hi everyone my name is Dr Mary Weidner and I'm here with you to share the graduate student handbook for speech language pathology let's go ahead and get started you have access to this handbook on the D2L community's page so I encourage you to download that make sure to Archive it so you can reference it over the course of your academic program the information that we'll cover today is relevant for those of you who are in the online program as well as in the in-person program at any of our campus locations it covers important information about the academic program the clinical program credentialing policies and procedures both within the department as well as the university it's very important information at the end we'll ask you to complete an attestation form indicating that you understand that all of the information that was covered in this video and that's highlighted here throughout the graduate handbook so with all of that uh welcome we are so excited to have you part of the pen West Masters in speech language pathology or mslp program we understand that a lot of you have had unique paths getting to this point of your academic and professional career so we're really excited to be part of your journey Journey towards becoming a speech language pathologist our program both for the in-person and the online components is accredited by the Council on academic accreditation in speech language pathology the mission and vision of our department is to provide a highquality academic and clinical education which is going to enable you all to become competent fully credentialed speech language Pathologists that serve the needs of the region Commonwealth and Beyond it's our goal to provide Progressive and Innovative education in communication and swallowing disorders and differences to prepare you to serve a culturally diverse and Global Society we also seek to provide the community access to highquality Clinical Services that integrate Theory research and interprofessional clinical practices and we'll do that through our onr clinical clinics as well as our online teletherapy Clinic we also want to prepare students to become lifelong Learners and to contribute to their profession and the community we want you all to be able to critically appraise and produce research and integrate research principles into evidence-based practice we'll prepare you to adhere to the highest standards of ethical practice and promote diversity equity and inclusion in your care the pen West faculty is based at three different campuses in Western Pennsylvania California Clarion and Edinburgh you can access our departmental faculty here in the online pen West directory additional relevant administrators include Craig Coleman who is our interim dean of the College of Health Sciences and Human Services Dr James fiser who is our interim Provost and Dr John Anderson who's the pen West president when you are communicating with faculty administrators supervisors peers please adhere to the following guidelines number one we're always going to use your pen West email account we ask that you check that email at least a few times per day we have to use that pen West email address um because your personal email address may go to spam get automatically deleted or may be unusable for sensitive content due to furpa laws furpa laws are laws that are to protect your rights as students all correspondents should be professional in tone so if you feel emotional when you're writing an email I encourage you to just give it a beat have somebody read it have somebody edit it come back before you send it please structure your email correspondence to include a subject line a greeting a complete email body with complete sentences um and a clear request so we know exactly how to respond a closing as well as your name and sometimes your pen West ID number can be helpful as well um some faculty may elect to give out their cell phone numbers uh for things like texting um just be really mindful if you are permitted to use that modality um about you know when you are using um that information to text um given their individual parameters and that's going to be up to individual faculty if you do not have access uh to something like texting and most faculty do not um go ahead and use email that's usually the best way to get in contact with your faculty the Masters in speech language pathology program at pen West for online and on ground is a total of 60 credit hours 47 of those credits are didactic or academic in nature and 13 of those credits are clinical in nature generally you are going to be held to the curriculum that's in place when you start our program if your training is not continuous so if you took a year off because of uh various reasons and stand standards or program requirements change during that time then you would be held to the most current standards or requirements in addition to passing all of your classes in the academic and clinical components of our program you'll also be required to pass a comprehensive exam as well as the national practice exam in speech language pathology in order to graduate throughout the course of your program there might be required meetings um and additional things that you have to attend either virtually um if you're online maybe in person if you're face to face those are going to be very by term and uh you'll have plenty of warning when those things are going to take place our program is designed to prepare students for the certificate of clinical competence or the CCC that's provided through the American speech language hearing Association we also prepare students for provisional State lure in pen that's where we're based with eligibility to apply for provisional lure in other states so if you are a student who is completing our program but you want to work in another state um make sure to just be aware of the lure requirements or the provisional lure requirements wherever you intend to work it's your responsibility for knowing that lure and certification requirements for that state or or the country in which you intend to be employed this program can support but not guarantee that reciprocities are going to be met through the academic and clinical requirements we've had no issues um making sure that students are eligible for various States however