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New Mexico State University

CD Graduate Program Goals and Objectives

  1. Increase number of applicants and admissions to the CD Graduate Program (regular graduate students and "levelers" who are students who have not taken the undergraduate prerequisite courses).
  2. Revise CD Program curriculum and delivery (academic coursework and clinical practicum) to meet 2008 Standards for Academic Accreditation of the Council on Academic Accreditation (CAA) of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association.
  3. Increase number of clinical practicum opportunities for graduate student clinicians in the CD Program to meet CAA accreditation standards and standards for students to qualify for national certification and state licensure.
    • Increase number of affiliation agreements with extern sites.
    • Increase number of clients seen for evaluation and intervention services in the NMSU Speech and Hearing Center.
    • Increase number of speech-language-hearing screenings provided to local and regional school districts, preschools, health fairs, etc.
  4. Increase the visibility and outreach of the NMSU CD Program within the NMSU community as well as Las Cruces and southern New Mexico.
    • Establish an Advisory Board for the CD Program and NMSU Speech and Hearing Center which includes members of medical, educational, and community agencies as well as community leaders and volunteers.
    • Hold activities during "May is Better Hearing and Speech Month" which will involve students, faculty, and members of the community.
    • Develop outreach activities to provide support and consultation to local school districts and families with children with special needs (these activities will also provide graduate students opportunities to participate in the development and implementation of extension programs).
    • Provide continuing education for professionals, education for students, and information and support for parents and families through the yearly Tri-Unity Community Conference, a joint outreach effort between the NMSU CD Program and DTS/Aprendamos Intervention Team.
  5. Update the NMSU Speech and Hearing Center to a state-of-the art clinic for student training and service provision.
    • Update speech-language pathology and audiology equipment.
    • Remodel NMSU Speech and Hearing Center to be a modern, more efficient clinic.
    • Update A-V system used for supervision, observation, and documentation of clinical services.

CD Program Outcomes

  1. Seven students began the regular graduate CD Program in Fall 2004 along with 4 levelers. Since that time, the number of graduate students in the CD Program has doubled, significantly increasing the number of student credit hours for CD courses. In the Fall 2008 semester, there will be 15 students beginning the regular graduate curriculum and 7 students beginning the leveling program. Counting the number of students continuing in the program, there will be a total of 51 students in the CD graduate program in the 2008-2009 academic year. The CD Program website has been updated and application materials are now on-line to improve access for students interested in the program.
  2. Faculty members reviewed 2008 Standards for academic Accreditation and made changes in the curriculum and delivery of academic coursework and clinical practicum to meet the standards. The Profile of Learning Outcomes (PoLO) approach developed by Drs. Farmer and Stout has been implemented in the academic coursework and clinical practicum in the NMSU Speech and Hearing Center. The PoLO system provides for improved documentation of knowledge and skills for academic and clinical competencies needed by students who will become speech-language pathologists, establishes procedures for identifying and implementing appropriate formative and summative strategies for assessing students in the classroom and clinic, and ties course objectives and clinical practicum objectives to CAA standards.

    In January 2007, The CD Program completed and submitted its application for re-accreditation by the CAA. The official site visit by the CAA is scheduled for October 16-17, 2008.

    The CD Program has a 100% pass rate for students taking the PRAXIS (national examination required of students completing graduate programs in speech-language pathology) and 100% employment of all students immediately post-graduation.

  3. Practicum opportunities for students have been increased through the following mechanisms:
    1. Affiliation agreements for externships are now in place with school districts in the Las Cruces and El Paso areas (Las Cruces Public Schools, Gadsden Public Schools, El Paso Public Schools, Hatch Public Schools, Silver City Public Schools, etc.) as well as a variety of medical facilities (Mountain View Hospital, Memorial Hospital, Thomason Hospital, William Beaumont Hospital, Presbyterian Hospital/Albuquerque, etc.) and community agencies (DTS/Aprendamos, Tresco Tots, etc.). Students are required by certification standards to have practicum experiences in three distinctly different sites. This is accomplished through the variety and number of affiliation agreements now in place.
    2. The number of clients seen for evaluation and treatment services through the auspices of the NMSU Speech and Hearing Center has steadily increased. Each semester, over 45 clients are seen for individual and/or group therapy. The number of persons seeking evaluation services varies but generally at least 20 complete speech-language evaluations are scheduled each semester.
    3. In each of the last two academic years, over 3000 children have received hearing screenings or speech-language-hearing screenings through the work of the graduate students and faculty clinical supervisors in the Speech and Hearing Center. These screenings have been provided in local school districts, health fairs, preschools, and at the Speech and Hearing Center itself.

      The Speech and Hearing Center has increased the number of contracts for clinical work including the completion of OAEs (Otoacoustic Emission Screenings) for infants and toddlers served through NM early intervention programs, contracts with the LCPS for bilingual speech-language evaluations, and a current contract with the LCPS for summer services for children with IEPS for ESY and compensatory services.
  4. The visibility and outreach of the CD Program and Speech and Hearing Center has been successfully targeted with the following results:
    1. An Advisory Board for the CD Program and NMSU Speech and Hearing Center has been established and the first meeting was held in May 2008. Advisory Board members include representatives of a variety of medical, educational, and community agencies as well as community leaders.
    2. For the past two years, community leaders and professionals have been invited to a reception at the NMSU Speech and Hearing Center in celebration of May as Better Hearing and Speech Month. Attendance has been good and provides opportunities for networking with a variety of clinic referral sources as well as community leaders. Free hearing screenings were offered to NMSU faculty and staff in May 2007. Those were not offered this year due to ongoing renovation of the Speech and Hearing Center.
    3. Increased consultation opportunities with school districts have been previously discussed. In addition, the CD Program/NMSU Speech and Hearing Center was awarded approximately $170,000 through the work of Senator John Smith and Rep. Donna Irwin to develop and implement programs for children with autism in southern New Mexico. The program also received $20,000 to be shared with the CD program at the University of New Mexico to address issues of shortages of speech-language pathologists in NM (Senator Papen). NMSU will use its portion of the monies for clinical supervision in the Speech and Hearing Center. This will benefit students needing practicum opportunities and individuals in the community and surrounding areas seeking clinical services.
    4. The Tri-Unity Community Conference has been held for the past three years. Approximately 200-250 professionals, students, and families attend the conference. Each conference focuses on a specific topic. Thus far, conferences have addressed autism, traumatic brain injury, and early intervention. The partnership between NMSU and DTS/Aprendamos Intervention Team has significantly impacted the knowledge and skills of professionals and students and the support needed by families of individuals with disabilities.
  5. State-of-the-art facilities and equipment have been addressed as follows:
    1. The Las Cruces Sertoma Club (an international service organization) donated $25,000 to the NMSU Speech and Hearing Center to update audiological equipment. In the current budget year, NMSU provided $93,000 for updating of speech-language pathology teaching, research, and clinical equipment and those purchases are being completed.
    2. BR&R monies were provided to the Special Education/Communication Disorders department for the current fiscal year to remodel the NMSU Speech and Hearing Center. The remodeling is currently underway.
    3. During the previous fiscal year, BR&R monies were provided to upgrade the A-V system used for clinical supervision and observation in the Speech and Hearing Center. The upgrade is complete. All clinical sessions are now archived digitally and can be used to review sessions for supervision purposes or to document client changes in communication skills over the therapy process. Faculty can now also view clinical sessions from their computers allowing for supervision of multiple sessions simultaneously if needed.