Please take time to review the policies laid out in this section to ensure you make the most of your time spent in the Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences at the University of Washington. All SPHSC Undergraduate Majors must follow these policies.

• B.S. Satisfactory Progress & Continuation Policy
• B.S. Course Repetition Policy

The University of Washington has general regulations governing scholastic eligibility for continuation¹ and all undergraduate and postbaccalaureate students must meet the following requirements in order to receive a Bachelor of Science degree in Speech and Hearing Sciences:

• Maintain a 2.00 minimum cumulative GPA for all coursework done in residence at the UW
• Achieve a 2.00 minimum GPA in the SPHSC major at the time of graduation

In addition, the Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences has adopted additional satisfactory progress requirements (effective Winter 2016) in order to provide reasonable assurance of academic success for our majors and to make the best use of Departmental resources. These criteria and procedures apply to all undergraduate students majoring in Speech and Hearing Sciences, for determining satisfactory progress toward completion of a Bachelor of Science degree and continuance in the major. Prospective and current majors should read the following policies closely:

• SPHSC Undergraduate Continuation Policy
• SPHSC Undergraduate Course Repetition Policy

Students are encouraged to frequently review their academic progress, and seek advising from the SPHSC Academic and Student Services unit at any time. We recommend that any SPHSC majors who fail to meet satisfactory progress requirements meet with an advisor as soon as possible.  Early identification and discussion of issues can prevent progression towards probation or dismissal from the major.  Students are encouraged to discuss any circumstances leading to a lack of satisfactory progress, including extenuating circumstances and situations outside of academic life that may impact student success.

¹The University’s Satisfactory Progress and Low Scholarship policies are available on the web.

1. Acceptance into the program is contingent upon student review and submission of a signed statement attesting to his/her ability to meet to the standards outline in the “Essential Requirements of Speech and Hearing Sciences Education at the University of Washington” document.
2. Acceptance into the program is contingent upon the successful completion of an initial, national criminal background check through the vendor Verified Credentials, Inc.
3. Students in the CoreSLP program will submit the required $250 Enrollment Confirmation Deposit to the Registrar’s Office to secure a place in the UW Graduate Program. Students in the MedSLP and EdSLP programs will submit the required $500 Enrollment Confirmation Deposit to the UW Professional & Continuing Education Department (PCE) by the designated due dates to secure a place in the degree program.
4. Students will submit official, sealed transcripts for all schools attended and listing all degrees awarded, to the Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences prior to beginning graduate studies.
5. Students will complete and maintain all clinical compliance requirements identified by the Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences throughout their program, including but not limited to the following:
   1. New graduate student orientation
   2. UW internet ID and HIPAA compliant email account set up
   3. HIPAA training
   4. SPHSC Privacy, Confidentiality, and Information Security Agreement
   5. UW Health Sciences Immunization Program (HSIP)
   6. CPR training
   7. Universal Precautions/Bloodborne Pathogens training
   8. Additional background check completions as necessary for clinical placements (i.e., national checks, Washington Access to Criminal History (WATCH) check, federal Office of Inspector General/General Services Administration (OIG/GSA) check, etc.)
   9. Drug Screening as necessary for clincial placements
   10. Fingerprinting
6. Students will review and adhere to University and Department requirements and procedures which pertain to student conduct and ethics, graduate study, degree candidacy, and clinical practicum experiences. Students will review the Department’s Graduate Student Guide upon entry into the program. Students will also review the University’s Student Guide and Student Code of Conduct for detailed information about University and Graduate School policies and student expectations.
7. It is understood that satisfaction of all American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) requirements for the Certification of Clinical Competence in Speech-Language Pathology or Audiology is a part of the Master’s or Doctor of Audiology degree program. As such, students will complete the following ASHA requirements prior to beginning the graduate program. If a review of student prerequisite coursework at the beginning of the graduate program results in identified coursework deficiencies, the coursework will become part of the requirements of the students’ graduate program and degree requirements.
   1. Speech-language pathology students
      1. 25 hours of clinical observation
      2. Foundational coursework in speech and hearing sciences/communication disorders (Bachelor’s degree or undergraduate leveling coursework)
      3. Basic coursework in biological science, physical science, statistics, and social/behavioral science
   2. Audiology students
      1. Basic coursework in biological science, physical science, math, and social/behavioral science
      2. Aspects of Basic Human Communication Processes (Normative)
      3. Introductory Knowledge of Disorder Areas (Assessment & Treatment)
8. Students will participate on a full-time basis in the graduate program. The degree programs are lock-step in nature and part-time enrollment is not an option. Students completing a Master’s thesis may take longer with their program if needed.
9. Graduation from the program is dependent upon satisfactory completion of both coursework and practica requirements. Students must pass all coursework with a grade of at least 2.7 or better and maintain a minimum cumulative average of 3.0 while in the program. AuD students are also required to complete a capstone research project in order to graduate.
10. Students will ensure that outside employment and other external obligations will not take priority over scheduling coursework and clinical practica, nor will such obligations be viewed as acceptable reasons for insufficient academic and/or clinical performance.
11. Unprofessional or unethical behavior during any phase of the program, including client care, is cause for dismissal from the program.
12. Expenses incurred by students to attend classes and complete practica assignments, such as transportation, living expenses, books and supplies are the responsibility of the student, and students will provide for their own transportation to and from clinical sites within the community

