The Board of Directors (BOD) of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) met June 28–30, 2008, at the ASHA National Office. Following are highlights of the Board's discussions and actions taken during the meeting.
Opening Remarks
President Kate Gottfred welcomed Board members and thanked them for their continuing work on behalf of the Association and its members. She noted that it had been a busy 6 months, with the transition to the new governance structure and process, settling into the new National Office, and implementation of ASHA's Strategic Pathway to Excellence. She suggested that the next 6 months will be just as busy with ongoing work on the Strategic Pathway initiatives and as planning progresses for conduct of the ASHA Convention in Chicago.
Executive Director Update
Executive Director Arlene Pietranton provided the following highlights:
CAA Recognition With the Department of Education
The U.S. Department of Education's National Advisory Committee on Institutional Quality and Integrity unanimously recommended that the Secretary of Education approve the petition from the Council on Academic Accreditation in Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology (CAA) for continued recognition as an accreditor for audiology and speech-language pathology graduate education programs for 5 years.
Public Relations Update
ASHA is now working with the Parent's Choice Foundation to build a coalition of leading musicians to advance ASHA's "America: Tuned In" campaign. For the second year, ASHA promoted Better Hearing and Speech Month on National Public Radio with spots appearing on "Morning Edition" and "The Diane Rehm Show," and began an outreach campaign to the top 50 TV markets aimed at giving parents tips on warning signs related to early childhood speech and language development. Local speech-language pathology members served as content experts.
National Office Personnel
Recruitment is under way for a Chief Staff Officer for Communications. Human Resources staff continues to track National Office turnover and vacancy rates, which are several percentage points lower than those of other employers in the metropolitan Washington, DC area.
American Society of Association Executives (ASAE)
Arlene Pietranton was elected to a 3-year term on the ASAE Board of Directors beginning in August 2008.
ASHA Web Site
ASHA is currently revising the navigation system and design of the ASHA Web site, researching search engines for one that better meets the Association's needs, and shifting a large majority of Members Only content so that it is available to the public.
Customer Satisfaction Data
In a November 2007 survey, ASHA members expressed satisfaction levels of approximately 90% or more with all aspects of their interactions with National Office staff. This was true for both audiologists and speech-language pathologists. These data will be monitored in the future to determine any change in satisfaction levels.
ASHA Property
The Board received an update on the ASHA property at 10801 Rockville Pike that is under contract for sale. A final settlement conference has been scheduled for August 1, 2008. To increase non-dues revenue, ASHA is leasing the fifth floor in the new National Office. A tenant lease is currently being completed with a Rockville law firm for approximately half of the available space. The leasing agency is pursing tenant(s) for the remaining space.
Nominations and Elections Practices
The Board reviewed a preliminary report of the Ad Hoc Committee on Nominations and Elections Practices. The Committee was charged with (a) conducting a review and evaluation of ASHA's current nominations and elections practices, as well as the nominations and elections practices of other national organizations of similar size and scope, and (b) developing recommendations for enhancing ASHA's board cultivation and election efforts and submitting those recommendations to the Board of Directors. Kathy Henrichs, of Henrichs and Associates, a consultant who worked with the Committee, provided the Board with information and sought input on draft recommendations and implementation steps prepared by the Committee. The Board provided recommendations for the Committee to consider as it develops its final report.
Governance Transition
The BOD discussed the status of transition to the new governance structure and process [PDF]. The BOD reviewed the desired governance outcomes and the current status in achieving those outcomes. The Board discussed its role and responsibility in communicating with various entities (e.g., ASHA members, committees, councils, and boards; special interest divisions; allied and related professional organizations; and the Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology Advisory Councils), which is key to the success of the new governance structure and process. The Board identified ways to enhance its operations and culture, as well as the way it interacts with members, other entities, and the Advisory Councils to ensure successful transition to the new governance model.
Communication with Members and Other Entities
The BOD established an opportunity for members to provide information to the BOD via an "In Touch" form. Members also may submit resolutions to the BOD via a resolutions form.
During each of its meetings, the Board reviews the information submitted by members and other entities on Association-wide issues and issues related to ASHA's Strategic Pathway to Excellence. To date, there have been no resolutions submitted online. There have been 52 In Touch forms submitted. All of the items submitted related to ongoing ASHA operations and were submitted to the appropriate National Office entities to address. The Board encourages members and other entities to use the "In Touch" form and the resolutions form to submit their ideas on issues that need to be discussed.
Critical Issues
The Board discussed the critical issues identified by ASHA members on the 2008 Critical Issues Survey and by the Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology Advisory Councils during their March 2008 meetings. Issues discussed were marketing/branding, the PhD shortage, salaries, personnel shortages, workload/caseload, highest qualified provider, academic/clinical education preparation, reimbursement, and collaboration with allied and related organizations. The BOD discussed where ASHA is in dealing with these issues, where we want to be in the future, and what success would look like if ASHA had an impact on the issue. Discussion on the critical issues will continue at future Board meetings. The intent is to identify critical issues that align with ASHA's Strategic Pathway to Excellence and to decide whether to enhance, maintain, or reduce the Association's efforts on an issue identified as "critical."
