Communicative Disorders makes plans
for professional doctoral Au.D. degree

by Mark McGowan

NIU's nationally ranked Department of Communicative Disorders is seeking approval this spring from the Illinois Board of Higher Education to offer a professional doctoratal degree in audiology.

Hopes for a doctor of audiology degree (Au.D.) at NIU come in response to new standards in the profesiona mandating a doctorate degree for entry level practice.

A major study conducted in 1997 by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association determined the field had outgrown the master's degree, and ASHA members subsequently voted to raise the requirements for the Certificate of Clinical Competence in Audiology to a doctoral degree.

NIU's Board of Trustees gave its blessing to the proposed Au.D. last month.

"Eighty percent of the state's practitioners are in our service region," said Earl Seaver, chair of the Department of Communicative Disorders, housed in the College of Health and Human Sciences. "We'd be the only state school in the northern part of the state to offer such a degree. Rush and Northwestern also offer the Au.D., but they're privates. This keeps the degree affordable."

According to an Illinois Department of Employment Security forecast, the need for audiologists will rise 33 percent by 2008.

The primary factors include:

• Anticipated changes in the proportion of the population entering middle age and the rapid growth in the number of individuals 55 and older.
• An increase in hearing loss and a greater susceptibility to neurological diseases and their associated impairments in hearing and balance in this age group.
• Survival rates of trauma and stroke victims and premature infants are increasing; many of these individuals often are in need of hearing, balance and rehabilitation services.

NIU's program would enroll around 20 students, said Pam Jackson, professor of audiology and coordinator of the audiology graduate program. Audiology faculty reviewed the student outcomes and determined the new requirements for the curriculum, which will be a mix of coursework and clinical experience.

"Our doctorate would be a four-year, post-baccalaureate degree, with a 114-hour requirement," Seaver said. "It exceeds the minimum requirements set by ASHA."

Seaver and Jackson both credit Shirley Richmond, dean of the College of Health and Human Sciences, for her guidance and support.

"Moving to a doctorate in audiology allows NIU and the College of Health and Human Sciences to continue preparing excellent practitioners," Richmond said.

"We have a top-ranked program presently, and to continue we must meet the new accrediation guidelines by moving to a doctoral-level program. The demand for audiologists is ever increasing, and are needed in the areas of medical, rehabilitative, education and industrial audiology," the dean added. "We are excited about the opportunity of attracting these students to NIU and are proud of our role in preparing future practitioners who can meet the challenges in our society."

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