Background
The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) is a national voluntary membership association whose primary scientific and professional focus is on human communication behavior and disorders. Founded in 1925 as the American Academy of Speech Correction, the organization became the American Society for the Study of Disorders of Speech in 1927, the American Speech Correction Association in 1934, and the American Speech and Hearing Association in 1947; it assumed its present name in 1978.
According to ASHA Bylaws, Article II, the purposes of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association are to:
- encourage basic scientific study of the processes of individual human communication with special reference to speech, language, hearing, and related disorders;
- promote high standards and ethics for the academic and clinical preparation of individuals entering the discipline of human communication sciences and disorders;
- promote the acquisition of new knowledge and skills for those within the discipline;
- promote investigation, prevention, and the diagnosis and treatment of disorders of human communication and related disorders;
- foster improvement of clinical services and intervention procedures concerning such disorders;
- stimulate exchange of information among persons and organizations, and to disseminate such information;
- inform the public about communication sciences and disorders, related disorders, and the professionals who provide services;
- advocate on behalf of persons with communication and related disorders;
- promote the individual and collective professional interests of the members of the Association.
ASHA established the American Board of Examiners in Speech Pathology and Audiology (ABESPA) in 1959 to foster the goals of the Association and to ensure the provision of quality services to persons with communication disorders.
ABESPA designated the Educational Training Board, later named the Educational Standards Board (ESB), to evaluate programs that offered master's degrees in audiology and speech language pathology and that submitted voluntary applications for accreditation.
Association Bylaws were amended to replace ABESPA with the Council on Professional Standards in Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology (the Standards Council), effective January 1, 1980. The Standards Council, a semi-autonomous body established by ASHA's Legislative Council, was responsible for establishing and monitoring all standards programs of the Association. The standards were implemented by three operating boards-the Educational Standards Board, the Professional Services Board, and the Clinical Certification Board. The Standards Council also arbitrated appeals of decisions rendered by the operating boards.
Council on Academic Accreditation
Effective January 1, 1996, the Educational Standards Board was replaced by the Council on Academic Accreditation in Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology (CAA), having responsibility for oversight of the accreditation and preaccreditation of graduate education programs that prepare entry-level professionals in audiology and speech language pathology (LC 25 94, LC 26 94, LC 27 94, and LC 28-96). The CAA is charged with establishing, defining, monitoring, and implementing accreditation of graduate education programs. (The Standards Council continued responsibility for oversight of professional services accreditation and certification of individual practitioners until January 1, 2001, when it was sunset. At that time these activities were delegated to two semi-autonomous councils, the Council for Professional Services Accreditation1 and the Council for Clinical Certification.)
The following excerpts from the Bylaws of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association relate to the role of the CAA in defining and implementing the standards for accreditation:
Article VIII. Professional Standards and Ethics
8.2 Council on Academic Accreditation in Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology
The Association, by action of the Board of Directors, shall establish and maintain a program of academic accreditation. The Association shall establish the Council on Academic Accreditation in Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology (CAA), which shall define the standards for the accreditation of graduate education programs and apply those standards in the accreditation of such programs. The CAA may also develop standards and processes for approval for programs that prepare support personnel. Members of the CAA shall be appointed following policies established by the CAA and shall have final authority to establish the standards and processes for academic accreditation. Subject to the application of established appeal procedures, the decisions of the CAA concerning the award, withholding, or withdrawal of academic accreditation shall be final.
The specific purposes of the CAA are to:
- formulate standards for the accreditation of graduate education programs that provide entry-level professional preparation in audiology and/or speech-language pathology;
- evaluate programs that voluntarily apply for accreditation;
- grant certificates and recognize those programs deemed to have fulfilled requirements for accreditation; and
- maintain a registry of holders of such certificates; and prepare and furnish to appropriate persons and agencies lists of accredited programs.
The Council shall consist of 14 voting members and two non voting ex officio representatives, as follows:
- Eight (8) academic members from the faculty/staff of accredited educational programs. At least one (1) of these shall have clinical teaching (supervision) as his or her primary role. At least five (5) shall have served as academic program accreditation site visitors.
- Four (4) clinical practitioners from non academic settings. At least one (1) of these shall have experience in supervising students and/or clinical fellows. At least one (1) shall be an audiologist and at least one (1) shall be a speech language pathologist.
- One (1) public member.
- The ASHA Executive Director or his or her designee and the chair of the body that establishes ASHA certification standards shall be nonvoting, ex officio members.
The Council shall consist of members with the following qualifications:
- Six (6) of the voting members shall represent the area of hearing, five (5) of whom must hold the CCC in audiology.
- Seven (7) of the voting members shall represent the area of speech-language pathology, six (6) of whom must hold the CCC in speech-language pathology.
- No more than one (1) individual from a specific educational institution or clinical facility may serve on the Council. (Adjunctive or complementary appointment to a university program shall not disqualify practitioner members, provided they are employed full-time in a non-university setting.)
Recognition and Scope
The CAA has been recognized by the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Education (ED) since 1967 and by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA, formerly the Council on Postsecondary Accreditation) since 1964 for the accreditation and preaccreditation ('Accreditation Candidate') throughout the United States of education programs in audiology and/or speech-language pathology leading to the first professional or clinical degree at the master's or doctoral level.
The CAA scope of accreditation was clarified by both recognition agencies in 1997 to include accreditation and preaccreditation ("Accreditation Candidate") of such programs. It was further clarified in 2002 to also include the accreditation of these programs offered via distance education.
As required by ED for continued recognition, the CAA will provide to the Department a copy of its annual report to ASHA's Board of Diretcors (including a data summary of its major accrediting activities during the previous year), a copy of its list of accredited and candidacy graduate education programs at least twice annually, and any proposed change in its policies, procedures, or accreditation standards that might alter the CAA's scope of recognition or compliance with the criteria for recognition.
Role and Value of Accreditation
ASHA's interest in accreditation is based upon the belief that all professions that provide services to the public have an obligation to ensure, as far as possible, that services provided by its members are of high professional quality. One effective way in which this obligation can be met is by establishing appropriate standards of educational quality and by identifying publicly those educational programs that meet or exceed these standards. Accreditation is intended to protect the interests of students; benefit the public; and improve the quality of teaching, learning, research, and professional practice. Through its accreditation standards, the accrediting body encourages institutional freedom, ongoing improvement of educational institutions and training programs, sound educational experimentation, and constructive innovation.
In accord with the CAA's purpose as noted above, the Council conducts a formal review of the accreditation standards every 5 to 8 years. This formal review may or may not result in revisions of the standards. If the CAA recommends a revision of the standards, proposed standards will be distributed for public comment to all appropriate communities of interest. After all comments have been considered and final revisions made in the document, the approved standards will be printed in ASHA publications with the effective date of implementation. At least 6 months must elapse between the date of publication of the information and the effective date of the new standards.
The accreditation process involves evaluating programs in light of their own training models and goals and judging the degree to which a program has achieved those goals and objectives. Therefore, the CAA does not explicitly prescribe the processes by which the program's outcomes should be reached; rather it evaluates a program's success in achieving outcomes and goals that are consistent with its stated mission. If a program's goals and model of training are clearly and accurately described, the different "publics" served by this program should be able to make intelligent and informed decisions about the quality of the program and the students it trains.
1. The Council for Professional Service Accreditation was sunset December 31, 2001.
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