What is an Independent Study?

It is an educational experience to enhance your skills and knowledge in an area relevant to the field of communication sciences and disorders.

You develop an educational plan, submit it to an ASHA Approved Independent Study Provider who is responsible for reviewing, monitoring, and approving the plan.

There are many types of Independent Study. However, all Independent Study activities must be based on the same principles ASHA Approved CE Providers use to plan group learning activities.

Namely, the learner should:

• Base his/her learning activity on an identified need (e.g., I need to perform a fiberoptic endoscopic evaluation of swallowing [FEES] at my job and don't know how to do one).
• Develop individualized learning outcomes (e.g., As a result of my Independent Study activity, I will be able to identify the instrumentation necessary to perform a FEES, list the risk factors involved in conducting a FEES, assess a patient's candidacy for use of FEES as a diagnostic tool, and perform a FEES with 100% accuracy).
• Have a mechanism to determine satisfactory completion of the learning activity (i.e., documentation of acquired learning).
• Evaluate the program upon completion (e.g., what would you do differently? what would you repeat?).

Independent Study plans are limited to two (2.0) ASHA CEUs per plan. However, Independent Study Providers can file an unlimited number of IS plans with the ASHA CE Registry on a learner's behalf.

Learn the Steps for Developing/Filing an Independent Study Plan.