HAYS, Kan. – Two Fort Hays State University communication sciences and disorders professors and two CSD program specialists recently attended the annual meeting of the Council of Academic Programs in Communication Sciences and Disorders in San Diego, where they gave two presentations.
Dr. Karmen Porter, chair of the department, and Dr. Frederick Britten, professor of communication sciences and disorders, presented “Aligning CSD Course Learner Outcomes with University/College Accreditation Initiatives and CAA Standards.” The CAA is the specialized accrediting body for the master’s degree in speech-language pathology at FHSU.
Their presentation focused on the assessment plan that is being used at FHSU in tracking the course learning outcomes and how it ties into the specialized accreditation of the master’s program in speech-language pathology.
“It was reinforcing to acknowledge that FHSU and our CSD program is much further along in the process than many other programs,” said Porter.
“Our presentation was able to demonstrate how we have acquired and monitored the data and how we use the data for course and program improvement,” said Britten.
“Serving Students, the Community, and Clients through Telepractice Initiatives” was presented by Porter, Jacque Jacobs, Herndon Clinic coordinator and program specialist, and Stephanie Tiernan, program specialist. Joining them in this presentation was Dr. Jayne Brandel, former member of the FHSU faculty.
“Serving Students” described the innovative telepractice program offered through FHSU and a school district in southwestern Kansas and describes the initiation of the service and the equipment. FHSU uses this program in the graduate clinical education portion of the master’s degree in speech-language pathology. Telepractice Initiatives is able to provide speech-language services to an area of the state which would otherwise be unserved.
“There was considerable interest expressed by attendees in all aspects of this program,” said Britten. “The Council of Academic Programs in Communication Sciences and Disorders is made up of member academic programs in CSD from across the country. Faculty attend this meeting to discuss issues facing academic and clinical education in all graduate programs.”
“Having two presentations from Fort Hays State accepted for presentation is commendable, as the competition is difficult with many more submissions than there are spots in the program,” he said.
The CAPCSD promotes excellence in the graduate education of audiologists and speech-language pathologists by forming a conference program which facilitates continuous quality improvement of the programs.