Scientifically Based Professional Practice
ASHA's Strategic Pathway to Excellence includes four Strategic Themes (Pillars of Excellence): Two Professions, One Discipline; Scientifically Based Professional Practice; Advocacy; and The Member Experience. As part of the Board's agenda for 2008, one of the Pillars of Excellence is being discussed at each BOD meeting. During this meeting, the Board discussed the Scientifically Based Professional Practice Pillar. The Strategic Result for this Pillar is as follows: "ASHA strengthens its leadership in the generation, dissemination, and translation of research into the clinical practice of Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology."
The Board reviewed the Strategic Objectives and the associated Strategic Initiatives related to Scientifically Based Professional Practice: Increase Research Commitment and Improve the Science Base. Specific items discussed included the process for prioritization of topics for evidence-based systematic reviews and ASHA's scholarly publications. In addition, the Board analyzed aspects of scientifically based professional practice, developed a shared understanding of what is involved in strengthening ASHA's leadership related to scientifically based professional practice, and provided suggestions to inform work plans and initiatives related to increasing research commitment and improving the science base. The Board recommended that the proposal from the Advisory Committee on Evidence Based Practice and the Scientific Advisory Board regarding the process for submitting and prioritizing requests for evidence-based systematic reviews be implemented and that success of this process be reviewed at the end of 2009.
Budget and Financial Planning
Budget Performance: The Board reviewed the 2008 budget performance. At this time, revenue and expenses are within budget projections. Given the current economic environment, the National Office budget managers and the Financial Planning Board (FPB) are paying special attention to any variances in ASHA's budget line items.
Investment Consultant: Two Strategic Objectives on ASHA's Strategic Pathway to Excellence are to "Enhance Financial Stewardship" and to "Expand Revenue Streams." As part of its review of the Association's financial status, the FPB worked with an independent financial consultant to explore the advantages and disadvantages of retaining an independent financial advisor. Following review of submitted requests for proposals, the FPB in collaboration with an ASHA investment consultant recommended selection of an independent investment advisor who will work with the FPB in managing ASHA's long-term investment portfolio. The Board approved the FPB recommendation.
Conflict of Interest Policy: The BOD discussed the FPB's recommendation to implement a conflict of interest policy to ensure that no circumstances arise that would cast doubt on a Board member's ability to act in ASHA's interest. As a 501C(6), ASHA is not required to have a conflict of interest policy; however, due to growing general climate of increased scrutiny of board activities, the FPB is requesting implementation of such a policy.
Specialty Recognition
The Board reviewed an evaluation report from the Council for Clinical Specialty Recognition (CCSR). The CCSR evaluated the success of the current grassroots model in which the responsibility for establishing and administering a specialty board in a focused area of practice falls to the general membership versus a model employing a greater role for ASHA. Since 1995, the CCSR has approved three specialty boards. Five additional petitioning groups have submitted Stage I applications, four of which were approved by the CCSR. Ultimately, none of the four chose to proceed with completion of Stages II and III of the application process.
Based on a survey of various constituents (e.g., ASHA members, specialty boards, special interest divisions, board-recognized specialists, related professional organizations), the CCSR concluded that (a) specialties do exist within the professions and (b) a mechanism for effectively connecting consumers with practitioners who provide services within specialized areas of practice is beneficial and should be encouraged if ASHA members are to achieve the vision of ASHA and meet the challenges of the future. Members also reported that they find the process to be cumbersome, too labor intensive for a volunteer work group, and costly. The CCSR found that several components of the grassroots model were effective:
- Areas of specialization driven by the membership
- The standards for qualification of a specialty area
- The general standards that qualify an individual to be recognized as a specialist
The CCSR recommended that any future protocol consider these issues.
The BOD also requested advice from the ASHA Advisory Councils related to the Clinical Specialty Recognition program. In consideration of the evaluation data/information provided by the CCSR and the Advisory Councils, the Board recommended that a Clinical Specialty Recognition program be continued and that discussions be held on how to make a program more efficient and effective.
Threatened Closures of Graduate Programs
The Board discussed trends related to the closing of academic programs in communication sciences and disorders.
A review of the data on accredited programs in communication sciences and disorders between 2003 and 2008 identified only two speech-language pathology programs that have closed. While a number of audiology master's level programs closed due to a change in accreditation standards, only one audiology entry-level doctoral program closed directly as a result of budget cuts at a university. Currently, there are 241 master's level speech-language pathology and 69 audiology doctoral programs accredited by the CAA.
The Board discussed the need to collaborate with various stakeholders (e.g., academic program directors, the Council on Academic Programs in Communication Sciences and Disorders [CAPCSD], and state associations) if ASHA is requested to offer support to those academic programs receiving word of closure, the information that ASHA may need from programs in order to offer said support (e.g., application/enrollment/graduation data and trends; unique features of the academic, clinic, or research programs; current grants; service to the community), and the information that programs may request from ASHA (e.g., data on number of accredited programs in the state and region; incidence and prevalence of communication disorders in the general population as well as for the targeted states; and impact on clients served by the profession within the state and nationally).
The Board recommended that the Vice President for Academic Affairs discuss with other stakeholders (e.g., CAPCSD, CAA, the Division on Issues in Higher Education, and ASHA entities) appropriate ways for ASHA to both prevent and react to proposed closures of graduate programs in communication sciences and disorders.
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