For Prospective and Incoming Students
Your Role in the On-campus Clinic
Clinical education begins in Semester 1. The Center for Communication Disorders is the clinical practice training lab of the MS MedSLP program, and it is where you first carry a caseload — with the responsibility you hold increasing as your demonstrated competence does.
What You Do
- Carry a combination of individual and group patient assignments across the three on-campus practicum courses.
- For individual patients, take responsibility for all aspects of patient management — assessment, treatment planning, session implementation, and documentation — as directed by your clinical preceptor.
- For group assignments, collaborate with peers to manage patients collectively, building the teamwork and communication skills healthcare environments require.
- Establish your Clinical Education Plan in Semester 1 and update it with the director of clinical education and the clinical placement coordinator each term.
- Accrue supervised direct-contact hours and document encounters toward the certification requirements below.
Minimum Encounters Across the Program
| Area | Encounters |
|---|---|
| Language | 100 |
| Speech | 100 |
| Cognition | 25 |
| Feeding and swallowing | 25 |
| Voice and resonance | 20 |
| Aural rehabilitation | 10 |
| Augmentative and alternative communication | 10 |
| Social communication and pragmatics | 10 |
Encounters accrue across all six semesters and are tracked separately from hours. Work in the on-campus clinic is where most students begin filling these areas.
The on-campus practicum sequence
| Course | Setting | Focus | Target Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clinical Practice Application Lab I | On campus, at the CCD or a direct affiliate | Establish the Clinical Education Plan; foundational case management | 25 |
| Clinical Practice Application Lab II | Primarily on campus; possible community-based | Strengthen the evaluation process; begin clinical decision-making | 25 |
| Clinical Practice Application Lab III | On campus, expanding to community-based | Independent decision-making; documentation with minimal guidance | 25 |
| On-campus subtotal | Each course carries 2 credits and is graded Pass/Fail | 75 | |
Semesters 4–6 move off campus into three full-time externships totaling 300 direct-contact hours. Combined with the 25 guided observation hours completed before the program begins, the sequence meets the 400-hour minimum for the Certificate of Clinical Competence. Students in Semesters 4–6 may still be asked to conduct on-campus clinical activities such as diagnostic evaluations.
How you are supervised
Supervision is provided by licensed, ASHA-certified speech-language pathologists. Across every practicum course and regardless of setting, you are directly supervised for a minimum of 25% of direct treatment time and 50% of direct assessment time. Expect supervision to exceed 75% of direct contact hours early in the program and whenever you encounter unfamiliar diagnoses or complex cases.
As you demonstrate greater independence, supervision shifts from close observation toward a consultative role — but it never drops below those minimums, and your preceptor remains responsible for the care delivered.
How your competence is assessed
Practicum courses are graded Pass/Fail against the competency levels expected for your semester, not against hours accrued. Reaching an hour or encounter target does not by itself demonstrate competency, and a student who demonstrates competency early still meets the minimums required for certification.
| Competency Area | S1 | S2 | S3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Workplace Behaviors (1–3) | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Collaboration | 2 / NA | 2.5 / NA | 3 |
| Counseling | 2 | 2.5 | 2.5 |
| Prevention and wellness | NA | NA | 2 / NA |
| Screening | NA | NA | 2 / NA |
| Assessment — evaluation process | 2 / NA | 2 / NA | 3 |
| Treatment — planning | 2 | 2.5 | 3.5 |
| Treatment — session management | 2.5 | 3 | 3.5 |
| Population and systems | 2 | 2 | 3 |
| Domains of Professional Practice (1–5) | 2 / NA | 2 / NA | 2 / NA |
Encounters accrue across all six semesters and are tracked separately from hours. Work in the on-campus clinic is where most students begin filling these areas.
Encounters accrue across all six semesters and are tracked separately from hours. Work in the on-campus clinic is where most students begin filling these areas.
Who decides
Grades are set by faculty consensus through the Competency Committee, chaired by the director of clinical education, so that no single person determines whether a student continues in the practicum sequence. The committee meets at least twice each semester to review every student against the competency areas and the expectations for their term. Where a student is not meeting expectations, the Clinical Education Plan records the concern in writing while there is still time to change course, and persistent gaps open a formal remediation plan.
Before you begin
Before working with any client, you complete the orientation training track — HIPAA privacy and security, infection control, bloodborne pathogens, risks of abuse of adults and children, and safe and inclusive workplace — through MedBridge, with completion certificates logged in eValue. You also complete a background check and drug screen through Certiphi prior to orientation, which is aligned with externship requirements so that your move to off-campus sites later in the program is straightforward. Vaccinations and health condition documentation are tracked in eValue as well. These requirements are described in full under Safeguards behind the care.