Grad school is a CANDIDATE for accreditation- What does it mean?

[Ohhoneybear]

Hello everyone. 

I applied for Moravian College's Speech pathology program for Fall 2019. It is a brand new program. If accepted, I will be the very first cohort to go through. 

Upon looking at the website, I noticed it says that they are a candidate for accreditation. This is what the website says:

"The Master of Science program in Speech-Language Pathology at Moravian College is a Candidate for Accreditation by the Council on Academic Accreditation in Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology (CAA) of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, 2200 Research Boulevard, #310, Rockville, MD 20850, 800-498-2071 or 301-296-5700. Candidacy is a “preaccreditation” status with the CAA, awarded to developing or emerging programs for a maximum period of 5 years."

 

What does this mean for me when I graduate? The program is two years. Am I still able to get my CCC or does this affect it?

Thanks in advance for your answers. 

[Ciboney]

It means that, since that program is currently not accredited, the program is either new or not a good program or both. Unless you know for sure that the graduates have found employment in the field, regardless, you should apply to other programs with more secure placement prospects. That is how I see it, based on a relatively long life in academic circles. 

[babykoala]

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but my understanding is that if you go through a program that's a candidate for accreditation, you'll be able to get your CCCs, even if they don't end up getting accredited (which is unlikely).

[babykoala]

7 minutes ago, Ciboney said:

It means that, since that program is currently not accredited, the program is either new or not a good program or both. Unless you know for sure that the graduates have found employment in the field, regardless, you should apply to other programs with more secure placement prospects. That is how I see it, based on a relatively long life in academic circles. 

Are you an SLP student or graduate of an SLP program?

Edited December 28, 2018 by babykoala

[flowerbloom]

Per the ASHA website:

"All graduate level academic course work and clinical practicum submitted for ASHA certification must have been initiated and completed in a program that holds accreditation, or a program admitted to candidacy, by the Council on Academic Accreditation in Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology (CAA). You can find a list of CAA accredited programs by using EdFind, ASHA's academic search engine."

Based on their answer, it seems to me that as long as the school remains in candidacy during your time there you should be fine. However, it could get dicey for you if the program is denied accreditation before you have finished. If that were to happen then the remaining coursework and clinical practicum experiences you are currently or would need to take to finish would not be valid. This is my take based on the info above. Practically speaking, I agree with Ciboney above. Established programs have had years to work out the kinks in the program, new programs have not, so I would consider the impact this might have on your experience. Consider if the clinical faculty there have had experience supervising students in a university setting. Since we come out of grad school with little experience beyond our externships, they are critical in getting a good CFY placement. Established programs have relationships with clinics and hospitals i the area they are in and across the country due to connections with faculty, alumni, prestige, etc. Some hospitals and clinics  may even save spots for students from certain universities that they have good relationships with. My first externship fell through a couple weeks before I was supposed to start and immediately the director had a replacement for me even that late in the game. If this is the only option for you then it might be worth the risk, but if you have other options I would recommend a program with a longer history. Hope this helps!

[bibliophile222]

3 hours ago, flowerbloom said:

Per the ASHA website:

"All graduate level academic course work and clinical practicum submitted for ASHA certification must have been initiated and completed in a program that holds accreditation, or a program admitted to candidacy, by the Council on Academic Accreditation in Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology (CAA). You can find a list of CAA accredited programs by using EdFind, ASHA's academic search engine."

Based on their answer, it seems to me that as long as the school remains in candidacy during your time there you should be fine. However, it could get dicey for you if the program is denied accreditation before you have finished. If that were to happen then the remaining coursework and clinical practicum experiences you are currently or would need to take to finish would not be valid. This is my take based on the info above. Practically speaking, I agree with Ciboney above. Established programs have had years to work out the kinks in the program, new programs have not, so I would consider the impact this might have on your experience. Consider if the clinical faculty there have had experience supervising students in a university setting. Since we come out of grad school with little experience beyond our externships, they are critical in getting a good CFY placement. Established programs have relationships with clinics and hospitals i the area they are in and across the country due to connections with faculty, alumni, prestige, etc. Some hospitals and clinics  may even save spots for students from certain universities that they have good relationships with. My first externship fell through a couple weeks before I was supposed to start and immediately the director had a replacement for me even that late in the game. If this is the only option for you then it might be worth the risk, but if you have other options I would recommend a program with a longer history. Hope this helps!

^ This. Personally, I would feel uncomfortable attending a brand spanking new program because of the lack of well-established relationships with local placement settings and the fact that your cohort would be the guinea pigs. Everything could go great but there could also be various complications. The exception to this would be in-person programs that have recently begun an online program (Emerson, for example) since they have already had the chance to work out any potential issues. 

However, I also know that programs are difficult to get into and can be really expensive! You have it within your power to get out of your education what you put in to it, and if you have the chance to attend a program (especially if it's cheap or you get great funding) then go for it. The risks of attending a new program most likely are not large enough to merit throwing away a chance for grad school.

[Bmay80]

Weren’t all programs new at one time? Maybe another question to ask is, “For those who attended a newish program, what was the good and bad aspects of the program? Good luck in whatever you decide?

[rebeccank17]

 I called ASHA about a similar situation with a different school and they told me it is basically unheard of for a program to be taken out of candidate status once they have it. He said if a school were to be revoked their status they would have had to try really hard to not get it because if a school is missing something they will notify them and give them time etc. to fix the problem. Just because a program is new does not mean it is bad. If you look on ASHA website and do research there are A LOT of good well-known school who are candidates for the program.

 

I think since the field is growing more and more schools are trying to offer this as a program. Unless it is actually a bad school I would not rule it out just because it is new. I would do research on the school and how students in the other programs make out.

[rebeccank17]

Also you can still get your CCC's as long as the school you graduate from is a candidate from accrediation  or accredited already.

[kjgoo]

On 12/28/2018 at 1:58 PM, babykoala said:

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but my understanding is that if you go through a program that's a candidate for accreditation, you'll be able to get your CCCs, even if they don't end up getting accredited (which is unlikely).

That's correct!

I am currently in a newer program that is going through the accreditation process. I worried about being in a newer program, especially about not getting enough clinical experience or not having local (or out of state) placements. However, my program has been great with matching the students in the 1st cohort with local placements and externship placements (can be out of state). Newer programs have some kinks to work out, but honestly, every program does. I enjoy being in a new program because they take your thoughts/opinions/recommendations into deep consideration and you see changes being made!

[Speechteach3]

Candidacy status is awarded to a newly developed entry-level graduate degree program that meets all institutional and programmatic eligibility requirements, including that the program has no students enrolled and that it has been granted authorization through the governance process of the parent institution and the appropriate state authority to offer the graduate degree program(s) for which candidacy is sought. Candidacy status requires compliance with the Standards in a logical sequence over several years. This allows new programs to evolve over time and to secure the necessary resources to administer the program while being closely monitored by the CAA. Candidate programs are monitored for continued development and compliance with the Standards through submission of annual progress reports. Candidacy status may be held for no longer than 5 years, subject to approval of the progress reports, at which time the program must meet all CAA Standards for Accreditation. Candidacy status cannot be renewed or extended.

The status of Candidate for Accreditation allows students enrolled in newly established education programs to be eligible to apply for the CCC upon graduation without penalizing students graduating from those programs.