we have not placed uh students in all 50 states so just make sure that you are very very aware of the lure require requirements those can be accessed at this link here and that's repeated information towards the end of the handbook as well students who do not intend to pursue ashes certification and or state lure so for example maybe you're an international student and you don't intend to work in the United States um you'll be required to sign an acknowledgement uh indicating that you understand uh your the implications of not pursuing Asha CCC or state lure the mssl program is offered in person as well as online if you are an inperson student the academic aspect of the program is completed face- Toof face for the first three semesters that's going to include three oncampus Clinic rotations you are able to be remote in your last two semesters um so you can re complete your remaining courses remotely and during that time you'll also be completing two 15-week externship rotations if you are in the online modality the academic aspect of the program is primarily completed asynchronously online with some remote synchronous components the clinical aspect is comprised of real-time therapy in our teletherapy clinic and a mandatory onewe in-person conference and two 15-week externship rotations you are responsible for identifying and securing your externship placements if you are in the online program in accordance with the university affiliation procedures you will be getting more information from the director of clinical education on that process So within our program uh we have goals related to academics as well as Clinic academically our goals are to ensure that you understand you gain the knowledge of typical development physical biological and psychological aspects of communication feeding and swallowing as well as pathologies relevant to each domain and their effect on modalities inherit in communication feeding and swallowing we also aim to make sure that you acquire Knowledge and Skills applicable to identifying evaluating preventing and treating communication feeding and swallowing disorders in sufficient breadth and depth so as to effectively and competently function as a research literate clinician capable of Performing across the scope of practice in a culturally and linguistically diverse environment as well as to develop interprofessional view of Service delivery for evaluating and treating individuals demonstrating communicating feeding and swallowing disorders throughout the course of your program all of these skills and knowledge will be assessed in your coursework in your summit of assessment as well as in your clinical performance clinically uh we are going to prepare students to function as independent clinicians at a level commensurate with or exceeding the Asha guidelines for clinical certification the Pennsylvania Department of state's uh standards for lure in speech language pathology and the pennslvania department of education requirements for teaching certification in speech language pathology we are going to prepare students to maintain accurate and appropriate records demonstrating sensitivity to the confidential nature of those records uh using things like um online medical records documentation and so on um students will demonstrate knowledge of their accountability for the services they provide we'll prepare students to demonstrate an understanding of basic professional and clinical research through the application of evidence-based practice when providing those services and the clinical assessment is primarily going to be met through um clinical performance evaluations um and making sure that you're meeting all of those degree requirements many of you are coming into our program having completed different undergraduate or postback paths um so upon admission to our program your transcripts are audited to determine if there's any undergraduate deficiencies all students should have completed either an undergraduate program in communication sciences and disorders it might be named something a little bit different or leveling coursework that meets our requirements for our postback work there is a policy um that is called the prerequisite and minimum postback requirements for mssp which you have access to on D2L as well um making sure that you have met the leveling coursework if your undergraduate major was in uh something that was not CSD in addition to meeting those requirements you'll also need courses in statistics chemistry or physics biology and a course in social sciences which is usually psychology or sociology those are required for Asha certification if any deficiencies exist we will let you know um and additional coursework can just be folded into your plan of study a maximum of 33% of graduate credits um may be considered for a transfer um and that's ultimately going to be up to the Department and the the dean communication proficiency so Proficiency in the comprehension and production of spoken and written English is a prerequisite for all clinical experiences it's important that all students must have the communication skills uh sufficient to achieve effective and clinical professional interaction and in meet and meet the core functions as outlined by the Council of academic programs in communication sciences and disorders we also uphold Ash's code of ethics um and the position on students and professionals who speak English with accents and non-standard dialects so you can refer to those policies here students must be able to understand and analyze disordered English and be able to be understood by those for whom hearing or comprehension is impaired for written documentation students must be able to write and comprehend Diagnostic and treatment reports treatment plans and professional correspondents students for whom English is a second language um may have been required to submit uh TOEFL scores unless their program of study was completed in English previously if any communication deficits or differences exist that would impact performance um an individual plan will be developed to support that student recommendations referrals and resources might be provided at that time each of you is going to be assigned an advisor that will stay consistent throughout the course of your graduate program