Academic Records 

The department is required by the University of Washington, the UW Graduate School, and the American SpeechLanguage Hearing Association (ASHA) to maintain records related to each student’s program of study. Thus, every student enrolled in our graduate programs has an academic record that is maintained by the department and is retained for six years post-graduation. Student academic records are kept in the Graduate Program Adviser’s (GPA) office and the GPA collects and files all documentation. Please note that most clinical compliance and practicum records are maintained electronically in the Typhon Allied Health Student Tracking System. Students have access to these records throughout their graduate programs and up to five years post-graduation.

SPHSC staff will conduct periodic audits of your records to ensure all documentation is in order and students will be notified of any missing items. Your adviser will also conduct a final advising session/audit with each student during the quarter in which the student plans to graduate. This is to ensure the degree requirements have been met and all documentation is in order for graduation and ASHA certification.

What is in Your Academic Record?

Below is the documentation we are required to maintain:

1. Clinical Degree Program Documentation
   1. Signed Applicant Agreement & Conditions of Acceptance Form*
   2. Signed Essential Functions Form*
   3. Signed UW Medicine Privacy, Confidentiality & Security Agreement*
   4. Background Check Report*
   5. CPR Certification*
   6. HIPAA Privacy Training - Certificate of Completion*
   7. Universal Precautions/ Bloodborne Pathogens Training-  Certificate of Completion*
2. Undergraduate Coursework Prerequisites
   1. Official undergraduate transcripts**
   2. ASHA coursework documentation via our “Undergraduate Prerequisite Coursework” form**
   3. Evidence of completed 25 Observation Hours  (SLP Only)*
3. Research Documentation (as applicable)
4. Dept/Grad School Correspondence
5. Graduation Checklist / Final Documentation

*Maintained electronically in the Typhon system.
**Maintained electronically after 2020

Academic Records and Documentation Graduate Student Documentation Responsibilities 

Maintaining your own personal documentation is a critically important requirement of our graduate programs and we encourage you to take the time now set up an organizational system that you can carry forward into your professional lives. 

While the department maintain copies of documents in your academic record as part of our obligations to the ASHA accreditation board, the Graduate School and University, it is each graduate student’s responsibility to maintain current copies of his/her own paperwork while enrolled in the graduate program and provide copies to outside clinical placement sites and supervisors as requested and applicable. For students completing clinical training, the ability to produce up-to-date documentation is absolutely essential as it can impact your ability to participate in clinical work.  Please refer to our “SPHSC Clinical Compliance Policy” for specific instructions regarding clinical documentation maintenance.

Policy Regarding Replacing Lost Documentation

Department documentation is increasingly kept in an electronic format. If you send a request for documentation, please note that we will honor that as time allows. Records are kept as dictated by the University Records Retention Schedule. We will be unable to provide you with any records that have been discarded per that schedule.

Where to Go For Records Not Housed in the Department

For copies of other materials not kept within the department, you would need to contact the following University offices as follows:

1. The Graduate School / Admissions - records related to prior education experience and admission records
2. University Registrar - official transcripts of courses taken and grades received
3. Student Fiscal Services / Accounting – tuition and fee payment records.
4. VP For Student Life– student disciplinary records
5. Hall Health Center – immunization and healthcare records

Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)

FERPA was enacted in 1974 and is a set of regulations that applies to institutions that receive funding from the Department of Education. FERPA was written specifically for students and guarantees them the right to inspect and review their education records, the right to seek to amend education records, and the right to have some control over the disclosure of information from those education records.

An education record is defined as any record that directly identifies a student and is maintained by the institution or educational agency or by a party acting for the institution or educational agency. A key distinction of education records is that education records are shared. Education records can exist in any medium including the following: handwritten, typed, computer generated, videotape, audiotape, film, microfilm, microfiche, e-mail, and others.   Please see the following link for more information on FERPA and how to request access to any of your educational records at the University:  http://www.washington.edu/students/reg/ferpa.html

Department of Speech & Hearing Sciences
Graduate Program Reinstatement Policy and Procedures

Students who fail to maintain graduate student status (see Graduate School Policy 3.5 for further details), but wish to resume studies in the Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences, must follow a 2-step reinstatement process. Please note that this process is separate from the graduate admissions process for new students. Failure to maintain graduate status can result from withdrawal from the program, dismissal from the program, failure to abide by the Graduate School On-Leave policy (Policy 3.5), and/or failure to follow enrollment guidelines.

