Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders

The Five-Year Vision and Plan

The Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders (CSD) is housed within the School of Clinical Rehabilitation Sciences (SoCRS), which is one of four in the Bouvé College of Health Sciences. CSD has eight tenured/tenure-track and five full-time non-tenure track faculty members. Three full, two associate, three assistant professors, one associate clinical and one visiting assistant clinical hold research doctorates (eight PhD, one ScD); four of the tenured/tenure track and the entire full-time non-tenure track faculty hold appropriate terminal professional degrees and certifications (e.g., AuD, MS, MA, CCC-SLP, CCC-A). Tenured/tenure track faculty members conduct research and teach, and most apply a portion of their effort on extramurally funded research grants or contracts. Non-tenure track faculty members focus on classroom and clinical teaching and training, while also contributing to scholarly research and dissemination of information within their profession. All faculty members are actively engaged in service to the department, Bouvé College, the University and wider community.

Programs and associated research activities in CSD have been designed to meet the department’s scope. CSD accepts students into an undergraduate 4-year degree in Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology (BS SLPA), two combined majors in SLPA—one with Linguistics and one with Communication Studies, a 4-course minor in Communication Sciences and Disorders, a 6-course clinical minor in Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology, a 5-year combined bachelor’s/master’s speech-language pathology degree, and a 2-year master’s program in Speech-Language Pathology. Along with other units, CSD is part of the interdisciplinary certificate program in Early Intervention. Doctoral students interested in working with our esteemed faculty can apply to the doctoral program in Physical Rehabilitation and Movement Sciences. Given the interdisciplinary focus of Northeastern, our students are encouraged to form collaborations across departments that span the entire university.

 This strategic plan addresses our shared vision and goals as a department, and each faculty member brings a unique perspective, skill set, and focus to our community’s engagement with our goals.

Mission

To advance the science of human communication and its disorders, understand the science of human communication, untethered from traditional limitations of the field, and make a direct impact on the world through targeted learning experiences and research opportunities while creating an inclusive community.

Vision

Communication beyond boundaries

Values

The Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders embraces and upholds the University’s core values of:

Experience: Only through experiences can we truly understand and influence communication sciences and disorders.

Interdisciplinary: This approach unbinds us from limited perspectives and facilitates deepened understanding of communication from many facets and viewpoints.

Inclusivity: We will provide equal access to all learning experiences and prioritize investment in programming to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Global: We encourage understanding of communication sciences from a global and regional perspective.

Partner-driven: Mentoring and support for all levels of students and alumni through engagement in the vast CSD network of alumni, clinics, and research labs around the world. All Department faculty and students guide their professional conduct according to the Core Values of the American Speech-Language and Hearing Association (ASHA). Our MS SLP program is accredited through the Council on Academic Accreditation in Speech-Language Pathology (CAA) of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association.

Areas of Excellence

Strategic Goals

Goal 1: To increase research productivity and facilitate collaboration among faculty in areas of mutual interest and expertise

Goal 2: To provide experiential and interprofessional educational opportunities in Communication Sciences and Disorders grounded in evidenced-based research
2.1 To unleash the power of experiential learning through clinical placements (off campus/on campus/virtual) that are community driven and that foster diversity. We hope to expand local/regional clinical practicum opportunities by engaging in various clinical programs and settings (e.g., Camp Jabberwocky, Confidence Connection, Boston Children’s Hospital ALS program & Autism Language Program) as well as expand the Interdisciplinary Early Intervention Certificate program to include other professions.

2.2 To encourage and provide lifelong learning opportunities that span from undergraduate education through postgraduate continuing education by offering interprofessional continuing education events to current students, faculty, alumni, and off-campus clinical supervisors, and hosting invited speakers as part of research/clinical colloquium/symposium series. Enhance the students’ experience of professional graduate education in MS/SLP and AuD programs

2.3 To create interprofessional on-campus clinic/groups (e.g., reading/math program and/or shared diagnostic equipment) where therapies and assessments are provided by several health professionals in collaboration.

2.4 To create new interprofessional education (IPE) opportunities in academic courses through collaborations within the newly found SoCRS (e.g., interprofessional simulations, both virtual and in-person).

Goal 3: To leverage and expand diversity, equity and inclusion across our academic coursework, clinical training, and community outreach.

3.1 To encourage bi-directional dialogue between faculty and students to create a healthy learning environment for all by having a Town Meeting once per semester.

3.2 To emphasize diversity, equity, and inclusion in all academic and clinical courses and in clinical practice (in-house, off-campus) as documented on course syllabi and students’ clinical practice (in-house, off-campus) written performance evaluations.

3.3 To increase and retain students, staff, and faculty from historically under-represented groups by promoting our field to high school students from diverse backgrounds (e.g., Bouve College high school summer program) and recruiting faculty from diverse settings. We will retain 90% of diverse faculty and students.

3.4 To support post-graduation success of our students from historically under-represented groups in navigating the CF process and career choices through our alumni network by creating an alumni-new graduate mentoring system.

Goal 4: To create and expand current local, regional, national and global networks and opportunities in clinical and research education in CSD.

4.1 To expand our presence in the local community by developing an annual CSD community talk series.

4.2 To expand national and international research collaborations (South Africa, India, South Korea, Israel, London, or Charlotte campus) in our department’s areas of excellence.

4.3 To expand the MS SLP program to one of the regional campuses.