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Student Assessment and Learning Outcomes

Tess KirschAssociate Director of Accreditation for Policy & EducationAmerican Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA)

ASAHP Meeting – March 23, 2012 – Palm Springs, CA

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History of Accreditation at ASHA• 1959 – American Board of Examiners for Speech

Pathology and Audiology (ABESPA) established

• 1965 – Accreditation first awarded to master’s degree programs in audiology and in speech-language pathology:

U. Kansas Auburn U. Case Western Reserve U. U. Oklahoma

• 2007 – CAA ceased accrediting audiology master’s programs; now only clinical doctoral programs eligible, e.g. AuD or clinical PhD

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CAA Programsas of March 2012

• Accredits or pre-accredits 322 programs within 259

different institutions In 48 states, D.C. & Puerto Rico

• not Alaska or Delaware

• Accredited programs: 242 master’s in speech-

language pathology 72 clinical doctorates in

audiology

• Monitors new programs that have been awarded candidacy (pre-accreditation)

8 master’s in SLP

Where are programs housed?

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Recognition of CAA

• CAA is recognized by US Secretary of Education

(USDE) Council for Higher Education

Accreditation (CHEA)

• CAA is the only specialized accrediting agency recognized for the professions of audiology and speech-language pathology

Scope includes accreditation of programs offered through distance education

USDE (1967)USDE (1967)CHEA (1964)CHEA (1964)

Recognition & Student Achievement• Establish standard and monitor compliance -

success re. student achievement; consistent with mission

• Establish thresholds of universal student outcomes; assess and monitor meeting threshold; provide written feedback

• Ensure student outcome data are publicly available

• Require self-study; independent peer review evaluate educational objectives and program’s success

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CAA’s Approach

• So how does CAA comply with recognition criteria, especially as they relate to student achievement?

• How do CAA’s mechanisms translate to expectations for programs?

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CAA

Standards for Accreditation

• 1.2 – Mission & Goals

• 1.7 – Public Information

• 3.1 – Curriculum/Knowledge & Skills

• 5.1 – Student Assessment

• 5.2 – Tracking Student Progress

• 5.3 – Program Effectiveness

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Mission & Goals

1.2 The program's mission and goals are consistent with CAA standards for entry into professional practice (3.1A and/or 3.1B) and with the mission of the institution.

•Where are you going?•Are the mission & goals aligned?•Did you arrive at the expected destination?

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Current, accurate, and readily available information to students and the public (Std. 1.7)

• Programs are required to publish student outcome data (number & percentage) for each of the 3 most recently completed AYs:

graduation rate – those completing within program’s published time frame

national exam (Praxis) pass rate employment rate – employed in the profession within

1 year or pursuing further education in CSD

• As of January 2013, programs will be required to provide these data “on the program’s website via a clearly visible and readily accessible link”.

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Knowledge & Skills (3.1 A/B)

Specifies what students should know and be able to do when they graduate

•3.1A – Audiology clinical doctoral programs

•3.1B – Speech-Language Pathology master’s programs

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Student Assessment (5.1)

• Identification/validation of outcomes

• Ongoing and systematic

• Formative and summative assessments Variety of techniques Range of program faculty and

clinical supervisors Students receive feedback,

and if needed remediation

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Tracking Student Progress (5.2)

Towards: •Degree•Professional credentials (state and national)

Includes:•Academic course work•Clinical hours•Knowledge and skills•Comps•Research (e.g. thesis) requirements

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Program Effectiveness (5.3)

• Regular & ongoing assessments• Uses results for improvement

Program conducts self-study Collects, evaluates, and uses data Must include specific outcome data over last 3

completed academic years (# and %):• graduation rate• national examination (Praxis) pass rate• employment rate

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Student Achievement Thresholds

• Graduation rate – 80% of students who enrolled completed the program in published time frame

• National exam pass rate - % of graduates passing the Praxis examinations consistent with national averages

• Employment rate – 80% of graduates employed in the profession or pursuing further education within 1 year of graduation

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Citation Trends - 2010 and 2011

Area (Standard) 2010 2011

Development and implementation of a long-term strategic plan (Std. 1.3)

X X

current, accurate, and readily available public information about the program and/or institution (Std. 1.7)

X X

faculty sufficiency (Std. 2.2) X X

students informed of program policies (Std. 4.3) X

formative and summative student assessments (Std. 5.1)

X X

ongoing assessments of program effectiveness and use of results for program improvement (Std. 5.3)

X

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www.asha.org/academic/accreditationaccreditation@asha.org