Online leveling courses, which are prerequisites to in-person graduate classes, have helped NAU’s Department of Health Sciences increase interest in speech-language pathology degrees.

The program allows students to complete prerequisite courses prior to applying for the graduate program without needing to attend classes on NAU’s Flagstaff campus. The Arizona Board of Regents (ABOR) awarded a grant that funded the online leveling program, which was made available in the Spring 2008 semester and has continued to expand.

Additional classes had to be added to the Fall 2009 semester to support high enrollment in the program.
Speech-language pathologists diagnose and treat communication disorders such as stutters, speaking difficulties following a brain injury or stroke, and problems comprehending language.

Elise Lindstedt, the department chair of communication sciences and disorders, said there is a large demand in the industry.

“Arizona has one of the most acute speech-language pathologist shortages in the country,” Lindstedt said. “The greatest speech-language pathologist shortages are found in school settings.”

Lindstedt said she thinks the preferable method to complete the undergraduate foundation courses is in the classroom, but the online leveling courses are a reasonable solution for students who do not have that option.

“For a discipline like speech-language pathology, face-to-face classes are likely to make the information more accessible to learn,” Lindstedt said. “Nonetheless, there are many students who have no other means to complete these classes. For them, it is one pathway to complete the pre-requisite courses prior to applying for a master’s degree program.”

Dennis Tanner, a professor of NAU’s Health Sciences Department, said students can also take online courses to become speech-language pathology assistants if the graduate program does not suit them. He said over 100 graduates are currently in the workforce and hundreds are enrolled in the program.

“The speech-language pathology assistant certificate is perfect for students who want professional experience after their undergraduate degree and those who do not go on for the master’s degree,” Tanner said. “Assistants help with the shortage of speech-language pathologists by making them more efficient, cost-effective and they can see more clients and patients.”

Wende Yellin, an associate professor in the Communication Sciences and Disorders Department, said offering the online leveling courses can save students a semester’s worth of foundational coursework.

“If someone has a bachelor’s degree in a field outside of the communication sciences and disorders, they might be working,” Yellin said. “But they can take these classes online and when they apply to graduate school, they won’t need to take the prerequisites.”

Yellin said she teaches a hearing science class online in the spring semesters. Last semester, she said the class was very popular and she anticipates it to be full again next semester.

“It has been very successful having the online classes,” Yellin said. “We’re really trying to address the shortage of speech-language pathologists, not just in the state, but all over the country.”