CSD Strategic Plan and Goals

Goals

The goal of the Master of Science Degree Program in Speech-Language Pathology is to educate highly competent speech-language pathologists who are dedicated to the service of persons from infancy to maturity with communication and swallowing disabilities, and who are capable of interacting effectively in a variety of employment settings, such as public schools, clinics, hospitals, rehabilitation centers, private special education schools, and in private practice. This goal is achieved through a curriculum integrating academic rigor, research activities, and clinical practicum which have been designed to:

• Prepare students with a wide theoretical base for understanding normal development of basic human communication processes as well as the nature, causes, evaluation and treatment of disorders of swallowing and communication, including issues pertaining to culturally diverse populations.
• Provide a variety of opportunities for supervised student clinical practice with persons across the life cycle who are delayed or disordered in the development or use of effective communication and/or who exhibit disorders of swallowing.
• Develop competence in clinical diagnosis and intervention, interaction with families of individuals with communicative impairments, and collaboration with other professionals for effective and efficient team management of persons with complex disabilities.
• Foster a value for scientific rigor and a spirit of inquiry among future professionals.
• Empower graduates to function independently as life-long learners.

2022-2026 Strategic Plan

1. Increase the number of CSD undergraduate students by enhancing awareness of the undergraduate major/minor and post-baccalaureate options and establishing more streamlined processes for transfer into the major by holding one on-campus recruitment event annually.
2. Recruit a full graduate cohort with each admission cycle by hosting one on-campus and one online event annually.
3. Recruit highly qualified faculty to fill all current and future open faculty lines by meeting with University Relations one time per semester to discuss strategies to increase visibility.
4. Encourage and facilitate greater faculty research opportunities and foster student participation in student-initiated research and faculty research with opportunities to present research findings at university, state, and national conferences by representation of one faculty member to national and state conferences (e.g., ASHA, ISHA, and CAPCSD) per year.
5. Working within the College of Nursing, Health Sciences and Business and using feedback from students and community stakeholders, continue to plan and offer high quality educational opportunities regarding special clinical topics and training in clinical supervision that will benefit graduate students, full-time and adjunct faculty, and local speech-language pathologists and audiologists by hosting one professional development event annually.
6. Enhance learning opportunities for students to identify and acknowledge approaches addressing culture and language that include cultural humility, cultural responsiveness, and cultural competence in service delivery by faculty collectively attending university sponsored DEI events, hosting and attending lunch and learn events, and university sponsored social events celebrating cultural diversity annually.
7. Monitor and update the academic and clinical curricula for the undergraduate and graduate degree programs to promote academic excellence and ensure consistency with current accreditation and certification standards by reviewing academic standards accordance with accrediting bodies annually.