Graduate Policies

Application Requirement for Graduate Students

Students applying for graduate acceptance in speech-language pathology and Deaf Education must complete their bachelor's degrees no later than the end of the semester prior to the beginning semester of their graduate program. Applicants may petition to the department Speech-Language Pathology Committee or Deaf Education Committee if extenuating circumstances exist.

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ASHA Praxis Audiology Exam Policy

All SLP and Audiology graduate students must take the ASHA national exam by ETS called the Praxis Audiology exam which is part of the Praxis II series and report their scores to the department in order to graduate from the Department of Communicative Disorders and Deaf Education.  Students will take the national exam by the end of the final semester of the graduate program.

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Clinical Research Project (Audiology)

In order to graduate, audiology students must successfully complete a clinical research project.  The clinical research project requirement is designed to help doctoral students use their evidence-based skills to organize and synthesize their thinking into a formal paper and presentation. 

These clinical research projects may include evidence-based position papers; business plans; critical literature reviews with applications to clinical problem solving; development of clinical treatment, or management protocols based on published research findings; etc.

The USU Au.D. program believes strongly that audiology is best practiced from an evidence-based framework.  Our academic and clinical curricula de-emphasize unsystematic experience and clinical intuition as sufficient grounds for clinical decision-making.  Rather, the USU Au.D. program stresses the examination and application of results from clinical research.  Within this context, any clinical research project designed to accomplish this overall goal should be considered worthy of the doctoral experience.  Specifically, the purposes of the doctoral project are:

• To create an opportunity for participants to engage in a study of an area of audiology
• To foster the participant’s appreciation for evidence-based practice
• To enhance the participant’s capacity to be a critical consumer of audiologic research
• To provide a forum conducive for the participant to demonstrate critical thinking
• To provide opportunities for collection of data relevant to the practice or research concerning clinical practice
• To provide new insight into the practice of audiology

In general, regardless of the format, it is envisioned that a typical doctoral project will minimally consist of a literature review focused on a specific aspect of the practice of audiology, followed by an assessment and projection of impact on existing practice.  Thus, the project must be more than a routine literature search.  There needs to be a creative component and substantial evidence of synthesis on the part of the student.  The project must be designed to demonstrate critical thinking and posing of research questions or applications of research to the practice of audiology.  There needs to be something to defend; students need to build a case based on evidence (from literature or actual data collection), take a position and be prepared to defend it.

Procedures (Initiation to Completion)

The doctoral clinical research project is comprised of 1 credit of Research Seminar (7820) and at least 4 credit hours Clinical Research Project (7870).  Each semester that the student is working on the clinical research project he or she will be enrolled for one-credit of 7870. Before a student can accept a 4th year clinical externship placement, the student must be approved to defend his or her project. It is required that each doctoral student finish the clinical research project by the first Friday of the first week of December of the 3rd year of the program.  In order for a student to meet the clinical research requirement all students will have submitted to the chair of their graduate committee a rough draft of the Clinical Research Project no later than the first week of the fall semester of the 3rd year.  Under no circumstances should a student initiate a clinical research project until her or his project chair and the supervisory committee has approved it.  The various steps and guidelines associated with completion of the doctoral project are outlined as follows:

The initial step in the process is to select a project.  Students will be provided a list of possible research ideas that they may choose to pursue.  The faculty member’s research ideas and project topics will be available to students early in their first semester of study.  Student interest and faculty availability will be considered in selecting the topic to be researched. 

The next step.   Once the topic and chairperson have been decided a committee will be assigned.  The chairperson and student will interact closely to refine the original idea into its final form.  The student will write a formal proposal and present an oral explanation of the project to his or her committee before the end of the second semester of graduate work. If Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval is necessary the student will obtain this approval before attempting to commence the project.  The supervisory committee form must be submitted to the School of Graduate Studies before the student begins his or her project (download this from the School of Graduate School website).


The written portion of the project.  The title of the project should be brief and suggest the project’s purpose.

The introduction section should describe the problem to be addressed by the project including the type (i.e., research, survey development, position paper, literature review, assessment or management protocol, etc.) and purpose (i.e., typically a theoretical rationale based on literature review) of the project.  The purpose of the project should support, and logically lead to a statement of the importance.  In many cases, the purpose and importance of the project can be broken down further into more precise sub-components or position statements.

The literature review should contain all major research studies or published reports that are relevant to the candidate’s clinical research project.  Irrelevant literature, although sometimes interesting and informative, generally should not be reviewed. 