Step 1:  Apply for Reinstatement with the SPHSC Department

To apply, the student must send a written request for reinstatement to the Graduate Program Coordinator (GPC), at least five weeks prior to the quarter for which reinstatement is requested (exceptions for shorter timeframes can be made at the discretion of the SPHSC Department), along with:

• a copy of his/her complete UW academic transcript (an unofficial copy is acceptable)
• transcripts from any other schools or programs attended since leaving the graduate program (official only)

The written request must address the following issues:

1. The reason for failing to maintain graduate status and continuous UW enrollment.
2. Your academic standing when you left the graduate program (e.g., satisfactory, warn status, probation, final probation).
3. Reason for seeking reinstatement at this time.
4. Demonstration of readiness to resume study and adhere to the requirements of the technical functions outlined in the department Satisfactory Progress Policy.Please indicate if you have benefited from relevant training or experiences during your leave that would support success in our graduate program.

The GPC will review the request and make an initial determination as to whether additional information and/or documents are required. In the event that additional documentation is needed, this requirement will be communicated to the student.

The SPHSC Reinstatement Committee, comprised of the GPC, Director of Academic & Student Services, and the Director of the respective academic program, will review the reinstatement application. If necessary, the committee may consult with other faculty members familiar with the student’s graduate work. Student petitions are evaluated on the basis of the following: 1) readiness to resume study, 2) ability to meet the requirements of the Essential Functions document, 3) anticipated success, 4) feasibility of clinical placement(s) (if applicable), and 5) space available. 

Within two weeks of receiving the request for reinstatement, the SPHSC Reinstatement Committee will convey the final decision to the student in writing.

If reinstated, the GPC, in consultation with the Director of Academic & Student Services, the Graduate Advising Team, and relevant faculty member(s), will develop and communicate a revised graduate program plan to the student.  At a minimum, the plan will include the quarter of reinstatement, a reworked schedule of didactic and clinical practica (as applicable), and any additional reinstatement requirements the student must satisfy.  The revised program of study may include additional coursework if curriculum changes have been made since the student last attended. 

Reinstated students who were not in good academic standing while on leave will return to their prior academic status (e.g., warn, probation, final probation). An academic plan of improvement may be required for those students previously not in good academic standing or at the discretion of the program.

If the student agrees to the revised graduate program plan and reinstatement requirements, he/she will proceed with step #2 that involves the UW Graduate School.

Step 2:  Submit an Online Graduate School Reinstatement Request / Pay Fee

• The student requesting reinstatement will first submit an online Request for Reinstatement via MyGrad Program*. The student will receive a confirmation email once the request is received. This request can be submitted no earlier than two weeks prior to the first day of instruction/reinstatement.
  
  *A valid UW NetID and password are required to log into MyGrad Program. To access your UW NetID and password, please contact UW IT or visit https://uwnetid.washington.edu/newid/
   
• The SPHSC Department will then confirm/approve the online Request for Reinstatement in MyGrad Program. Upon approval, the student will receive another email confirming that the Department has approved the reinstatement.
• Once approved, the student must return to MyGrad Program to pay a $250 Reinstatement Fee via MasterCard or Visa credit card to the UW Graduate School. Once paid, the student will receive a payment confirmation email and reinstatement will be processed by the Graduate School within 72 hours of receipt.
• Once "re-activated", the student must register for all courses in the designated reinstatement quarter (in accordance with their program plan and the UW Academic Calendar deadlines) to maintain active graduate enrollment status.

Master of Science Satisfactory Progress Information

M.S. Degree Policy: Satisfactory Academic Progress for Continuation and Graduation

Prospective and matriculated students are advised to carefully review the complete MS progress policy and standards available on this website. This information is also shared in admission materials, in section IV of the formal MS Program Plan, and during new student program orientation. 

The MS degree policy entitled “Satisfactory Academic Progress for Continuation and Graduation” amplifies the requirements found in the University of Washington Student Conduct Code and establishes clear expectations for academic and professional performance within the University of Washington Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences (SPHSC) MS degree program. All MS students are required to review, understand and adhere to these academic standards throughout their enrollment. Any questions regarding the information contained in this policy should be directed to the department’s Graduate Program Coordinator (GPC) or MS Program Director. 

