ASHA Strategic Plan

Issue B

Second Quarter Progress Report
April-June 2007

Issue B: A critical shortage and continuing attrition of doctoral-level faculty in higher education is affecting the preparation of professionals as well as the conduct of research in communication sciences and disorders.

2^nd Quarter Highlights

Received 13 applications from PhD students for inclusion in ASHA's Minority Student Leadership Program.
Received 29 applications for awards in the Students Preparing for Academic and Research Careers (SPARC) program. The applications are being reviewed.
The data collection mechanism (Graduate Guide Survey) that will be used to populate the search results in EdFind was launched. Data from academic programs that have completed this survey will then be saved to the Higher Education Data System (HES) in order to launch EdFind in the 3rd Quarter 2007.
A brochure marketing EdFind was disseminated at the 2007 Schools Conference, and an announcement about the upcoming availability of EdFind was posted to all CAPCSD member academic programs via the CAPCSD email list.
Applications have been received and are being reviewed for the Advancing Academic and Research Careers (AARC) award, for new faculty who are in the beginning stages of their academic/research careers.
The U.S. House of Representatives has passed H.R.2669, the College Cost Reduction Act of 2007 that would reauthorize the Higher Education Act (HEA) and includes a new loan forgiveness program for each year of full-time employment, a borrower would have up to $1,000 of his or her loans forgiven, up to a lifetime maximum of $5,000 (for new borrowers as of October 1, 2007), who are employed in certain public-sector jobs in areas of national need, including speech-language pathology, early childhood and bilingual education.
The future prognosis for the bill and loan forgiveness program is unclear given that the Senate's version of this bill does not contain the loan forgiveness program and Administration opposition.
An earmark request through Rep. Van Hollen for $275,000 for ASHA's New Century Scholars Program in FY2008 was included in the Labor-HHS-Education appropriations bill passed by the House. There are still a number of procedural hurdles that must be accomplished and the new earmark agreements still need to hold up in a conference between the House and Senate, as well as signed by the President.
Over 20 academic programs agreed to participate in Integration of Clinical Practice and Research: Program Self Assessment Pilot program. Programs will report on use of Quality Indicators and share information on how academic and clinical faculty are integrating research and clinical practice.

There are 15 strategies in the work plan for Issue B. Following is the status for the 1^st and 2^nd quarters.