BEST PRACTICE CONSIDERATIONS
FOR UNDERGRADUATE EDUCATION
IN CSD: REPORT FROM THE
ACADEMIC AFFAIRS BOARD
CAPCSD; April 2017
Committee Members
Elizabeth Crais, CCC-SLP, 2016 Chair
Lynne Hewitt, CCC-SLP, 2017 Chair
Loretta Nunez, CCC-A/SLP, Ex
Officio
Ruth Bentler, CCC-A
Kathy L. Chapman, CCC-SLP (2014
Member)
Julie Honaker, CCC-A (2014 Member)
Janet Koehnke, CCC-A (2014 Chair and
Member)
Anthony DiLollo, CCC-SLP
Malcolm McNeil, CCC-SLP (2014
Member)
Rich Folsom, CCC-A, CAPCSD
Representative
Margaret Rogers, CCC-SLP, Chief Staff
Officer for Science and Research
Ronald Gillam, CCC-SLP
Barbara Cone, CCC-A, Vice President for
Academic Affairs in Audiology
Jennifer Lister, CCC-A
Susan Nittrouer
Jennifer Simpson, CCC-A
Shari Robinson, CCC-SLP, Vice President
for Academic Affairs in
Speech-Language Pathology
AAB Charge
To examine the role of undergraduate (UG)
education in the context of preparation for:
1. AuD clinical doctoral education
2. Master’s SLP education
3. PhD education
4. Interprofessional education and practice
5. Support personnel preparation
Undergraduate Education in CSD
Centrality of CSD undergraduate education
 CSD in the broader context of UG education
 Variability in CSD undergraduate programs
 Growth of the undergraduate CSD degree
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28.6% increase in CSD UG enrollments (2010-2011 to
2012-2013)
12.9% increase in MS-SLP programs
4% increase in AuD programs
The Approach
The AAB reviewed three sources of information
1. Documents related to UG education
2. UG curriculum from CSD programs
− Including UG requirements for non-CSD
majors entering master’s or AuD programs
3. UG requirements from other Health
Sciences Professions
The Approach
1. Documents related to undergraduate
education
− CAPCSD conference proceedings
 The Future of Undergraduate Education (Wilcox, 2008)
 Models of Undergraduate Education (Scudder, Aarts, Golper,
& Gropher, 2009)
− ASHA data reports and policy documents
 CSD Education Survey Data Reports (academic years
2010–2011, 2011–2012, 2012–2013)
 2007 SLP Education Summit and Audiology Education
Summit (Mashie & Lucks Mendel, 2005)
The Approach
2. Undergraduate curricula from a cross section of CSD
programs
- Random sample of 86 programs (of 262 programs)
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35 offered a PhD degree
52 programs offered an AuD degree
All but one offered a master’s degree in CSD
All but three programs offered a bachelor’s degree in CSD
3. Undergraduate requirements for other healthrelated professions
− 12 different programs (Dentistry, Education, Genetic
Counseling, OT, DPT, Public Health, Psychology, etc.)
