Members of the Council on Academic Accreditation in Audiology and Speech visited Boston University’s Sargent College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences Monday and Tuesday to review the curriculum of the Master of Science degree in speech-language pathology.
Michelle Mentis, the director of the master’s program, said the program is reviewed every eight years to ensure it meets the proper standards set by the CAA. The accreditation process involves a self-study report written by the program director and a campus visit to ensure standards match up to the report.
“One of the reasons why we’re an accredited program is that the accreditation body basically says that we meet the requirements that allows us to be certified as speech language pathologists,” she said.
During the site visit, the CAA held a meeting open to anyone with a connection to the department. Alumni of the program and clients of Sargent’s clinical programs were among the people invited to attend the meeting.
Lisa Scott, the academic accreditation site visitor for the CAA, who led the meeting, asked alumni about their experiences interacting with faculty.
“In terms of program staff, I know there’s a lot of alums in the room, what were your experiences like in terms of your ability to access faculty … interact with clients and their families? That’s one thing that’s a big emphasis in our program is family involvement,” she said.
Jordyn Sims, a 2014 graduate from the Master of Science program in speech-language pathology, spoke highly about the accessibility of her professors.
“I know I emailed professors sometimes at 11-o-clock at night, and they got back to me that same night,” she said. “Whether it was about a client that I need to talk to or a research issue that I had a question about, the faculty absolutely are always available for whatever you need.”
When students graduate from the two-year program, they transition to a nine-month clinical fellowship working under the direction of a speech-language pathologist, Mentis said. From there, students are eligible to seek permanent employment in the field.
“Part of their time here, they meet with all the faculty in the department,” she said. “They meet with administration … They meet with our dean, [and] they meet with the provost.”
Mentis said the accreditation review covers all aspects of the program, including academic, clinical and research, so the entire faculty is involved in ensuring the program meets the standards.
“It’s a very good process in many ways,” she said. “It holds us to high standards, which is a good thing.”
Several students in the master’s speech-language pathology program said they are confident that their program will be reaccredited.
Brittany Armstrong, a second-year student, is confident in the reaccreditation because of the caliber of the program.
“It’s an incredibly rigorous program with excellent professors who are extremely knowledgeable and well-credentialed and respected in the field,” she said. “[There are] lots of clinical opportunities in some of the best hospitals in the world and excellent school systems.”
Aly Young, also a second-year student in the program, said she has not seen the accreditation meetings actively occurring, but recognizes their importance.
“I’m moving to New York, and if want to get job in New York, I have to have gone to an accredited program. If this program doesn’t get reaccredited, then I don’t have a job,” she said. “BU’s known for its speech program, and it’s been known for a long time for its speech program, so I don’t really have any concerns about that.”
Marissa Weigel, a second-year student, said it is great that the program is being reaccredited, but the process may be stressful.
“It would be terrible if they didn’t get reaccredited, but there’s no doubt in my mind because they’ve been preparing for it for a while, so I don’t think it will be an issue,” she said. “It seems like it’s a lot of work for the professors, particularly the director of the program. You can almost feel the stress around the school with regards to that whole process.”
Mike is a former Editor-in-Chief of The Daily Free Press. Now, he dutifully fulfills his role as FreeP has-been. He also tells stories at an advertising agency in Philadelphia.