The next section is the purpose and objectives.  This section needs to describe the purpose, the specific objectives or outcomes, and the questions or problems that were addressed in the clinical research project.

The procedures section addresses the methodological approaches the student used to complete the project.  It includes, as a minimum, how the project was conducted, specific procedures that were used, decision criteria, types of evidence (data) that were collected and the sources of such evidence, and how the information collected was analyzed.  The procedure section usually concludes with a statement summarizing the scope of the project and a listing of limitations.

The final description will explain why the project was of value to the student, the profession of audiology, and, if appropriate, other entities (i.e., adults with hearing loss, infants with congenital hearing loss, etc.).  In this section there may be a discussion of research that needs to be completed, questions that need to be answered, or implications that can be drawn from this project.

Finally, the final paper and presentation must include a list of references—a listing of the books, articles and other sources that the candidate has cited in the narrative.  The Department of Communicative Disorders and Deaf Education policy is that all formal papers must list references consistent with the current APA Publication Manual.  There is no specified length for the research project paper.

Review by the supervisory committee. The student works closely with the project chairperson in writing the project paper.  In many cases, the student may have to write several “rough” drafts of the manuscript until both the student and chair agree that a final draft has been achieved.  The completed final draft is submitted to the USU Supervisory Committee for review.  This committee, after review of the final draft, will decide if the student is ready to make an oral defense.  In the event members of the Supervisory Committee decide that a student is NOT ready for an oral defense, they will confer with the project chair to specify areas of concern that need to be satisfied prior to the oral presentation.

Finally, the student must make an oral defense of the doctoral project. All oral presentations will take place on USU’s campus.  It is required that students will present their clinical research projects to their Supervisory Committee before the first Friday of December of their third year and to their peers any time before March 1st of their third year.  If all aspects of the project are not completed before March 1st of the third year students will not be eligible for their fourth year externship.

In general, the format of the oral presentation is the responsibility of the project chair.  Typically, oral presentations consist of a 30 – 35 minute summary of the project, followed by an open discussion by all individuals in attendance.  Presentation time will ordinarily be scheduled during a clinic meeting during the fall or spring semester of the 3rd year of the Au.D. program, prior to the 4th year externship.
 

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Communicative Disorders Bachelor's Degree Policy

A student with a bachelor's degree in another field who desires to receive a masters degree in Communicative Disorders and Deaf Education (COMD-DE) must obtain a 2nd bachelor's degree in COMD or have the equivalent junior and senior level COMD courses and extra-departmental courses before he/she will be considered for acceptance into the master's degree program.

In order to be accepted into the 2nd bachelor's degree program, the student must have a bachelor's degree from an accredited university and have earned at least a 3.0 GPA. The specific COMD course schedule is developed by the academic advisor and student prior to beginning the 2nd bachelor's degree program. Once the student is admitted, the departmental retention standards must be maintained (no COMD grade lower than B-, and GPA no lower than 3.0) in order for the student to continue in the undergraduate program

 

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Comprehensive Exam (Audiology)

Doctoral students in audiology are expected to pass a preliminary comprehensive examination (both practical and written) at the beginning of their second year of study, and a comprehensive examination (written, practical, and oral) at the end of their third year. These examinations are provided to reveal the candidate’s knowledge and skill in all aspects of audiology and their readiness to function as independent professionals. Any area that is scored below a level of pass (below and average score of 3) this area of deficiency must be rewritten and passed in order to continue the graduate program. Scoring is similar to that described for the questions in Speech-Language Pathology below.

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Comprehensive Written Examination (Deaf Education)

Students who do not elect the Plan A or Plan B option will take a comprehensive written examination at the beginning of the semester prior to their residential student teaching placement.. The examination will last six hours. The time and place of the comprehensive examination will be determined by the chair of the comprehensive exam committee.
The examination is designed to reveal the candidate's knowledge of the history of Deaf Education, current best practices in the field, appropriate pedagogical tools used for assessment and teaching of language (both American Sign Language and English), education-related law that impacts the education and culture of the Deaf, IEP development, and lesson plan preparation and delivery.  Students will be evaluated on the level of their knowledge as well as their ability to express their knowledge in acceptable written form.
Appropriate accommodations will be made for students with documented disabilities.

