The Virginia Applied Behavior Analysis Consortium: Preparing Behavior Analysts Using a Collaborative Model

Four Virginia universities teamed up to run one shared BCBA training program. Teachers and autism specialists take the same courses, supervision, and fieldwork across all campuses.

The group pools professors, funding, and practicum sites so rural areas get slots too.

The consortium model lets a small state triple its yearly BCBA graduates without building new departments.

Students finish faster because classes rotate among schools and supervisors share evening and weekend hours.

Castelloe et al. (1993) showed one university can grow a program over 30 years. Virginia copies that idea but uses four schools at once, cutting the ramp-up time from decades to three years.

Kazemi et al. (2019) found most master’s programs teach the same EAB articles. Virginia built one shared syllabus so every campus teaches those core readings instead of each reinventing the wheel.

Habel et al. (2025) created a state-wide quality checker for behavior plans. Virginia’s model trains the people who will later write those plans—both papers give BCBAs tools to standardize practice across one state system.

If your state has a BCBA shortage, copy Virginia. Ask nearby schools to share courses and supervisors. One program, many logos, faster pipeline. You can start with a Zoom syllabus meeting and one shared fieldwork tracker.