unless there's a request that is made or a change needs to be made for an unforeseen reason students are required to communicate with their advisor at least once per semester sometimes advising is going to take place in one-on-one meetings or emails and sometimes advising is more General and can be conducted in a group such as what classes you're going to register for semester to semester your academic advisor is here to support you with programmatic issues procedures developing your plan of study course selection scheduling those types of things um advisement is only with respect to academic and professional concerns if you need need assistance that's more personal in nature um advisers May refer to refer you to some other counseling resources that we have available here through pen West all um interactions with your advisor as well as all of your faculty members are expected to be professional um with boundaries as defined in the ash code of ethics um during the time students are enrolled in our program both in your um oncampus experiences with your faculty members as well as your clinical supervisors during your off-campus experiences the department maintains a repository of additional policies for things that are a little bit more nuanced um maybe transferring between campuses um the policies in addition to the most current version of the handbook can be accessed on the community's page on D2L and You're expect to understand and adhere to those policies students are responsible um for taking ownership of their their program and understanding exactly where they are in the program what still needs to be completed in the program all of your academic records can be accessed using the pen West degree Works system this is going to give you an indication of classes that you've completed classes that are in progress classes that still need to to be completed as well as your progress um and grades as well your clinical records um such as all of the hours that you've been maintaining an advising folder um competencies compliance items are all going to be maintained on Calypso so you will be um signing up for an account that will remain active throughout the course of your program the registration fee for Calypso will be paid directly to that company it is not through pen West so you are encouraged to regularly access and review degree Works Calypso um so you understand and know exactly where you stand in our program The Graduate uh grading scale is here below um it is a plus minus system here at pen West you'll notice that there are no DG grades that are given at The Graduate level this is very very important information to maintain good standing within our program you must maintain a GPA of 3.0 in order to remain in good academic standing now notice that 3.0 is a b so if you earn B minuses in every class your first semester you will not be in good standing you would be at a 2.67 so a mix of B's and A's will keep you in good academic standing you are able to get um you know a couple of B minuses you can get a maximum of six credit hours of C and C plus um but mathematically you just need to make sure that you're still standing at that 3.0 okay if you earn a c minus or below in any class that class will need to be taken again if you earn um and excuse me um if you are unable to maintain an overall 3.0 average after one probationary semester um and appropriate remediation you will be celed out of the program okay so let's say the first semester wasn't too hot you earned a 2.75 what we would do internally is develop a performance Improvement plan um make sure that you're supported make sure that you have enough resources in place to be successful for the next semester and that next semester you'll need to earn a 3.0 in order to then get back into good standing so you do have one period of probation which would last a semester to get back in good accademic standing if you can't that would be grounds for academic dismissal there is a a policy associated with that um which can be accessed at this hyperlink here any grade appeals um would follow this policy for due process for appealing a final course grade um so be sure to be familiar with that as well in some cases a student might need to be issued what we call an incomplete grade so let's say you completed about 3/4 of this semester and then you had a family event which um you were unable then to finish your coursework for that semester with by the by the end of of the semester what we would typically do in that situation if everything is well communicated with faculty and the graduate program director is um we could uh give you the opportunity to extend the period in which you have to complete those course requirements in the interim we would give you an i as your grade and then once all of that coursework that remaining coursework is completed we would uh change that I to whatever grade that you earned in the class you can refer to the complete policy here as well just keep that in mind because sometimes life happens it does not mean you need to comp complete that entire course again just that remaining um course work or course requirements you would have a little bit longer to complete uh degree completion so students who do not enroll for graduate courses and programs to which they are admitted within 12 months following admission will be required to reapply in-person students are expected to enroll as full-time students so that would be nine credits or more in fall and spring and six or more credits in the summer online students can elect to enroll as part-time or full-time students but once you start your program is full or part-time you're committed to that status so you can't change your status as a full or part-time program Midway pen West academic policy outlines the number of years from the date of initial enrollment from which you have to complete your program extensions uh would need to go through the um the chairperson and the dean in order to determine um the completion time okay additional really really important information uh two definitions that are very distinct and very important to distinguish from one another graduation and commencement graduation is the process of completing all of your degree requirements your academics your clinicals your practice exam um your your