6/4/2010. Pre PreSLP Program

(1)

La Salle University’s

La Salle University’s PreSLP

PreSLP

Program: Myths vs. Reality...

The PreSLP Program

Pre…

Pre… PreSLP

PreSLP Program

Program

y

The Master’s Program at La Salle was first accredited

in 2003

y

More than 1500 potential students inquired about

our program

M

did t h

th

i it t

y

Many did not have the necessary prerequisites to

pursue a master’s in Speech-Language Pathology

y

Many of the students were working professionals and

could not go to school during the day.

How We Began…

y

The project was funded by a private foundation

y

Hired an Instructional Designer, Juliet Fink, Ed.M

y

11 courses were identified as key prerequisites

y

The Instructional Designer worked with full-time

faculty to adapt face-to-face undergraduate courses

to an online format.

y

Faculty was compensated for their time and efforts in

developing courses.

Why the

Why the PreSLP

PreSLP Program is a Successful

Program is a Successful

Online Program

The Niche

:

◦

Few schools offered these courses online

The Program:

◦

We could start programmatically by offering a

suite of 11 courses.

The Market Demand:

◦

The field desperately needs qualified applicants

The Student Population:

◦

Students looking for these courses tend to be

older, are working full-time, have families, and

needed flexibility.

What do we mean by Online Courses

??

y

Multiple Modes of

Communication

y

Restricted access

y

Tests and Quizzes

BlackBoard Allows Online Courses to Have:

y

Tests and Quizzes

y

PPT, Word, Websites, PDFs

y

Assignment Dropbox

y

Gradebook

y

Video and audio.

y

Hyperlinks to the Web.

Barbara Amster, PhD, CCC-SLP, Director of La Salle University’s Speech-Language-Hearing Science Programs

(2)

Some Novel Approaches

y

Faculty are integrating Black Board with

some interesting tools

y

Using Wimba, Wikis,social network tools

like Google.wave and collaborative sites

e Goog e.wave a co abo at ve s tes

like Google.doc

y

web site

Growing By Leaps and Bounds

y

We’ve gone from

4 to 155

PreSLP

students in five years.

y

We’ve sold

882 credits

this semester

alone;

3

of these credits were taken by

alone;

3

of these credits were taken by

one of our graduate students.

y

We have had students from many states

including NY, CA, AZ and abroad.

My How We’ve Grown!

Semester

# Courses

Credits Sold

Spring ’05

2

27

Summer ’05

2

42

Fall ’05

5

196

Spring ’ 06

6

207

Summer ’06

5

245

Fall ’ 06

6

301

Spring ‘07

6

299

Summer ‘07

6

301

Summer 07

6

301

Fall ‘07

5

335

Spring ‘08

7

370

Summer ‘08

8

444

Fall ‘08

10

624

Spring ‘09

11

654

Summer ‘09

12

702

Fall ‘09

13

874

Growth in courses

(3)

Growth in credit hours

1006

1722

2417

AY

07

‐

08

AY

08

‐

09

AY

09

‐

10

75

480

874

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

AY

04

‐

05

AY

05

‐

06

AY

06

‐

07

Change in use of faculty

The

The PreSLP

PreSLP Program has helped the

Program has helped the

University

y

Only 2 courses

online

y

The SLP faculty had

little online

y

11 PreSLP courses fully

online with multiple sections

y

Faculty have online teaching

experience and ENJOY it

y

Faculty must complete fully

little online

experience

y

The University had

no training or

materials for

developing or

teaching completely

online

y

Faculty must complete fully

online training program to

teach in PreSLP

y

6615

PreSLP credits sold

since Spring ’05

y

A waiting list of students

ready to start taking PreSLP

courses

Eye to the Future

y

Maintain and Enhance Quality

y

Address Faculty Constraints

y

New Technology

We believe the

We believe the PreSLP

PreSLP

program offers a pathway

to become an SLP for non

to become an SLP for

non--traditional students

traditional students

Helping to address the

critical shortage of SLPs

Survey of former

Survey of former PreSLP

PreSLP Students

Students

y

Short survey conducted via email in Fall 2009

y

Survey sent to 243 former PreSLP students

y

Recipients were students enrolled in PreSLP

previously but not enrolled in Fall 2009

y

Forty-five recipients completed survey

y

20% response rate

(4)

Survey Questions and Responses

y

After leaving La Salle University’s PreSLP program, did you continue

your studies in Speech-Language-Pathology?

◦

64.4% Yes

◦

35.6% No

If

h

d

i S

h L

y

If yes, have you earned a graduate degree in

Speech-Language-Pathology?

◦

17.8% Yes

◦

82.2% No (note: most respondents indicated they were currently

enrolled in a graduate program in Speech-Language-Pathology)

y

If yes, where did you earn this degree?

◦

Sample responses:

x

Pennsylvania State University

x

NOVA Southeastern University

x

Walden University

x

California State University/Northridge

x

University of Maryland/College Park

x

La Salle University

x

Montclair State University

x

Northern Arizona University

Survey Questions and Responses

y

If yes, are you now certified or do you plan to be

certified by the American

Speech-Language-Hearing Association?

◦

53.3% Yes

◦

46.7% No

y

Are you currently working in the field of

Speech-Language-Pathology?

◦

40.0% Yes

◦

60.0% No

Survey questions and responses

y

If you are currently working in the field of

Speech-Language-Pathology, which setting

are you working in?

◦

Early Intervention

y

15.8%

◦

School age population

73.7 %

◦

Private Practice

5.3%

◦

Other

5.3%

Survey Questions and Responses

y

If you are working currently in the field of

Speech-Language-Pathology, which

population are you working with?

◦

Sample responses:

p

x

Birth to three early intervention

x

Elementary school

x

Middle school

x

High functioning Autism and Aspergers

x

Latino population

x

High school special education

y

If you are not currently working or pursuing

studies in Speech-Language-Pathology, why

not?

◦

Sample responses:

p

x

Family/day care issues prevent attendance in graduate

school at this time;

x

Cost factors of graduate school

x

Pursued different field

(5)

y

How did you view the preparation you

received at La Salle University’s PreSLP

program while you were enrolled?

◦

Themes of Responses:

p

x

Learned a great deal

x

Program well-delivered and flexible

x

Great overview about the field

x

Online courses were great experience

x

Some courses too didactic/not practical enough

x

Online format too challenging

Ending thoughts from our

Students

“Fantastic. I learned more than I ever

imagined and the professors were so

ag e a t e p o esso s we e so

welcoming! I thought it was a great

experience.”

Ending thoughts from our

Students

"I loved the format. I am prepared for

grad school and beyond due to the

i

f

L

S ll "

great preparation from La Salle."

Ending thoughts from our

Students

"I was at first nervous about taking

courses online, but they turned

y

out to be a great experience.”

“Very well - thank you! Just wish you

offered more pre - req SLP classes on

line and in fact even a graduate on line

!!! M

b

d

h? Th

k t

Students

program!!! Maybe one day, eh? Thanks to

online I could fulfill my dreams. Wish it

could have been with La Salle all the way

as the professors and students were first

class! Thanks for the experience!

Students

“The online format gave me the chance to

complete the pre-reqs necessary for

admission to grad school. I had the tools to

be successful and am now using them to

pursue my educational and professional

goals.”