Faculty members in 糖心原创出品 (UAH) College of Education, Sport, and Human Sciences (CESHS) 鈥� left to right, Dr. Beth Quick, dean; Dr. Jennifer Bruzek, assistant professor; Dr. Laura Senn, clinical assistant professor, and Dr. Jeremy Elliott, associate dean and associate professor 鈥� have much to celebrate in 2025. Two highlights from the Master of Science in Applied Behavior Analysis program stand out: 100% first-time pass rate for graduates who took the Board Certified Behavior Analyst exam in 2024 and Tier 2A recognition from the Association for Behavior Analysis International鈥檚 Tiered Model of Education.
Michael Mercier | UAH
The Master of Science in Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) at 糖心原创出品 (UAH) has reached a milestone achievement. All program graduates who took the Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) examination for the first time in 2024 passed. That makes UAH one of only 11 out of 192 universities to meet the 100% pass rate for first-time candidates, according to the report released earlier this year by the Behavior Analyst Certification Board.
鈥淚t鈥檚 an incredibly rigorous exam to pass,鈥� said Dr. Jennifer Bruzek, assistant professor, Department of Curriculum and Instruction, College of Education, Sport, and Human Sciences at UAH, a part of The University of Alabama System. 鈥淭he national average pass rate for first-time candidates is only 54% of almost 10,000 first-time test-takers.鈥�
The 100% pass rate isn鈥檛 the program鈥檚 only major accomplishment this year. Bruzek and fellow ABA instructor Dr. Laura Senn, clinical assistant professor, pursued recognition through the Association for Behavior Analysis International鈥檚 (ABAI) Tiered Model of Education. They recently achieved Tier 2A.
鈥淭his recognition is particularly meaningful because it represents an important step toward full accreditation for our program,鈥� Bruzek said. 鈥淎BAI, one of only two accrediting bodies for behavior analysis programs, and the oldest in the field, sets rigorous standards that guide the growth and quality of programs worldwide.鈥�
鈥淭he college is proud to celebrate its ABA candidates鈥� strong pass rate on the BCBA exam and its achievement of Tier 2A recognition,鈥� said Dr. Beth Quick, dean, College of Education, Sport, and Human Sciences. 鈥淭his was made possible through the exceptional leadership, expertise and commitment of Drs. Bruzek and Senn. This accomplishment reflects the rigor of the program and the excellence of its fully online design and delivery, which prepare candidates for success and impact in the field.鈥�
Board-certified behavior analysts assess and manage human behavior for a wide range of clients, including, but not limited to, individuals with autism, traumatic brain injuries or any type of intellectual or developmental disability as well as children in the foster care system and geriatric patients.
Organizational behavior management, a branch of behavior analysis that deals with performance management and systems, can benefit workplaces, too.
鈥淲e look at behavior from the perspective of what鈥檚 happening in the environment to either maintain, increase or decrease behavior in some way so that people are moving towards living the lives they want to live,鈥� Bruzek said.
鈥淢ost of our students have had an undergraduate background in either psychology, education or another related field,鈥� Senn said. 鈥淢any of them have gotten into the field at an entry level as a certified registered behavior technician (RBT).
鈥淭he roles of an RBT and a BCBA are similar to those of a nurse to a doctor. Behavior analysts oversee behavior assessments, create an individualized plan for each client, and continuously monitor ongoing data to determine progress and modify those individual plans. They also train and monitor RBTs, who are delivering the day-to-day hands-on services according to individual client plans.鈥�
To ensure their students are ready for the BCBA exam and the vital work that follows, Bruzek and Senn employ teaching methods that model best practices in the behavior analysis field.
鈥淲e almost never teach the same class twice,鈥� Bruzek said, 鈥渂ecause we always try to pull out what didn鈥檛 work to replace it with a new idea to improve on the original. We take an individualized approach and monitor each student to make sure that they鈥檙e where they need to be.鈥�
鈥淚n addition to purposefully soliciting feedback on a weekly basis from all of our students, we also turn a behavior-analytic eye toward what we鈥檙e doing,鈥� Senn added. 鈥淲e do a lot of self-assessment. How well did something achieve the effect we intended? What could be adjusted to produce a better outcome next time?
鈥淭his is exactly what we do in this field overall. We really utilize the techniques and the principles that our students are taught in the program to keep the program going and make it better year after year.鈥�
Interested in obtaining your BCBA certification? Visit the M.S. in ABA page on the UAH website.