Northern Illinois University's School of Allied Health and Communicative Disorders, housed within the College of Health and Human Sciences, offers a unique program designed to provide continuing education to the rehabilitation professional who wishes to enhance his or her skills in providing quality services to persons who are deaf or hard of hearing. This program is funded by the U.S. Department of Education, Rehabilitation Services Administration. Participants may earn 15 semester hours of academic credit at either the undergraduate or graduate level. Training begins with an intensive three-week institute on the Northern Illinois University campus, located 65 miles west of Chicago. Students then enroll in a distance-learning component of the course that is completed during the second semester of study. The goal of the program is to have a positive impact on the delivery of rehabilitation services to persons who are deaf or hard of hearing by assisting rehabilitation professionals to be knowledgeable about the unique considerations involved in providing quality and accessible services to this population.
This training is specifically intended for practicing rehabilitation professionals who are knowledgeable and experienced in providing rehabilitation services but who lack expertise in applying these skills to persons who are deaf or hard of hearing. Twenty trainees and five alternates are selected annually with attempts made to ensure geographic diversity of the class. Individuals with disabilities and/or members of traditionally underrepresented groups are encouraged to apply.
Trainees receive stipends to cover all tuition and fees associated with the academic instruction. Trainees are also reimbursed for travel to a maximum of $500 each and receive housing and meals while in residence on the Northern Illinois University campus. They are also provided with all necessary training materials including workbooks, textbooks, and handouts without cost.
These benefits obligate trainees under the payback agreement stipulated in the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended. Participants in this program must agree to maintain employment in a nonprofit rehabilitation agency or a state rehabilitation agency, including a professional corporation or practice group through which the individual has a service agreement with the designated state agency. Trainees agree to be employed in such a setting for two years in return for each year of training received. Individuals who fail to complete the training program or who do not meet the payback requirements may be asked to repay the costs associated with the training received.
The training curriculum is structured as a three-week institute generating a total of 9 semester hours for 120 hours of direct instruction and a distance learning component that generates 6 semester hours of credit and is based on individual student learning contracts. The curriculum for the three-week institute focuses on six competency areas related to providing quality services for adults who are deaf or hard of hearing:
Nationally recognized experts on topics related to these six modules serve as trainers. In addition to day-long learning modules, the trainees also participate in group projects and may take advantage of the optional sign language classes during the evenings.
The distance-learning component of the program consists of two self-directed learning activities. First, an experiential learning activity is arranged during which the trainee is expected to spend 200 hours of direct contact with persons who are deaf or hard of hearing. This experience may be arranged in conjunction with the trainee's employment or as a voluntary activity outside of normal working hours. Students submit a weekly log of contact experiences detailing the type of interaction and discussing what has been learned from the interaction as well as questions which may have been raised.
Trainees are also required to complete a 3-semester-hour project intended to add specific knowledge or competence to their qualifications for providing services to persons who are deaf or hard of hearing and to contribute in some manner to the delivery of enhanced services for this population. The project can involve objectives as broad as the establishment of a new program for serving persons who are deaf or hard of hearing within an existing program or as specific as the development of a plan for enhanced services to a single individual who is deaf or hard of hearing. The project is closely supervised by the project director and is reported in the form of a final paper or similar product.
Upon fulfillment of these requirements, trainees receive a certificate of completion.
Applicants submit a letter of intent and three letters of recommendation. The letter of intent should describe the applicant's current position, reasons for wanting to attend the training, and intended use for the training in his or her current employment setting. Only applicants with complete files will be considered.
Program staff will notify the trainees who are preliminarily accepted by the admissions committee. Those individuals must then make application to Northern Illinois University to enroll as either a student-at-large (if pursuing graduate credit: or a non-degree or visiting student (if pursuing undergraduate credit). Final acceptance will be confirmed after notice is received that the student has been officially enrolled in the university.
For further information or to submit an application, contact:
Lelonie Sanders, Program Secretary
School of Allied Health and Communicative Disorders
Northern Illinois University
DeKalb, Illinois 60115
(815) 753-6545 (voice)
(815) 753-9123 (FAX)
lmsanders@niu.edu
Northern Illinois University also offers a baccalaureate degree program, with emphases in deafness rehabilitation or speech-language pathology/audiology.
The master's degree program includes a CORE accredited specialization in rehabilitation counseling and ASHA accredited specializations in speech-language pathology. An Au.D. program is offered in audiology and has interim accreditation by the Council on Academic Accreditation in Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. Information about these programs can also be requested by contacting the above.