ASHA Focused Initiatives

PhD Shortage in Higher Education

4th Quarter Progress Report (October-December)

Issue 1: There is a critical shortage and continuing attrition of PhD level faculty in higher education that will affect preparation of professionals as well as the conduct of research in communication sciences and disorders.

Outcome 1: Increased number of potential doctoral level teachers/researchers in personnel preparation programs to fill short term and long-term faculty vacancies in human communication sciences and disorders.

Strategies

1. By December 31, 2007, the Academic Affairs, Scientific Programs and Research Development, and the Clinical Practices units will have developed and disseminated informational resources that support 1) current practicing professionals who want to obtain a research doctoral degree, or 2) current practicing professionals who already hold a research doctoral degree and want to transition to a career as a teacher-researcher in higher education. [Completed]
2. By December 31, 2007, the Academic Affairs in collaboration with the Scientific Programs and Research Development, Membership and Information Systems units will have managed a mentoring portal in communication sciences and disorders and related disciplines to assist current PhD students in the discipline in the pursuit of teaching-research careers. [Completed]
3. By December 31, 2007, Membership and the OMA units will implement a PhD student track as part of ASHA's Minority Student Leadership Program. Up to ten PhD students who are members of a racial/ethnic minority will be selected to participate in activities and an educational forum to enhance their leadership skills within the discipline. [Completed]

Outcome 2: Increased number of students recruited into the professions who continue their education to become teachers/researchers.

Strategies

1. By December 31, 2007, the Academic Affairs and Scientific Programs and Research Development units will have funded an ASHA award program, the Students Preparing for Academic and Research Careers (SPARC) award, to promote PhD career development for CSD undergraduate/graduate students through enhanced educational mentorship experiences/curricula that prepare students for successful PhD education and academic careers. [Completed]
2. By December 31, 2007, the OMA and Membership units will have continued the administration of an online portal and mentoring program, The ASHA Gathering Place – S.T.E.P. program, to encourage the continued recruitment and retention of racial/ethnic minority students through meaningful, one-to-one mentoring relationships; bi-weekly, guided learning experiences; and online resources. [Completed]
   3. By December 31, 2007 the Academic Affairs, Surveys and Information, and Credentialing units will have launched and marketed EdFind, a Web-based search engine that is part of the Higher Education Data System (HES), to support students' searches for PhD education programs based upon academic program data such as faculty research interests and availability of funding. [Completed]

Outcome 3: Increased retention of doctoral-level faculty.

Strategies

1. By December 31, 2007, the Academic Affairs and Scientific Programs and Research Development units will have funded an ASHA award program, the Advancing Academic and Research Careers (AARC) award, for new faculty who are in the beginning stages of their academic/research careers for the purpose of promoting retention in higher education by providing financial incentives to mentor research in their own students, conduct research, and/or improve teaching knowledge and skills. [Completed]
2. By December 31, 2007, the Chief Staff Officer for Science and Research in conjunction with the ASHF will have funded a study-section meeting for consideration of the 2007 New Century Scholars' and Young Investigators' applications to the ASHF that would bring together a panel of senior (investigators with funded research and study-section experience) and junior investigators (those who are faculty members in a CSD program with 2-3 years experience that have not received substantial funding) for the purpose of fostering knowledge of the grant review process in order to generalize this knowledge to future grant applications. This program is modeled after the successful program operated by the American Academy of Otolaryngology—Head and Neck Surgery (AAOHNS), which showed a dramatic increase in funding for their field for young investigators that participated in such an opportunity. [Completed]
3. By December 31, 2007, the Academic Affairs unit, in collaboration with the Scientific Programs and Research Development, Membership, and Information Systems units, will have managed a mentoring portal in communication sciences and disorders and related disciplines to assist current new faculty in their pursuit of teaching-research careers. [Completed]

Outcome 4: Increased federal funding for doctoral program fellowships.

Strategies

1. By December 31, 2007, the Governmental Relations and Public Policy unit will have sought through federal legislation to have Communications Sciences and Disorders (CSD) graduates recognized as shortage specialists that have access to increased federal professional development and training funds, federal student financial aid, federal research funds and loan forgiveness policies that impact recruitment and retention of qualified school-based personnel, doctoral faculty and researchers. [Completed]
2. By December 31, 2007, the Governmental Relations and Public Policy unit will have pursued appropriations for academic programs in Communication Sciences and Disorders (CSD) to help mitigate the doctoral shortage in the professions of speech-language pathology and audiology. [Completed]

Issue 2: Tradition has limited the role of research instruction in all levels of the curriculum resulting in a lack of a coordinated academic culture and scientific/research personnel preparation experiences in the discipline that promote careers as teachers/researchers in higher education.

Outcome 1: Increased availability and use of new models of education applicable for all levels (undergraduate, master's, doctoral) and all types of programs (PhD granting and non-PhD granting).

Strategies

1. By December 31, 2007, the Scientific Programs and Research Development unit will have expanded ASHA's efforts to showcase student research and academic success at the ASHA Convention and other ASHA Continuing Education and Research Training venues. [Completed]
2. By December 31, 2007, the Academic Affairs, Scientific Programs and Research Development, and Clinical Practice Units will have developed and disseminated informational resources that identify the philosophy, attributes and methods of successful integration of clinical and research interests as applied to all levels of education. [Completed]
3. By December 31, 2007, the Academic Affairs and Scientific Programs and Research Development units in conjunction with the Vice Presidents for Academic Affairs and Science and Technology will have planned and held a Researcher-Academic Town Meeting at the ASHA Convention to foster a coordinated academic and research culture, to address current issues in the preparation of future teachers-researchers in higher education, and to provide a networking experience for student and new faculty research award recipients to interact with seasoned researchers. [Completed]

Issue 3: A coordinated data collection and dissemination system related to doctoral programs will facilitate the exchange of information on research training experiences, funding levels, scholarship activities, and on graduates who enter academia upon completing the PhD degree.

Outcome 1: Increased availability and use of a coordinated data collection and centralized mechanism for information dissemination on academic program characteristics, doctoral students, and new teachers/researchers in communication sciences and disorders.

Strategy

• By December 31, 2007, the Academic Affairs and Surveys and Information units will have initiated data collection through the Higher Education Data System (HES) in order to prepare, disseminate, and market the availability and use of reports in 2008 on doctoral program characteristics. [Completed]

There are 15 strategies in the PhD Shortage in Higher Education work plan. Following is the status for the 1^st, 2^nd, 3^rd, and 4^th quarters.