Nature of Written Comprehensive Questions

The graduate faculty will create comprehensive examination questions that are focused on the education and programming of the child who is Deaf or hard of hearing. The questions will cut across course lines.
Example: Discuss the pedagogical and assessment implications of IDEA as it applies to the education of the child who is Deaf or hard-of-hearing.

Scoring Procedure

Each answer will be rated by the members of the graduate committee as 4 (excellent), 3 (pass), 2 (poor), or 1 (fail). All ratings for each student's answers will be averaged for a total score in order to determine the outcome of the student's examination. Students must pass each question with a score of 3 or higher in order to pass the comprehensive examination.

Oral Examination

An oral examination shall be given to each candidate by their selected Graduate Committee.  The chair of the committee will be the head of the student's Plan C committee. The oral examination will not exceed two hours in length.
The oral examination will be based on questions that might arise due to the student's  responses on the written examination.If two or more members of the committee believe the student failed one or more questions from the written examination, the student will have an opportunity to demonstrate appropriate knowledge in the area(s) of the question(s).
At the end of the oral exam, the committee will take a pass or fail vote. If two or more members of the committee vote for failure,  the student will be dismissed from the program, unless the committee agrees to allow the student to re-take either or both segments of the comprehensive examination (writtens and orals).

Comprehensive American Sign Language Exit Evaluation

Each candidate will be given a comprehensive American Sign Language Exit Evaluation in the semester preceding the residential student teaching placement. If the student does not receive a score of PASS or CONDITIONAL, he/she will not be allowed to student teach in the residential placement. This evaluation might be re-taken once.

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Comprehensive Exam (SLP)

Students who do not elect the Plan A or Plan B option will take comprehensive examinations during the final semester in which they expect to graduate. The examination will last five hours (2.5 hours in the morning and 2.5 hours in the afternoon). The time and place of the comprehensive examination will be determined by the chair of the comprehensive exam committee.

The examination is designed to reveal the candidate’s knowledge of speech, language, and hearing development and disorders as well as assessment, identification, diagnosis, intervention, and follow-up services for individuals with speech and language disorders. Students will be evaluated on the level of their knowledge as well as their ability to express their knowledge in acceptable written form.

Appropriate accommodations will be made for students with documented disabilities.

Nature of Written Comprehensive Questions

The graduate faculty will create comprehensive examination questions that are focused on children and adults. The question will cut across course lines.

Example: Discuss what evidence-based practice is and how it affects assessment and intervention practices for school-aged children with articulation, language, and/or reading disorders.

Scoring Procedure

The examinations will be coded so raters will be blind to the students’ identity while they are being scored. Each answer will be rated by at least 2 members of the graduate faculty as 4 (excellent), 3 (pass), 2 (poor), or 1 (fail). All ratings for each student’s answers will be averaged for a total score in order to determine class rank as well as the outcome of the student’s examination. Students must pass each question with an average score of 2.8 or higher in order to pass the comprehensive examination.

A mean rating of 3.6 to 4.0 means the student passed the comprehensive examination question with a commendation from the Department.

A mean rating of 2.8 to 3.59 means the student passed the comprehensive examination question.

A mean rating of 1.0 to 2.79 means the student failed the comprehensive examination question.

Mean Ratings below 2.8

Students who receive a mean rating of 2.79 or below on a comprehensive question will have failed the question. If a student receives a score of 1.0-2.79 on both of the examination questions, he/she will be dismissed from the program as per graduate program policy.

Supplementary Exam

The ratings for each student‘s answers will be averaged for a total score in order to determine the outcome of the student’s answers will be averaged for a total score in order to determine the outcome of the student’s examination. Students must earn an average score of 2.8 or higher in order to pass the comprehensive examination.

Students who earn an average score of 2.79 or below on a question must take a supplementary examination. The purpose of the supplementary examination is to give the student an opportunity to answer a question(s) in the same topic area as presented on the original examination. The supplementary examination shall be graded by an examination committee comprised of two to four faculty members. The committee will consist of professors with whom the student has studied, if possible.

At the end of the supplementary exam, the committee will evaluate the adequacy of the student’s performance and determine the future course of action in consultation with the program director.

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Grades of C in SLP Graduate Program

This policy is more specific and supersedes the graduate grade policy.

1. If a student receives two grades of C+ or lower then he/she is dropped from the graduate program.
2. If a student receives a grade of C+ or lower in a graduate class, then he/she is required to take the class again in a subsequent semester. This class will not result in the replacement of the C+ or lower grade. Instead, the student will register for the specified credits in an independent study course. If the student receives a grade of C+ or lower in this subsequent class, he/she will be dismissed from the graduate program.