The Findings
2. Undergraduate curricula from a cross section
of CSD programs
− CSD UG requirement
M # of credits = 42; R = 13 – 69 (n = 62 reporting)
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Average of 6-9 in physical science (some up to 19 credit hours)
Average of 6 -9 in social/behavioral science
Average of 3-9 in math, some specifying higher level math
Some had English/writing requirements (typically 6)
The Findings
2. Undergraduate curricula from a cross section of CSD
programs
− Prerequisite required for non-CSD UG majors
 A few required a second UG degree in CSD (3 – 4 % of
programs)
 All SLP programs required additional course work
M # of credits = 24; R = 6 – 37 (n = 59 reporting)
− Social/behavioral, biological, and physical sciences
− Basic human communication courses
− Audiology, Aural Rehab, Clinical Methods
 Audiology programs typically the same as SLP programs
M # of credits = 18; R = 6 – 39 (n = 28 reporting)
The Findings
3. Undergraduate requirements for other
health-related professions
- Education, public health, rehabilitation science,
and social work had no UG requirements
- Other 8 all required 1 or more science courses
(except Psychology)
- Professions with a limited-license physician (LLP)
status had heavy science requirements
Undergraduate Requirement for Other HealthRelated Professions
The Findings
Review of curricula and discussion led to
identification of 3 broad areas important for
undergraduate CSD education
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General knowledge, skills, aptitudes, and
experiences
Social, behavioral, biological, and physical science
foundation
CSD Content knowledge, skills, aptitudes, and
experiences
Domains of Knowledge and Skills Associated
With Undergraduate CSD Education
Domain 1–General Knowledge, Skills, Aptitudes, and Experiences
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Critical thinking, problem solving, logical reasoning skills
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Exposure to the scientific method and opportunities for research
experiences
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Exposure to the culture of science (e.g., ethics, interdisciplinary, team
science)
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Exposure to other disciplines and professional and scientific organizations
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Opportunities for interdisciplinary and interprofessional collaborative
learning
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Exposure to “evidence-informed decision making” as a lifelong learning
journey
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Cultural competence
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Competencies in oral and written communication (e.g., reading, writing,
listening, speaking)
Domains of Knowledge and Skills Associated
With Undergraduate CSD Education
Domain 2–Social, Behavioral, Biological, and Physical
Science Foundations
 Biology
 Human anatomy and physiology
 Linguistics
 Math and statistics
 Neuroscience
 Physics and acoustics
 Psychology and cognitive science
 Exposure to research contributions across fields
Domains of Knowledge and Skills Associated
With Undergraduate CSD Education
Domain 3–CSD Content Knowledge, Skills, Aptitudes, and
Experiences
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Historical and philosophical tenets of the profession
Normal communication (speech, language, hearing, cognition) across the
lifespan
Overview of hearing and balance disorders
Overview of speech, language and swallowing disorders
Overview of the clinical process, continuum of service delivery, and
evidence-based practices
Cocurricular experiences, such as grand rounds and colloquia, service
learning, and undergraduate research
Exposure to health and education policy and advocacy
Knowledge of how to work in teams
Knowledge of clinical, academic, and research careers, including faculty
and graduate student research
Recommendations
Programs should be broadly focused on all aspects of
human communication, with an emphasis on STEM
and behavioral sciences learning.
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In line with other pre-professional disciplines
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Provides fundamentals for future evidence-based
practice
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Programs varied but all had some type of
STEM/behavioral science core curricula
Recommendations (cont.)
The undergraduate degree should prepare students for
a variety of career paths, including graduate work in
speech-language pathology, audiology, or speech and
hearing sciences. It also can be a foundation for other
related disciplines and careers.
Undergraduate degree pre-professional, thus importance
of preparing students broadly
Recognition of the value of an undergraduate CSD as a
broad preparation in sciences of human communication
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Consideration of the disparity between undergraduate
majors and graduate school
CSD bachelor’s degree as more than a gateway to grad
school in SLP and AUD
Recommendations (cont.)
Not recommending that CSD undergraduate degree be
revamped as preparation for support personnel (SLP
and Audiology assistants)
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Some programs choose to do this as a goal
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For others, not suitable to their context
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AAB recognizes importance of diversity of
institutional mission and settings for
undergraduate programs
Recommendations (cont.)
Undergraduate education should foster collaboration
and interprofessional attitudes.
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Interprofessional experiences and programming
desirable
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Focus for undergraduates: awareness of other
professions, and role of interprofessional practice
in evidence-based service provision
Recommendations (cont.)
Resources should be prioritized for the preparation of
graduate education in CSD (e.g., AuD, SLP, PhD) and
reflect best practices in teaching and learning.
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Degree should provide foundation for clinical
education at the graduate level
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Undergraduates should have opportunities for
modern, high impact learning experiences
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Active learning
Research
Service learning
…
Conclusions
Strong agreement that the degree is anchored
in the scientific foundations of human
communication
 CSD degree a superior preparation for many
paths
 Active engagement with university
constituencies important to promote degree,
heighten student awareness
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Discussion
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Full report available at:
− http://www.asha.org/academic/reports