Frequently Asked Questions for SLP Students in Off Campus Placements

  1. Is there a minimum number or type of clock hours the student needs to accrue during their placement?
  2. NO  The students rarely have a situation where they are in need of a specific number of hours or a specific type of hours. It is the university’s responsibility to place them where they are likely to get what they need and it is the student’s responsibility to monitor what they are accruing and discuss it with the university.
  3. One caveat: For students completing a placement to meet the requirements for the state of CT educational certification, they need to accrue 100 hours. It is very rare for students to have difficulty meeting this requirement in a three day/week placement over 15 weeks or a full time placement over 8 weeks.
  4. Do all students go to placement with the same level of experience or ability?
  5. No, students at UCONN complete three separate and distinct off campus placements. When you go to the first of those placements, you will be less independent and less experienced than if you are headed to the second or third. Additionally, all students progress at their own pace and with their own strengths and weaknesses. One student may be a natural at documentation and exceed expectations early in this area, while others will struggle to achieve competency by the third placement. What matters is that they all achieve minimum basic competency across all areas by the time they are ready to graduate.
  6. Why doesn’t the university come to visit the student while they are in their placement?
  7. UCONN believes that the ASHA CCC and the CT state license verify that the supervisor meets the minimum competency requirement necessary to supervise a student. As ASHA and CAPCSD develop new programs in coursework and potential certification in the art of supervision, UCONN will work to roll out and support those initiatives. Eventually, we would like to see all off campus supervisors undergo some additional education in the area of supervision.

Some site visits conducted without a concern expressed by the student or supervisor resulted in changes to a student’s grade based on one brief visit. UCONN feels that those changes were unfair to the student and undermined the supervisor’s credibility. However, some visits are made and the reasons are listed below.

  1. Visits to off campus placements are made under the following criteria:
  2. The student or supervisor calls with a concern and a second opinion or a conference with the parties is the agreed upon next step.
  3. The supervisor has never been a supervisor before and does not have resources at their facility for more experienced supervisor guidance.
  4. The facility is new to the university and sufficient information about the nature of the caseload to be expected has not determined.
  5. The facility has had changes in its structure, service provision, or management and asks the university to visit in order to facilitate student assignments that meet the new demands of the workplace.
  6. The staff of a facility would like to discuss and problem solve how the university and the facility can best work together to optimize student and supervisor experiences.
  7. The facility requests a continuing education opportunity provided by the university through on-site education.
  8. Basics of supervision (1 CEU)
  9. Updates to accreditation and student competencies from CAA and ASHA (1 CEU)
  10. What students are taught in Dysphagia course these days (1.5 CEU)
  1. What do I do if I have a problem with e*value?
  2. Call the Program Assistant, Sirrah Laughery 860 486-2817.
  3. Call the Director of Clinical Education, Wendy Chase 860 486-2629, or 860 486-3265.
  4. Ask your cohort.
  5. Don’t panic, there is nothing we can’t help you figure out and you will still get your clock hours approved, even if it is not today.
  6. How am I supposed to complete my personal reflections/journal during an off campus placement, especially in the summer?
  7. You will complete all course requirements through the huskyct class for that semester. In the summer, it is SLHS 5302, and fall and spring, SLHS 5336.
  8. Can I use a case from an outside placement for my clinical project?
  9. YES! It is highly recommended that you select a case from an outside placement as you are farther along in your development during those periods and will likely have an easier time explaining your rationale and interpreting your data.
  10. You must receive your supervisor’s permission to use the case.
  11. You must take every precaution necessary to be sure that you have not identified the patient in any way during your write up.
  12. You should ask about making de-identified copies of reports that are relevant for future reference.
  13. You will still need approx. 10 data points, which do not have to be collected in 10 separate sessions, but do need to represent discrete trials, or demonstrations of the behavior being targeted. Call the faculty to discuss potential cases if you are unsure of their appropriateness.