Professional Development:
You will be expected to maintain and update your professional knowledge on a regular basis after graduation. Many opportunities exist within local and national professional organizations to accomplish this. ASHA and other certification entities, in order to maintain continuance, require the mandatory accumulation of Continuing Education Units (CEUs). It is the responsibility of the professional to be aware of the CEU requirements, if any, for each certification and/or licensing maintenance.
Connecticut State Teacher’s Certification Continuing Education Requirements:
When you have been issued your Professional Educator Teaching Certificate you will be subject to teacher certification continuing education requirements. Your Professional Educator Teaching Certificate will be continued every five years upon the successful completion of not less than nine continuing education units (90 hours) or their equivalent, during each successive five‑year period.
Department Of Public Health Licensing Continuing Education Requirements:
There are currently no mandatory continuing education requirements needed for continuance of your speech‑language pathology/audiology license.
American Speech‑Language‑Hearing Association (ASHA) Continuing Education (ACE) Plan:
All ASHA certified members are required to complete continuing education in order to maintain their certification status. Thirty hours of professional development over a three year period is required. Please see Appendix O for a copy of ASHA Certification Standard VII which outlines the new requirement.
ASHA Continuing Education Units may be accumulated through an ASHA approved sponsor. There is usually a nominal charge for clerical work. You fill out a form and have it validated for each continuing education experience achieved. Professionals may obtain prior approval from ASHA to engage in independent study as a means to accumulate ASHA CEUs.
Please see ASHA guidelines for more details. Guidelines are available from the ASHA national office or online at the ASHA web site.
Membership In The Connecticut Speech‑Language‑Hearing Association:
As a professional working in the State of Connecticut, you should consider joining the Connecticut Speech‑Language‑Hearing Association. Through membership in CSHA you will be able to keep current regarding the Connecticut clinical community. Membership permits participation in all CSHA activities including biannual conferences. At these conferences you will have an opportunity to network with other professionals and hear outstanding persons in the fields of speech‑language pathology and audiology present new information. Further, you will be listed in and receive the Connecticut Speech‑Language‑Hearing Association Membership Directory. You will also receive the CSHA Newsletter in which clinical community events are listed.
Through numerous CSHA committees you will have an opportunity to shape the role of the speech‑language pathologist and audiologist in the State of Connecticut. CSHA is closely allied with ASHA through legislative participation. CSHA sends three elected legislative counselors to ASHA as participants in the American Speech‑Language‑Hearing Association's policy‑making body. As a state legislative counselor you may have direct input into the activities of ASHA.
There are three classifications of CSHA membership: 1. voting members; 2. professional affiliates; and, 3. associates.
CSHA offers free membership to all speech-language pathology and audiology graduate students. Further, CSHA offers a waiver of the first year membership to recent graduates in speech-language pathology and audiology.
You may obtain all materials necessary to apply for membership in CSHA at the following address and/or phone:
Connecticut Speech‑Language‑Hearing Association Office
Office Manager: Maria Parker
213 Back Lane
Newington, CT 06111
Tel: (860) 666‑6900
Fax: (860) 667‑0144
URL: www.ctspeehhearing.org
Looking for a Job:
The Department maintains a bulletin board listing all position vacancies reported to faculty and staff. Those seeking positions should check the board frequently as new notices are placed on it weekly.
The Connecticut Speech‑Language‑Hearing Association offers a listing of vacancies which have been reported to its main office. You may contact CSHA to obtain a copy of the listing.
The American Speech‑Language‑Hearing Association lists position vacancies at the national level in the Association's “ASHA Leader” newspaper. You receive the newspaper as a member of the National Student Speech‑Language‑Hearing Association and as a regular member of the Association.
The American Speech‑Language‑Hearing Association also offers information on preparing a resume and organizing your approach to position hunting. Prospective job seekers are encouraged to take advantage of this information. Write or call ASHA for more details on “The ASHA Career Mover” CD, or check with the program director or Department secretary.
Department of Communication Disorders Alumni Activity:
We request that graduates check our web site often at www.southernct.edu/ departments/communicationdisorders/. Current Departmental activities as well as program changes are updated frequently. Further, in the very near future an alumni section (or link) will become a main feature of the site.
Alumni and Employer Surveys:
In keeping with requirements of the institution, licensing, certification, and accrediting agencies the Department on a 2.5 - 3.0 year cycle, conducts surveys of graduates and their employers. The results of these surveys are used with other assessment instruments to evaluate the currency and quality of our programs. We respectfully request that as a Departmental alumnus you participate in these surveys. In the past, the return on our survey questionnaires has been excellent. We would like to continue this record. The more information we receive regarding the programs the better they will become. Please see the “Departmental Evaluation” section in this handbook for more complete information on Departmental evaluation processes.