hawks2020slp

Avoid Monmouth

I went to Monmouth! If you have any questions, lmk!

Writing this because when I was applying for MU, there was very little information about it because the program was (and still is) so new. I think everyone that's considering attending there should know as much about it as possible, because the school you choose really does have an impact on the knowledge you enter the field with. Also, it's expensive, so I'd hate to see more people drop almost $80k and hate it, like a lot of my classmates, or regret it, like almost all of us. About the School: MU is a private university located in West Long Branch, NJ approximately one mile from the beach. Tuition for the 2 year, 6 semester program will run you about $77,000. Courses and clinic take place at the Graduate Center, located on a busy highway. You will see the beautiful, well maintained Main Campus only a handful of times during your two years, unless you go there on your own. The SLP program received accreditation in Winter 2019. About the Department: Overall, the department was great up until Spring 2019, which is when things started falling apart. It seemed like once they got accreditation, they just didn't care anymore. The Department Chair: She was more involved with the cohort below mine, as she didn't teach any of our classes that she normally does (Aphasia, Dysphagia). As a result, she barely knew us by name and openly admitted to not knowing us at all. Which isn't a big deal, but for a school that preaches about its small, close knit community, she sure didn't make it feel this way. Contacting the chair was hit or miss for a lot of my classmates, even in urgent matters. There was also an uncalled for attitude most of the time that we were never really sure why it existed. The Professors: FYI this might not pertain as much to future students because there are courses/professors I can no longer comment on because there have been such drastic faculty changes over the last year or so, but there are a few professors that might still be there when/if you apply. Fluency/ASD: this professor is SO passionate about all things SLP. It is very obvious he loves being an SLP and teaching future SLPs. He was available pretty much all the time via email and was always willing to set up office visits or phone calls. Aphasia/Dysphagia/TBI: when I took these courses, they used an adjunct professor because the chair, who usually teaches them, was unable to (maybe it was for the best though, because the first year I was paired with told me she gave two question exams and many people were struggling in the classes). Overall, she wasn't horrible at teaching. Her first semester teaching was rough, as expected, but her second semester she developed a more objective and fair way of grading. Our biggest issues with her were when she told her during the first semester she "never really wanted to teach" and trying to explain to us how we essentially came last on her list of things to do. I'm not asking to be number one, but 1) we're paying (A LOT) for an education and it shouldn't be negatively impacted because of the professor's inability to balance jobs (maybe don't do both then?!) and 2) why would you even say that?! Motor Speech Disorders: can't comment, new professor Voice Resonance Disorders: can't comment, new professor Introduction to Clinical Methods: taught by the clinic director, who is hot and cold and treats students like children Pediatric Language Disorders: can't comment (the professor I had taught it to the cohort below me but has left since then, so IDK who will be teaching it in the future) Research Methods/Speech Sound Disorders: I had a professor who left the program, but it is now taught by the professor who teaches Fluency and ASD AAC: professor is very passionate about AAC and is very knowledgable; however, once COVID-19 turned classes online, she didn't post any lectures except one Zoom meeting... The Secretary: Hands down the best member of the department. She's always so friendly and willing to help you out. She does A LOT for the program. What a gem. Issues: Cheating and Academic Dishonesty: If you want to go to a graduate school where you can cheat, go to Monmouth! There were SERIOUS cheating problems starting in summer 2018 (yes, the very first semester) which just increased as time passed because the department didn't do anything about it, so other students realized how easy it was to cheat. Of course, I was being facetious - don't go to a school because they don't care or do anything about cheating. It really sucks when you study your ass off and do everything you should to do well, but then you look around and see half of your classmates cheating. I know for a fact an advisor was made aware of the cheating situation in fall 2018 and nothing changed until our TBI final (fall 2019), when it was apparent that the professor was informed of the issue. People still cheated during that final though, because the professor remained on her computer (which is what all the professors do during exams), and cheated in our AAC midterm (spring 2020), too. Loss of A BUNCH of Faculty Members: Losing faculty meant the department had to scramble (literally, there were times we didn't know who'd be teaching the course until a week before) December 2018: lost the PhD professor that taught Motor Speech Disorders and Voice/Resonance Disorders AND the professor who was brought in to teach the aphasia course decided she was not going to return (she came back for TBI in fall 2019 after being asked - aka begged - because they had NO ONE to teach) May 2019: the adjunct professor who took over the chair's position for teaching dysphagia decided she was not going to return June-ish 2019: lost another PhD