Technical Standards
The School of Allied Health Professions and Department of Communication Disorders does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, creed, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, or disability. When requested, the department will provide reasonable accommodation to otherwise qualified students with properly certified disabilities. The faculty and professional staff have responsibility for the welfare of students in the section and for the clients the students treat during their graduate program. To meet this responsibility, the section has established Technical Standards that must be demonstrated by students with or without reasonable accommodations in order to participate in the program and to complete it successfully. Reasonable accommodations will be made to students with disabilities on an individual and flexible basis. It is the responsibility of students, however, to review the technical standards for a given program and make their needs known. Guidelines for students with Disabilities can be found at: http://alliedhealth.lsuhsc.edu/Admin/studentswithdisabilities.aspx
The School of Allied Health Professions has established Technical Standards for its programs of study delineating the minimum physical, cognitive, emotional, and social requirements necessary to participate fully in all aspects of academic and clinical education expected by a specified program of study. One’s ability to meet the technical standards is a prerequisite for admission and continuation in a program of study. Applicants and enrolled students must be able to meet all technical standards with or without reasonable accommodations.
Physical Health: The student must possess the physical health and stamina needed to carry out the program of Communication Disorders.
Intellectual Skills: The student must have sufficient powers of intellect to acquire, assimilate, integrate and apply information. The student must have the intellectual ability to solve problems and the ability to comprehend three-dimensional and spatial relationships.
Motor Skills: The student must have sufficient use of motor skills to carry out all necessary procedures, both those involved in learning the fundamental sciences and those required in the clinical environment. This includes the ability: (1) to participate in relevant educational exercises and to extract information from written sources; (2) use a computer to operate laboratory equipment, and (3) access transportation to all clinical and academic placements.
Communication: Consistent with CAA 4.2 proficiency in English, the student “must demonstrate communication skills sufficient to achieve effective clinical and professional interaction with clients and relevant others.” For oral communication, students must “demonstrate speech and language skills in English, which, at a minimum are consistent with ASHA’s most current position statement on students and professionals who speak English with accents and nonstandard dialects.” For written communication, students must “be able to write and comprehend technical reports, diagnostic and treatment reports, treatment plans, and professional correspondence.” (ASHA, 2005). Information must be communicated in a succinct yet comprehensive manner and in settings in which time available may be limited. These skills require the ability to assess and effectively communicate all relevant information including the significance of nonverbal responses. Also required is the ability to immediately assess incoming information to allow for appropriate, well-focused follow-up inquiry. The student must be capable of responsive, empathic listening to establish rapport in a way that promotes openness on issues of concern and sensitivity to potential cultural differences. He or she must express his or her ideas clearly and demonstrate a willingness and ability to give and receive feedback.
Sensory Abilities: The student must have sufficient use of the sense of vision, hearing, touch and smell to observe effectively in the classroom, laboratory and clinical setting. Students must possess the ability to observe both close at hand and at a distance.
Behavioral Qualities: The student must possess emotional health sufficient to carry out the tasks above, must have good judgment and must behave in a professional, reliable, mature and responsible manner. The student must be adaptable, possessing sufficient flexibility to function in new and stressful environments. The student must be able to critically evaluate her/his own performance, be forthright about errors, accept constructive criticism, and look for ways to improve. The student must show respect for individuals of different ages, ethnic backgrounds, religions, and/or sexual orientations. The student must exhibit professional behavior by conforming to appropriate standards of dress, appearance, language and public behavior. The student must uphold the Code of Ethics of the American-Speech-Language-Hearing Association and the code of Academic Conduct of the LSU Health Science Center’s School of Allied Health Professions.
Each student must continue to meet all of the TECHNICAL STANDARDS set forth above. A student may be denied permission to continue in the Communication Disorders program at the LSU Health Sciences Center should the student fail at any time to demonstrate all of the required TECHNICAL STANDARDS.
Statement of Satisfactory Academic Progress
Graduate Professional Scholastic Requirements
Students dismissed from the School for academic reasons must reapply to the program to be considered for readmission.
1. A minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 is required for graduation.
2. The minimum scholastic requirement for course work is a grade of C. However, no more than 6 credit hours of C grades may be counted toward a degree unless otherwise established by the department. In courses designated Pass/Fail or Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory, a grade of Pass or Satisfactory is required.
Provisions for Academic Progression
1. If an unacceptable grade is recorded in a non-prerequisite course, the student must satisfactorily complete the course when next regularly offered.
2. If an unacceptable grade is recorded in a course designated as a prerequisite course the student must satisfactorily complete the prerequisite course before continuing the program sequence.
3. Students may not participate in clinical, fieldwork or preceptorship courses until all prerequisite course work has been completed successfully.
4. Students who earn a grade of Unsatisfactory or Fail in clinical, fieldwork, or preceptorship courses will be placed on scholastic probation.
5. Students who fall from 1-10 quality points below a 3.0 cumulative GPA will be placed on scholastic probation.
6. Students placed on scholastic probation must repeat those courses in which an unacceptable grade was earned when next regularly offered and earn a satisfactory grade. Students will remain on scholastic probation until this requirement is met and the minimum scholastic requirement for cumulative GPA is achieved. Failure to meet this requirement will result in dismissal from the School.
7. A course, including those designated clinical, fieldwork, and preceptorship, may be repeated one time only. Students who repeat a course but earn an unacceptable grade will be dismissed from the School.
8. Students who fail to attain a minimum 3.0 cumulative and/or semester professional GPA in two consecutive semesters can be dismissed from the School.
9. Students who fall more than 10 quality points below a 3.0 cumulative GPA will be dismissed from the School.
10. Students on scholastic probation are not eligible for graduation.
11. Students must complete the program in a specified period of time.
12. Grades recorded in repeated course work do not replace the original grade. Both the original grade and repeated grade will appear on the academic transcript and both grades will be used in the computation of the academic grade point average.
13. Students dismissed from the School for academic reasons must reapply to the program to be considered for readmission.
The academic standards for the university are linked below: http://alliedhealth.lsuhsc.edu/Admin/academicstandards.aspx
Academic and Employment Workloads
The usual full-time academic load in the Department is 9 to 14 semester hours during Fall and Spring semesters; and 6 to 9 during the Summer semester. Students with outside commitments may not be able to enroll full-time. It is the responsibility of the student to be available for classes, clinical practicum, and other scheduled activities that may occur anytime from 7:30 AM to 9 PM Monday through Friday and, occasionally, on the weekend or during semester breaks. Activities may include attendance at professional conferences or seminars.