comprehensive exam all of those things are needed to be completed for graduation in addition you would complete a multi-step process and apply for graduation um and all of that information would be indicated from the registar you cannot begin working as a clinical fellow or for your first job until your graduation and provisional lenser requirements are met okay so you can't start working until you get that final transcript or your diploma commencement on the other hand is the pump and Circumstance that's the celebration in which you wear a cap and gown and walk across the stage to earn um and be handed that diploma okay that is the ceremony just because you walk across the stage doesn't necessarily mean that you've completed your degree requirements okay so your commencement ceremony might actually be held before you complete your gradu uation requirements and let me give you an example let's say that um commencement is in early May we'll say of 2027 so commencement is in May of 2027 however um you still have three weeks of your last externship to complete so you can walk at commencement in May but maybe your graduation requirements wouldn't be completed until early June all right so at that time is when you would earn your official diploma your final transcripts and then be able um to start working after you get that um provisional licensure really important timeline to also note after graduation okay so you graduated you finished everything it will take some time from the registar to get your final transcript you need your final transcript to get provisional licensure in your state okay um or teaching certification in many states so after graduation be thinking about a nice buffer of time of you about three weeks in which you're going to be waiting for your transcripts you're going to be waiting um to get everything that you need to apply for lure and after that time you can begin working so students are often surprised I can't work the day after graduation likely no likely your employer is going to require you to have that provisional lure in place before you begin working and you're going to need your transcript in order to do that so just kind of keep that in mind you will be given a plan of study at the outset of your program which is going to map the distribution of the courses that will be taken each semester you'll work with your advisers to schedule your courses um and typically we'll do that several months in advance so for example um this in a spring semester you'll probably be scheduling for the summer sometime in March you'll also be probably scheduling for the fall sometime in March as well occasionally changes need to be made with course sequence um or the instructor of record okay you will be notified of any of those changes as soon as possible that's due to a lot of reasons sometimes they're unforeseen right um we adhere to the pen West academic calendar so make sure that you are available during the semester for its entirety until finals ends okay so you're expected to remain available through the final examination each semester okay you can probably expect to complete your comprehensive exam um if you are in the face-to-face program prior to a first externship um if you are in the online program that might look a little bit different just due to the nature of your course sequence it is recommended that you complete your practice exam prior to or at the start of your first externship placement to get that out of the way as I mentioned you can access your your academic records through degree works and your clinical and Advising records on Calypso anything formal uh formal transcripts can be made through the office of the registar prior to graduating it's your responsibility to download all of the documentation um that you've received over the course of your program including all of those clinical clock app hours all of those uh different forms and so on that you'll be um adding and growing over the course of your program we understand that life is really expensive um so we do try to be very judicious in what we require you to purchase throughout the course of your program some things are unavoidable textbooks required supplies laptops and so on you'll be required to have a Calypso registration I highly encourage you to have a national nisla membership it will save you hundreds of dollars hundreds plural when you go to register for your ashes CCC um depending on your externship uh locations you'll need various types of clearances or vaccinations um sometimes uh certain sites will require a specific type of professional wardrobe sometimes it will be business casual sometimes it will be scrubs so just keep that in mind as well you'll need uh liability insurance um you might be required to have PPE um and other types of testing you'll also be required to um take the practice exam and there is a cost associated with that okay um your plan of study I mentioned already the number of uh credit hours um this is the same for inperson and online modalities but the courses of sequences are going to differ between modalities and between campus locations in addition to those courses uh you'll also be required to complete a comprehensive assessment um this might look a little bit different for online and in-person modalities just due to the nature of sequence and modality um but each student in this program will be required to complete a comprehensive experience for all students is going to be case-based in nature and require a high level of integration reflective of evidence-based practice in speech language pathology comprehensive assessments are going to be graded as pass fail and you have three attempts to pass if you do not pass after three attempts that is grounds for program dismissal the competencies addressed in those comprehensive assessments are the same um for in-person and online cohorts but again the format and timing of when those are offered are going to be tailored according to your plan of study as I mentioned the practice exam is also a graduation requirement um to be eligible for graduation at pen West the uh current score passing score is 162 or higher the average that students at pen West achieve is a 175 so students are very very well prepared so long as they're staying engaged and on top of the uh content