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Graduate Student Funding

In the interest of timely degree completion, graduate students with university funding associated with a time commitment (LSL,TA, RA, ULEND, etc.) are generally limited to one such commitment per semester. If a student wishes to petition for an exception, he/she must complete the COMDDE Graduate Student Funding Petition Form, available from Michelle Wilson in COMDDE, and submit it to the respective division chair (SLP, Aud, Deaf Ed) for discussion.
 
Examples:
TA responsibilities in more than one class
Assistantship (teaching or research) plus working in a university copy center

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School of Graduate Studies Grade Policy

Students are responsible for being aware of the University policies regarding grading as stated in the Utah State University General Catalog.

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Graduate Student Grade Policy

If an accepted graduate student receives a grade lower than B- in any one COMD or Deaf Education course, including a clinic practicum/student teaching course or clinic hours, he/she may continue as a COMD or Deaf Education graduate student as long as his/her grade point average is 3.0 or higher. The student must retake the course and receive a grade of B- or better to meet department requirements for graduation and the competency standards required for his/her level of training (see grades of C policy for class retake requirements). If a graduate student receives two grades lower than B-, he/she will not be allowed to continue in the department's graduate program in the student's area of specialty. Appeals may be directed to the Department's Graduate Committee in the student's area of specialty.

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Graduate Credit Policy

Each graduate student in the Department of Communicative Disorders and Deaf Education is required to complete all the COMD graduate level courses even though he/she may have had a similar course in an undergraduate program. Doing so will assure that the student will meet all departmental, University and ASHA or Council on Education of the Deaf (CED) requirements. Any exceptions to this policy must be approved by memo from the professor teaching the course in speech-language pathology or the faculty in Deaf Education. The exception must also be approved and signed by the advisor and filed in the student's graduate file. If a class is waived, the student and the adviser or major professor may choose an alternate class to meet graduation requirements.

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Graduate Program Completion

A graduate student will officially graduate when he/she successfully completes all the academic coursework and all clinical/student teaching coursework (clinical and/or student teaching experiences for which the student has registered) in his/her specialty area. If a student does not successfully complete the coursework by the end of the last semester listed on the student's program of study, in order to graduate he/she will continue as a graduate student, retaking the courses required until all graduation requirements have been met. His/her degree will be posted on the transcript at the end of the semester when all requirements have been met. The "degree conferred" semester will be the semester that the student actually completed all degree requirements and final grades were posted.

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Knowledge and Skills Acquisition (KASA) Competency and Remediation in the SLP Graduate Program

In graduate courses each student will be provided with an opportunity to demonstrate required knowledge and/or skill. These knowledge and skills will be assessed as delineated in the syllabus (by examination, paper, presentation, project, etc.). The American Speech Language and Hearing Association (ASHA) has specified that in order to be competent (and thus be eligible for ASHA certification), you must achieve a level of 80% or better on each Knowledge and Skills Acquisition (KASA) Summary Document item. If the student does not attain this level in a course, he/she will be provided, if appropriate, with one additional class opportunity in the class in which this was not attained, to demonstrate this knowledge and/or skill. If the student does not pass the competency a second time, further course of action will be determined by the department. For students failing to attain the set criteria on a required competency assessment, the Program Director is not able to sign the KASA form required for ASHA certification, even though the student may receive an acceptable course/clinic grade or exceed the minimum GPA.

1. If the remediation for a student requires that a student repeat a course or a section of a course, then the student will audit the course for the specified credits the semester that the course is repeated. The repetition of the course will not result in a change of grade from the original course. If the student receives a C+ or lower on the specified material in the subsequent course, then the Program Director will not be able to sign the KASA form required for ASHA certification eligibility.
2. The division departmental committee responsible for the area of focus (SLP, Audiology, Deaf Education) will monitor graduate students? academic and clinical progress on a monthly basis. If the committee determines that a graduate student is not making acceptable progress then the student will be placed on departmental probation. A subcommittee assigned to the student will then determine the actions and timeline required for the student to end the probation. Students can be on departmental probation for a maximum of one semester. If a student fails to complete the required probationary steps within the assigned timeline then he/she will be dismissed from the graduate program.

