Speech Pathology
 Assessment Plan

Links to measures:
    Senior Project Evaluation Form
    Evaluation of Clinical Competencies Form
    Evaluation of Plan B Oral Exam Form
    Graduating Senior Exit Questionnaire

Departmental academic goals and objectives:

1. To provide basic courses concerning the nature and acquisition of communicative behavior and processes which can serve as an appropriate and worthwhile supplement to a student’s liberal arts background.

2. To provide introductory information regarding this specialized field of study so that interested students may discover something about a profession of which few may have been aware prior to coming to college.

3. To provide fundamental information regarding the bases, nature, development, and use of speech, language, hearing, and the total communication process.

4. To provide specialized information regarding the nature, etiology, assessment, and management of the various speech, language and hearing disorders or differences.

5. To provide continuing education experiences and opportunities to professional personnel in the region.

6. To provide service courses and observational experiences to students in other disciplines where such information is closely related to their vocational aspirations (school psychology, early childhood education, elementary, remedial reading, speech communication, etc.)

Expected student learning outcomes:

1. Students will acquire fundamental information describing the bases, nature, development, and use of speech, language, hearing, and the total communication process.

2. Students will synthesize and evaluate specialized information describing the nature, etiology, assessment, and management of speech, language, and hearing disorders or differences.

3. Students will attain appropriate skill levels for clinical competencies as they progress through the program (undergraduate through graduate study).

4. Students will demonstrate skill in oral and written language.

Graduate students:

Addressing Outcomes # 1, #2, and # 4

Graduate students will pass the NESPA exam at a score of 570 or better. Graduate students in our department take the National ETS exam in speech pathology as their comprehensive examination for the University Graduate School. They are also able to use this test (if they score at least 600) as one criterion for the certificate of Clinical

Competence from ASHA. Several years ago the SLHS faculty completed a validation study and determined that a score of 570 was passing according to the content taught in MSU’s SLHS department. The Department will request that students submit their scores in the following knowledge areas in addition to the required total score: Basic communication processes; evaluation and intervention; specific disorders; audiology and aural rehabilitation; theoretical and empirical aspects; and professional issues.

Graduate students will complete an exit questionnaire which assesses student attitudes of learning. (See attached "Graduate Student Exit Questionnaire").

Graduate students will be evaluated on answers to three questions during their oral exam. Three members of the SLHS faculty and one faculty member from another department will rate student responses. Each question response is rated on five criteria (see attached rating scale and scoring procedure). Three of the criteria directly address advanced oral language skills.

Addressing Outcome # 3:

Graduate students are enrolled in clinical practicum courses both on campus and off-campus throughout two years of graduate study. Clinical supervisors will rate their performance on 38 clinical behaviors across 6 skill areas. First year graduate students will be rated at the intermediate skill level while second year graduate students will be rated at the advanced level on the Clinical Competencies Scale.

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an equal opportunity educator and employer | Accessibility Questions? | Contact assess@mnstate.edu | Updated 1/11/06
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