professor who did research and supervised students in clinic July-ish 2019: lost another professor who specializes in and teaches AAC. We have a Rett Syndrome program and she was an asset to clinic because of this. August 2019: lost the program's most valuable PhD professor. She taught one class each semester, was very knowledgable, and was always available to her students. Lack of Communication: There were issues with where to send praxis scores, because the department never told us all the places we needed to send scores to (not even during their praxis bootcamp), and when confronted about it, she insisted that the department has been communicating with us the entire time when they were NOT. Also, there were major communication issues about the comprehensive portfolio all graduating students must complete. We were given basic a Word document about it in fall 2019 during out Autism class and were never told anything else, and the document wasn't very detailed in regards to how they wanted things structured and written. This led to one of our professors getting swarmed with emails from my entire cohort and the chair did very little during this even though she was technically in charge of the portfolio. No additional information was ever shared with us, which made it difficult and VERY stressful to complete the portfolio. The lack of communication from a department whose education lies in communication is pathetic. External Practicum Placements: some students didn't get a medical placement at all (who wanted one) and some got two medical placements, some got the exact sites they wanted while others didn't at all. There was definitely unfairness occurring in giving out sites. Preparedness for Externships: there are quite a few sites that have not been happy with Monmouth students. as they feel they are not prepared well Class/Semester Structure: I'll share my schedule as a first and second year student, but this could change, especially with COVID-19 (I'll try to add notes to things I know changed) Summer 2018: 2 classes - Intro to Clinical Methods and Pediatric Language Disorders. Classes Monday - Thursday, one class was MW, the other TTH, for 3 hours each (I believe it was 9ish-12 ish and 12:30-3:45) Fall 2019: 4 classes + on campus clinic Mondays: clinic (differing time slots for each group of 4 students, anywhere from starting at 9:00 am to ending at 7:00 pm) Tuesdays: 2 classes (speech sound disorders & voice, we were there from about 11am to 6 pm bc of gaps b/w the classes) Wednesdays: clinic (same schedule as Monday) Thursdays: 2 classes (motor speech & aphasia, there from about 11am to 730 pm due to gaps) Fridays: Seminar and Group Therapy. Seminar occurred before group, group started at 1:00pm. Group consisted of small groups, so you'd be with your group of students with a group of adults/kids (kids group was cancelled after a few weeks because only 1 or 2 would show up for it). The rest of the group were mainly adults with aphasia, dysarthria, etc. Grand Rounds: near the end of the semester. you pick a client you have and present on them. Spring 2019: 3 classes + on campus clinic (we had too many in our cohort so our research class was separated into 2 groups) Mondays: clinic Tuesdays: research 1 & dysphagia (we were there from 12ish to 8:30ish, with about a 1 hour break in between) Wednesdays: clinic Thursdays: fluency & research 2 (about 9:30 to 4:30) Fridays: seminar (45 min - 1 hr) and group therapy (this was changed so that only one group would go per week, so everyone had to drive to campus for the 45 min seminar and then could leave unless they had group - this changed with the latest cohort, seminar was removed) Summer B 2019: 2 classes (assessment & audiology) Each class took place twice a week, but on the same day. We were there for approximately 7ish hours each day (2 days per week) Summer E 2019: Diagnostics (on campus clinic where you assess clients). Twice per week, for about 3.5 hours. Either MW or TTH. On Mondays/Tuesdays you'd assess the client, reports are due by the beginning of "class" on Wednesday or Thursday, then once it's edited and finalized, you use the rest of the 3 hours to plan for the upcoming week's assessment. (for summer 2020, diagnostics is utilizing simucase) Fall 2019: 2 classes + external practicum Tuesdays: ASD 6-9 Thursdays: TBI 6-9 Spring 2020: 2 classes + external practicum Wednesdays: AAC Online: Professional Issues External practicum for spring semesters have a "Clinical Expo" where you prepare a project/presentation (either pertaining to an on campus client if you're a first year or relating to your externship if you're a second year) My personal feelings towards the program: I loved the program until all the issues began. Once we started losing faculty, the professors that were brought in were questionable in regards to their teaching abilities. It was apparent they were good at their day job, but teaching SLP was a challenge for most. Many of my classmates, myself included, feel ill prepared to enter the field. We believe the department really did the bare minimum, which coincidentally began when they received accreditation status. There are some professors who are good at their jobs and truly care, but that doesn't make up for those that weren't so great, nor does it make up for the departments total disregard of major issues and their lack of communication. Many us of regret choosing Monmouth because the program is NOT worth the ridiculous cost of tuition. If it was an amazing program that provided a quality education and really "opened doors" after graduation, I could maybe justify the $75k for it. But for a lackluster, inadequate education? Nope, not worth it unless you have to or really want to go there.