covered in each of the courses you can register through etss and the hyperlink is here for you what's really unique at The Graduate level is that students are now required to meet specific standards as they go on uh to earn their Asha CCC all of the standards are listed here for you um students uh must have a master's uh degree um and completed in a accredited program they have to complete a certain number of uh clinical uh credit hours um and clinical clock hours they must have the have maintained uh reached all of these knowledge outcomes across the scope of practice as well as skills outcomes across the scope of practice so as it relates to knowledge you are responsible for demonstrating knowledge of communication and swallowing disorders and differences including ideology characteristics anatomy and physiology acoustic psychological development and linguistic and cultural correlates in speech fluency Voice language pragmatics hearing swallowing and feeding cognitive aspects social aspects and AAC our program is designed to ensure that you're getting this content in your didactic coursework the skills include evaluation and intervention and you can look at all of the requirements within each of those areas across all of those practice areas that I just mentioned up here your academic and your clinical coursework in this program ensures that you have the opportunity to meet those Knowledge and Skills in addition there are interaction and personal qualities right so we know Knowledge and Skills only go so far if you uh can't convey those in a professional way so effective communication recognizing the needs values preferred modalities um for your clients their cultural linguistic backgrounds of your clients their family their caregivers and relevant others managing the care to ensure um interprofessional Team based and collaborative practice providing counseling regarding communication and swallowing disorders and adhering to the Asha code of ethics and behaving professionally okay students must also demonstrate what we call Core functions um to understand and adhere to Professional Standards of cont of conduct and to the values and ethics of of the profession these are outlined by the Council of academic programs in CSD and you can access the full guide here but this is a summary for you so students are expected to meet all of these core functions in these areas of communication motor sensory intellectual cognitive interpersonal and cultural responsiveness just to highlight some of the main takeaways communication employing oral written and auditory and non-verbal communication sufficient for your clients and to adapt that communication style appropriately motorically being able and physically able to engage in activities at a level required to accurately Implement classroom and clinical responsibilities and responding in a manner that's going to ensure the safety of your clients sensory being able to access sensory information to be able to differentiate functional and disordered communic iation accessing that sensory information to differentiate anatomical structures and Di Diagnostic Imaging uh and correctly differentiate and discriminate text numbers tables and graphs associated with diagnostic instrumentation students are also expected to be able to retain analyze synthesize evaluate and apply auditory written and oral communication at a level sufficient to meet the curricular and clinical competencies to be able to critically think think and engage in self-reflection to critically examine and apply evidence-based judgment in keeping with best practices interprofessionally we want to ensure that our our students are displaying compassion respect and concern for others adhering to aspects relevant to the professional code of ethics privacy and information management policies and taking personal responsibilities for maintaining physical and mental mental health at a level that ensures safe respectful and successful participation in didactic and clinical activities and lastly cultural responsiveness to engage in ongoing learning about cultures and belief systems different from one's own and to demonstrate the application of culturally responsive evidence-based decisions to guide your clinical practice all of these things are going to be measured incrementally over the course of your program both in your diotic and your clinical coursework by your faculty and your supervisors within each of your courses and your clinical placements a student is expected to achieve what we call competency in those standards okay typically this is going to be achieved by earning an 80% On Any Given assessment um in which a standard is attached and when we talk about standards we're refer referring to all of these standards um as it relates to skills or knowledge the standards for each course or clinical experience are going to be listed in the syllabi associated with those courses at the beginning of the semester The Faculty will let you know what those uh standards are that are covered in those courses or you can uh see that right there on the syllabus competency is going to be determined using formative assessments things like quizzes discussions and so on and summative methods which might be uh a midterm or a final exam okay um your grades and clinical clock hours are not always an indication that competency was met and all competencies are going to need to be met in order for graduation um to to the graduation requirements to be met all right so we track all of your competencies on on Calypso both for your academic courses um and your clinical experiences as well okay let's say that um you need to remediate something you didn't meet competency on a test okay so I'm going to distinguish this from Remediation in a course versus more serious remediation that would indicate a performance of Improvement plan most of the time most students at some point in their program are not going to meet competency on something you cannot be the best at every single class that is going to be offered okay so expect that you are probably going to need to remediate at least one or two things over the course of your program okay and that's okay so Remediation in a course or clinical placement is going to be required if you don't meet competency on a formative or