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Leave Of Absence Policy

The COMD Department expects graduate students within the Speech-Language Pathology (SLP) program to maintain a departmental full-time status which is 9 - 12 credits (as opposed to 6 credits required by the School of Graduate Studies) per semester. When graduate students experience unexpected health problems or other compelling personal circumstances during the course of his/her program which affect ability to successfully maintain the full-time status, he/she must petition the Department's SLP Committee to take one semester of a Departmental Leave of Absence (LOA). Under extreme extenuating circumstances the SLP Committee may extend a departmental LOA beyond that time limit.

Students may obtain a leave of absence from the School of Graduate Studies during which the continuous registration fee does not have to be paid (2002-2004 Utah State University General Catalog, pp.75).

1. The student cannot be enrolled in any academic courses or clinical practicum at the university during the LOA.
2. The student must maintain continuing graduate enrollment through the School of Graduate Studies in order to maintain matriculated status during that time.
3. Any missed courses and/or clinical practicum as a result of the LOA must be integrated into the student's graduate program, which will likely extend the graduate program by at least one semester.
4. The LOA may not be taken as a means of avoiding low grades in academic courses or clinical practicum. No more than one LOA may be granted during the student's graduate program.
5. At the end of the one-semester LOA, the student will be required to resume his or her graduate studies on a full-time basis. If the student is unable to do so, a recommendation will be made to the graduate dean that the student will be dropped. If the recommendation is approved, the student will be dropped from the graduate program. Should the student wish to reapply to the graduate program, he/she may do so on a competitive basis according to the University's regular graduate admission deadlines and procedures.

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Professional Credentialing

The graduate programs in speech-language pathology and audiology within the Department of Communicative Disorders and Deaf Education at Utah State University are accredited through the Council on Academic Accreditation of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. 

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Remediation in Graduate Programs

Speech-Language Pathology

In graduate courses each student will be provided with an opportunity to demonstrate required knowledge and/or skill. These knowledge and skills will be assessed as delineated in the syllabus (by examination, paper, presentation, project, etc.). The American Speech Language and Hearing Association (ASHA) has specified that in order to be competent (and thus be eligible for ASHA certification), you must achieve a level of 80% or better on each Knowledge and Skills Acquisition (KASA) Summary Document item. If the student does not attain this level in a course, he/she will be provided, if appropriate, with one additional class opportunity in the class in which this was not attained, to demonstrate this knowledge and/or skill. If the student does not pass the competency a second time, further course of action will be determined by the department. For students failing to attain the set criteria on a required competency assessment, the Program Director is not able to sign the KASA form required for ASHA certification, even though the student may receive an acceptable course/clinic grade or exceed the minimum GPA.

1. If the remediation for a student requires that a student repeat a course or a section of a course, then the student will audit the course for the specified credits the semester that the course is repeated. The repetition of the course will not result in a change of grade from the original course. If the student receives a C+ or lower on the specified material in the subsequent course, then the Program Director will not be able to sign the KASA form required for ASHA certification eligibility.
2. The division departmental committee responsible for the area of focus (SLP, Audiology, Deaf Education) will monitor graduate students' academic and clinical progress on a monthly basis. If the committee determines that a graduate student is not making acceptable progress then the student will be placed on departmental probation. A subcommittee assigned to the student will then determine the actions and timeline required for the student to end the probation. Students can be on departmental probation for a maximum of one semester. If a student fails to complete the required probationary steps within the assigned timeline then he/she will be dismissed from the graduate program.

 Deaf Education

In graduate courses each student will be provided with opportunities to demonstrate required knowledge and/or skill. These knowledge and skills will be assessed as delineated in the syllabus (by examination, paper, presentation, project, etc.). If the student does not attain the required level in a course, he/she will be provided, if appropriate, with one additional class opportunity in the class in which this was not attained, to demonstrate this knowledge and/or skill. If the student does not pass the competency a second time, further course of action will be determined by the Deaf Education division.

1. If the remediation for a student requires that a student repeat a course or a section of a course, then the student will audit the course for the specified credits the semester that the course is repeated. The repetition of the course will not result in a change of grade from the original course.
2. The division departmental committee responsible for the area of focus (SLP, Audiology, Deaf Education) will monitor graduate students' academic and practicum/student teaching. If the Deaf Education committee determines that a graduate student is not making acceptable progress then the student will be placed on departmental probation. The Deaf Education faculty will then determine the actions and timeline required for the student to end the probation. Students can be on departmental probation for a maximum of one semester. If a student fails to complete the required probationary steps within the assigned timeline then he/she will be dismissed from the graduate program.

 

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