education and have not been reviewed or registered for general or licensure-qualifying purposes by this Department and are offered without Departmental approval under the charter of the University.KU Hofstra University advertises their program for the purpose of providing specialty education in psychology. Licensure in psychology is generic without designation of specialties, so the re-specialization programs in this State require that applicants to such programs present evidence that the State recognizes the doctorate in psychology for licensure purposes prior to entering the program. Hofstra University does identify this as an admissions requirement in their catalog and on their website. Hofstra admitted her even though the State does not recognize doctoral programs completed at a college not regionally accredited. If the program did inform Dr. Mezan, as claimed in the appeal, that “it represented itself in its admissions process that successful completion of the program would result infor qualification for licensure in New York State,” this information was incorrect since this re-specialization program is not a registered doctoral program in psychology. Had Dr. Mezan submitted education documentation in 2006, she would have received an official education review and have been notified officially of any options for meeting licensure requirements.
Dr. Mezan completed only the equivalent of 22 credits in the clinical psychology re-specialization program at Hofstra University. She has been advised to seekdseed advanced standing in the doctoral program at Hofstra based on the education that they accepted when admitting her to the re-specialization program, and any additional coursework that might be needed to meet the core requirements of their registered licensure-qualifying program. In this way, she could obtain an acceptable doctoral degree in psychology and automatically satisfy the professional education requirements for licensure. t
The Executive Secretary of the State Board for Psychology recommends that the petition of Dr. Mezan to accept the doctoral degree that she received from the California Graduate Institute, in addition to the coursework completed in the re-specialization program of Hofstra University, not be accepted as meeting New York State’s education requirement for licensure as a psychologist.
APPLICABLE REQUIREMENTS: / QUALIFICATIONS:Sections 7603 and 6507 of the Education Law and Section 72.1 of the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education requires:
(1)Acceptable doctoral degree and program in psychology. / (1)See Statement of Problem.
(2)Two years satisfactory supervised experience. / (2)
(3)Acceptable scores on a satisfactory licensing examination. / (3)
(4)Evidence of good moral character. / (4)Evidence of good moral character.
(5)Evidence of completion of the required course in identification and reporting of child abuse and maltreatment. / (5) ?? (check file) Evidence of completion of the required course in identification and reporting of child abuse and maltreatment.
RECOMMENDATION: The Committee on the Professions, in concurrence with the Executive Secretary of the State Board for Psychology, recommends that the applicant’s petition for acceptance of her education be denied.
Board of Regents: July 20, 2010
THREE-YEAR LIMITED LICENSE IN VETERINARY MEDICINE
Petition for: Three-year limited license to practice veterinary medicine under Section 6704(6) of the Education Law.
Statement of Problem: The applicants listed below have met the education and examination requirements for licensure as veterinarians in New York State. The only requirement for full licensure that cannot be satisfied at this time is United States citizenship or immigration status as an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence in the United States.
Each applicant also has a pending application for full veterinary medical licensure, which cannot be granted until he/she satisfies the citizenship or permanent residency requirement.
Applicable Guidelines: Section 6704(6) of Education Law relates to the requirement of United States citizenship or permanent resident status for licensure as a veterinarian in New York State and allows the Board of Regents to grant a one-time three-year waiver (plus an extension of not more than one year) for an alien veterinarian to practice in New York State if all other licensure requirements are satisfied.
Name of Petitioner
10-10-74Senthilvelan Anantharaman
Buffalo, NY 14226
10-11-74
Dara Lynn Prehogan
New York, NY 10128
ACTION: The Department shall issue a limited license for a maximum of three years to practice veterinary medicine in New York State to each applicant, conditional upon approval by the Department of all documentation needed to verify satisfaction of all veterinary medicine licensure requirements other than citizenship. The limited license may be renewed upon the lawful submission of an application for an extension of not more than one year, at the discretion of the Department.
Board of Regents: July 20, 2010
MEDICINE
10-87-60
Babak Djavan
New York, New York 10016