summative assessment that's linked to a standard okay remediation activities are going to take place between you and the faculty or your clinical supervisor and that's going to be at the faculty's discretion so for example maybe it's going to be a conversation maybe it's going to be um a short paper maybe it's going to be reviewing all of the questions that you missed and writing why uh the answer was incorrect and what the correct answer is and a justification for that okay so that's going to be at the faculty's discretion if remediations are not successfully completed the student might be at risk for failing the course a performance Improvement plan and won't fulfill the criteria for graduation as I mentioned earlier let's say um there is a more serious concern um in which a student isn't meeting competency across multiple courses um and or there's pervasive or serious concerns um related to clinical skills academic courses core functions which I mentioned earlier or just overall professional disposition in such cases students will have a performance Improvement plan okay these plans are also going to be utilized for anybody that enters into our program on conditional eligibility or is placed on academic probation a performance Improvement plan is a formal process it will involve faculty gred program director a chair okay and it will be documented very very carefully a performance Improvement plan is aimed to provide students the resources that they have to be successful as well as measurable goals so it's very very clear what a student needs to do to then maintain good standing or get back to good standing in the program if a student is unable to attain the goals on the performance Improvement plan that would result in program dismissal I'll go over um the remediation as well as a performance Improvement plans in the appendices momentarily professional credentialing um I mentioned this earlier um this is information hyperlinks to the ASA clinical fellowship and certification process about the CF the duration uh qualifications and responsibilities okay once you are out on your CF that is your first job you are you will no longer have a a leash by pen West so you are on your own then working with uh whoever your supervisor is at that first job okay um State lure to practice speech language pathology um the application for uh Pennsylvania provisional licensure can be accessed here again if you are not planning to work in Pennsylvania do look into your state or your Province if you're International requirements for licensure credentialing within your first semester of grad school all of the state requirements uh can be accessed here so this is a quick link um that will give you access to lenser requirements in each state okay do go into access all of those um those sites as regulations and requirements might change um with little notice all right every state is a little bit different in what they require in terms of lenser so be aware of that our program also prepares students to apply for pde Ed specialist one certification um or seek instructional one certification um from pde okay if you intend to work in the school system within Pennsylvania you'll access this link here after you graduate um to begin that application process pen West also maintains a grad catalog which can be accessed here we have a non-discrimination statement uh we are dedicated uh committed to creating and maintaining an academic and work environment that are free from unlawful discrimination and sexual harassment Penn West as well as our department is committed to um diversity equity and inclusion Dei um fostering a community that affirms the identities of every individual and affords them dignity and respect regardless of of their differences you can read our Dei statement here Title 9 compliance information so pen West and its faculty are committed to assuring a safe and productive educational environment for all students in order to comply with the requirements of Title 9 and University's commitment uh we require faculty members to report incidents of sexual violence shared by students to the University's Title 9 for orator okay the information for each of our coordinators is provided here if ever you need to touch base with them I mentioned fura earlier um this is the family education rights and Privacy Act of 1974 concerning your rights as students to the confidentiality confidentiality and privacy of your records this means that instructors uh cannot give or return any that uh to anybody else except you uh we cannot communicate about your status as a student to anyone except you unless you have given somebody else permission um and that would be done through the registar office so if a spouse calls us if a parent calls us asking for your grades asking for how you're doing asking why you received a certain grade or a certain decision was made we would be unable to share anything with those party so just be aware of that if you have complaints um within the department so if you have a grade dispute for example um you should first Contact your instructor or your clinical instructor whoever uh you're working with in that course directly to express your concern if you have a programmatic question or concern uh you can direct that to the graduate program director clinical questions or concerns can be directed to your director of clinical education um and questions or concerns that aren't sufficiently addressed with the above steps can be directed to the department chair person and if they're still not addressed that would be followed by the dean of the College of Health Sciences and Human Services when expressing those complaints please refer to the aformentioned best practices for communication students are expected to demonstrate academic integrity and a high standard of professional conduct in all of your work you've worked way too hard please don't cheat um because that is no fun for anybody and we do not want to face a program dismissal for you okay so uh expectations for professional conduct are listed in the clinical handbook um and include things like ethical practice dependability punctual uality personal appearance communication confidentiality accountability um and the appropriate use of electronic devices throughout the course of your program