Speech Language Pathology

Discussion in 'General Distance Learning Discussions' started by KevinKovach, Aug 4, 2008.

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  1. KevinKovach

    KevinKovach New Member

    My wife is interested in changing career paths. She has a bachelor's degree in Public Relations and has been working in the PR business for about 5 years but now wants to try out speech language pathology.

    We have looked at some distance programs for leveling (the prereqs basically). I wondered if anyone had any experience with this type of program by distance learning. I did a search and didn't come up with anything. Questions we have are:

    1. Is it much harder via distance than in class (I told her that I actually perfer my distance courses at U of L).
    2. Will these help her to gain acceptance to a regionally accredited school?

    Some of the schools with distance programs for the prereqs were:


    • University of Ohio
      LaSalle
      University of South Florida, and
      Idaho State University

    Thanks for your help everyone.
     
  2. japhy4529

    japhy4529 House Bassist

    Northern Arizona University offers a 100% online Speech-Language Pathology Certificate. With only 7 courses required for the certificate, this might be a good first step for your wife to see if she is interested enough in SLP to pursue it further as a career. If the answer is "no", then she is has only spent the time and money on 7 courses vs. an entire Masters in SLP. On the other hand, if the answer is "yes", then she could work as a SLP Assistant, while pursuing her Masters in SLP. In addition, gaining a SLP Assistant certificate might help with the pre-req's for a full blown MS in SLP.

    As for MS SLP (and similiar) online programs, this is what I came up with:

    MS SLP - California State University, Northridge

    MS SLP - Texas Woman's University (for Texas residents only)

    Master of Communication Disorders - University of South Carolina (Will prepare the student for the clinical practice of SLP)

    MS in SL and AP - East Carolina University


    And that was just the first few items in a Google search. To find more programs, copy/paste the following search into Google:

    master "speech language pathology" "distance learning" site:.edu

    Note, that the above search will only locate programs in the U.S. To search for programs in other countries, simply replace the ".edu" domain with another country-specific education domain (e.g. ac.uk, edu.au or ac.za).



    Tom
     
  3. LilyCate

    LilyCate New Member

    I looked pretty extensively into a career change into SLP and found that the distance learning prereq's were fine for most grad programs. Grad programs are EXTREMELY competitive though, so it is crucial that your spouse get very good grades.

    You can find a bit of info about distance programs on SLP forums such as:

    http://www.slpcommunity.com/
    http://www.slpjob.com/lougne/forum/index.php

    And the above poster's advice about becoming an SLP Assistant is only good in certain states. Many states do not have any certifications for SLP Assistants. Without the state approval, there are no jobs. Just FYI.

    I don't know about the SLP Certificate offered by Northern Arizona, but I'd double check that those classes would count towards the required prereq's for grad school before I did them. SLPA course requirements are not necessarily the same as what a grad school might require for entrance.
     
  4. LilyCate

    LilyCate New Member

    Oh, and Longwood offers the prereq's online as well, but Virginia residents do have first dibs on entrance. Also try Western Kentucky University. I seem to recall that they had the prereq's online as well (hopefully I'm remembering correctly).
     
  5. KevinKovach

    KevinKovach New Member

    Thanks everyone. We have narrowed it down to two schools; LaSalle and Utah State University. We will probably go with Utah State University as the program awards you another bachelor's degree and it is pretty inexpensive.

    Thanks for all your help.
     
  6. Jeremy

    Jeremy Member

    Check with your state, most require graduate degrees to practice SLP. Occasionaly you can practice with undergradaute degree in school systems only.
    Jeremy
     
  7. KevinKovach

    KevinKovach New Member

    She is planning on taking the prereqs via distance and then applying to graduate school via Brick and Mortar.
     
  8. Jeremy

    Jeremy Member

  9. Trampled

    Trampled New Member

    I don't recommend Northridge's Distance Leaning Speech and Language Pathology

    I would recommend anyone considering taking the distance learning program at CSUN for a master's in Speech and Language Pathology think twice. While presented as being compatible with full-time professional employment, that was not my experience. They have some excellent, supportive instructors, however others seem to be insufficiently engaged, yet quite demanding. For the fees they charge, I believe instruction should always be outstanding.

    Distance learning is always a challenge. I like it best when the instructor gives some kind of lecture using actual speech. There are a number of ways to accomplish this, and you can even record a live lecture and stream it, or send it out on DVD's. For me and those who learn as I do, this is a critical part of the DL process. Some at CSUN gave lectures, some didn't.

    At the very least, a practicing professional contemplating entry in this program should ask some direct questions about the percentage of entering students who graduate, and figure what percentage of the graduating students were actually working.

    "Because the program of study is distance-based, you can create your own study schedules and keep your job while enrolled in the program." —CSU Northridge website
     
  10. Kizmet

    Kizmet Moderator

    Hi Trampled - This is interesting info. Thanks for joining us. You've touched on a couple of important points. The first one is learning style. This can be critical for some people. How is the material presented. I'll take an extreme example, the University of London. AFAIK, they send you a pile of written material and when you're prepared to take the test you take the test. If you pass then you move on. I've never done that before and I'm not sure that I'd handle it all that well. Not enough attention is paid to the variations in the way course material is presented to the student.

    Your point about asking questions is also well made. Personally, I'm not going to give you points on the faculty issue. Every school has instructors that are great and ones that are, hmmm, less than great. OK, maybe they're actually bad. The fact that you found this to be true at Northridge does not distinguish them in my opinion.

    I hope that more people write in detail of their experiences with specific schools.
     
  11. Hear2Learn

    Hear2Learn New Member

    Distance Graduate Programs in Speech Pathology

    Hello! Has anyone had any experience with the online graduate programs in Speech Pathology through either Idaho State University or California State University - Northridge? I am looking at attending one of these programs and would appreciate any feedback from anyone who has taken these programs - pros? cons? Thank YOu~
     

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