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I am discouraged by the excessive yearly cost to maintain an active ASHA membership.
In one year, I must pay $200 for membership dues, plus a $24 fee to have ASHA keep track of my CEUs. If I want to remain in the loop, I must pay $35 to join an affiliated group. If I want to remain current in my knowledge of the research in the field, I will pay $360 (not including additional expenses associated with attendance) to attend the Convention. The final straw for me is that I must pay a $175 "registration fee" if I want CEU hours for a 3-credit class that I am taking—on top of what I paid the college for the course!
There are over 100,000 certified ASHA members. If I do my math correctly, the total fees collected by ASHA each year are enormous. What do we truly receive in return? The majority of us work in school districts where the rate of pay is relatively low and reimbursement of expenses is increasingly unheard of. In good conscience, how can ASHA continue to gouge their membership with excessive dues and fees?
I believe that the membership needs to begin a dialogue to address this issue.
Christine Donatone
Easthampton, MA
Editor's note: Information on the benefits of ASHA membership are available on the ASHA Web site. The Learn and Earn program provides individuals an option to earn ASHA CEUs for academic learning experiences. Details may be found on the Learn-and-Earn page.
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