you'll learn ethical use of AI inappropriate use of AI in an academic or clinical context is prohibited and will be viewed as a violation of academic honesty and integrity ethical conduct and core functions and the violations will be addressed um based on this policy listed here if we find that you engage in Acts of academic dishonesty and integrity it will be handled according to University policy and the policy of the faculty members as outlined in their course syllabus University policies for academic misconduct are referred for a hearing through the University student conduct board um and this would also cover behavior during any off-campus placement such as your externship if a problem arises during your externship the program will still follow those University policies expectations for clinical conduct used by the program addressed violations of clinical conduct are described in the clinical handbook okay which uh you'll have access to as well um students who violate these um these standards will be notified by the clinical instructor in writing and then following notification there will be a meeting and a plan that is developed likely a performance Improvement ment plan if there's a serious breach of professional conduct um there may be grounds for immediate dismissal and we would never want that to happen you have access as pen West students either online or in person to a lot of uh resources here at pen West those are listed here for you technology library writing help um as well as the office of the registar or um the financial aid office can often be very helpful navigating things like registration transcripts or issues relating to securing and accessing financial aid please note it is your responsibility to know the cost of attendance and financial coverage that you'll need each semester any inquiries about funding must be directed to financial aid we do not entertain those conversations at the departmental level students who pay the um the fee for uh learning will have access to counseling services here at pen West um and there's also some community and crisis Services as well excuse me we also have an office for students with disabilities to provide services to students um who need accommodations um you can refer to the pen West reasonable accommodations for students with disabilities policy for additional information which is in compliance with the Ada section 54 act students reserve the right to decide when to self-identify and when to request accomodations these are uh discussions that you may elect to have with your advisor as a initial point of contact UM you're expected to adhere to osc procedures for um self-identifying providing documentation and requesting accommodations in a timely manner super important to note if you have accommodations they cannot fundamentally change the nature of your program and cannot be granted unless secured through OSD in addition accommodations might not always translate to your externship locations so you can work with your OSD contact UM by emailing these uh email addresses here um at any of these campus locations that covers the bulk of the uh the information here in the handbook we're going to go over the remediation policy and the performance Improvement policy um as uh the appendices so as a reminder remediations that are conducted within a course um are used when a student does not meet competency related to Knowledge and Skills on an assignment specific to a class or clinical placement those are going to be completed within a time frame outlined by the instructor and remediations will be documented on D2L um and remediations for clinical placement will be documented on Calypso as I mentioned earlier failure to successfully remediate may lead to a failing grade a performance Improvement plan or and or the student will not fulfill uh criteria for graduation this is what a performance Improvement plan looks like I mentioned what this is already these will be used for pervasive academic concerns across courses um which may be evidenced by not meeting knowledge or skills competency not maintaining a 3.0 so if you're on conditional eligibility or academic probation if there are pervasive clinical concerns across placements evidence by not meeting knowledge or skills competency and or grad below a B minus unsuccessful or incomplete remediations in academic or clinical courses failure to meet core functions or generally egregious behavior and overall disposition which violate the code of ethics for this process you'll be notified in writing that a performance Improvement plan will be initiated and will have a formal meeting in most cases it would involve the student faculty member or clinical instructor program director advisor neutral party and anybody else the student elects to bring okay um this is what the uh goals look like and how we're going to track this so we would indicate in which areas uh students are demonstrating difficulty with um the specific concern and the involved faculty members it will be uh very specific what areas need to be improved measurable goals how that's going to be measured and the date by which uh the goals must be attained by we'll work with the student to identify various supports um either interpersonally through pen West through the department and so on um to make sure that we are setting the student up for best success our goal is for you to become a speech language pathologist and we want to make sure um that we're minimizing any barriers for you to get there this will be signed and then tracked over time as a a not attained or in progress failure to meet those goals again would be program dismissal thanks so much for hanging with me uh going over the grad handbook I know it's a lot of information and can be very overwhelming so again I encourage you to download it read it be familiar with it please uh complete the attestation form once you feel like you have a good crasp on all the information covered and that is required within the first week of your graduate program to have that attestation form signed up signed off on okay please feel free to contact me if you have any questions regarding the information that was covered during this overview otherwise I wish you the best of luck for a very successful and fruitful graduate program take care