This policy is comprised of three interrelated components, each of which must be upheld to ensure a student’s successful continuation and completion of the degree program.

• The University of Washington Graduate School - Policy 3.7: Academic Performance and Progress (Appendix A).  This policy outlines the academic performance and progress requirements for all UW graduate students and includes guidance on the appropriate process for instances where student academic performance does not meet program expectations. Key elements:
  • Maintain satisfactory scholarship by maintaining a cumulative and quarterly GPA of 3.0 or higher.
• The University of Washington Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences - MS Satisfactory Progress Policy (Appendix B).This policy outlines the academic performance and progress requirements for all SPHSC Master of Science students and includes guidance on the appropriate process for instances where student academic performance does not meet expectations. Key elements:
  • Earn a minimum grade of 2.7 in all required didactic courses and a grade of “credit” or “pass” in all required clinical practicum courses.
  • Consistently attend classes and participate in course activities, including collaborative efforts as applicable.
  • Demonstrate in their written, oral and clinical work the ability to analyze and conceptualize clear and concise ideas and synthesize, organize, apply and evaluate information.
  • Demonstrate expected clinical growth by incrementally building toward independence in the planning and implementation of evaluation and treatment services. Demonstrate independence not only in mastering and autonomously performing requisite skills and competencies, but in managing a full-time caseload by the conclusion of the program.
  • Demonstrate academic and professional integrity at all times.
• The University of Washington Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences-Technical Standards for Graduate Clinical Education in Speech-Language Pathology: Admission, Retention, Promotion and Graduation (Appendix C). This policy outlines the six technical standard areas that all SPHSC Master of Sciences students must demonstrate in order to acquire the knowledge and skills requisite to the graduate degree program and successful entry into clinical speech-language pathology practice. Key elements:
  • Demonstrate requisite behaviors and abilities across the following areas: motor, sensory, intellectual/cognitive, communication, interpersonal and cultural responsiveness.

MS student performance is reviewed quarterly by the speech-language pathology faculty and the department’s Student Progress Committee. Any student not maintaining satisfactory progress will be contacted by the Department’s Graduate Program Coordinator (GPC) and representatives of the master of science faculty to discuss next steps.

What Are the Technical Standards for Graduate Clinical Education in Speech-Language Pathology?

The University of Washington Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences and the Master of Science degree programs in speech-language pathology are responsible for ensuring that holders of the M.S. degree have been educated to competently implement a broad spectrum of speech-language pathology care across a variety of practice settings and clinical situations, to apply for licensure in the state of Washington, and to apply for certification through the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA).

As an accredited speech and hearing sciences program, the University of Washington curriculum for the M.S. program adheres to the standards and guidelines of the Council on Academic Accreditation in Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology. The education of speech-language pathologists requires the assimilation of knowledge, acquisition of skills, and development of critical thinking and judgment through patient/client care experiences in preparation for an entry-level, independent and semi-autonomous practice. The practice of speech-langauge pathology emphasizes collaboration with the patient/client, their families and caregivers, and other healthcare and educational professionals. 

The curriculum leading to the M.S. in speech-language pathology requires students to engage in diverse, complex, and specific experiences essential to the acquisition and practice of essential speech-language pathology skills and functions.  Students must possess and meet certain technical standards to successfully complete both the academic and clinical components of the curriculum with or without reasonable accommodations for disabilities.  Unique combinations of abilities in these six areas are required to satisfactorily perform these functions:  1) motor, 2) sensory, 3) intellectual/cognitive, 4) communication, 5) interpersonal and 6) cultural responsiveness. In addition to being essential to the successful completion of the M.S. requirements, these functions are necessary to ensure the health and safety of patients/families, fellow students, faculty, and other professions with whom we interact.

The six areas necessary to acquire or demonstrate competence in a discipline as complex as speech-language pathology, and needed for successful admission and continuance by candidates for the M.S. at the University of Washington in the Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences, are outlined in the Department’s M.S. Degree Policy: Satisfactory Academic Progress for Continuation and Graduation document linked above. These technical standards must be met in addition to the standards of behavior and academic conduct set forth in the UW Student Conduct Code.

The purpose of the Department’s Technical Standards document is to clearly outline for prospective candidates the standards and requirements for the M.S. degree program and profession of speech-language pathology. These technical standards exist in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which prohibits discrimination against qualified candidates with a disability who can meet the essential requirements of a program with reasonable modifications of policies, practices and services. Accepted students are required to acknowledge and sign the Department’s Technical Standards document prior to entering the program. Thus, all applicants should carefully review these essential abilities before completing the admissions materials. If there are questions, please reach out to our graduate advisors right away and/or the UW Disability Resources for Students Office.