Forms and Policies

Because our Department is highly selective in the admission process, the overwhelming majority of students who begin the Master’s (MA) and AuD program matriculate on time. However, for a variety of reasons, a student may experience difficulty at some time during their  program and this may result in being placed on academic or clinical probation. In most cases, this situation is resolved with support and guidance.

Students may be placed on probation or be dismissed from the MA or AuD graduate program at the Department's discretion, based on documented unsatisfactory academic and/or clinical performance, including the performance of externship placements.

Students will be placed on Academic Probation during the semester following any semester in which their cumulative grade point average (GPA) falls below 3.0.

• During this probationary semester, the students will regularly consult with their assigned academic mentors, who will develop an academic action plan with input from other faculty members. The students must maintain their full-time status and cannot resign from classes due to lower grades during the probationary semester. If the students do not achieve a cumulative GPA equal to or above 3.0 upon completion of the probationary semester, they will be dismissed from the program.
  
• If students register for classes in Summer I, II, or both, then their academic probationary semester begins in the Summer session.  However, because of the limited credits offered during the Summer sessions, the student's academic probationary period will include the Summer and the following Fall semester.  If the students do not achieve a 3.0 average at the end of the probationary period, they will be dismissed from the program.

Across the entire graduate program, the maximum number of academic probation in which a student's cumulative GPA falls below the 3.0 average is two, with each followed by a probationary semester. If students fall below this minimum grade point average for a third time, they will be dismissed from the program without a probationary semester.

Students will be put on Clinic Probation during the semester following any semester in which overall clinical performance is considered unsatisfactory.

• The students will receive an individual review from each assigned supervisor from the UB Clinic and/or an Externship site. To receive an overall grade of "satisfactory" on the grade report, students must receive a satisfactory grade from every assigned supervisor. During this probationary semester, the students will regularly consult with their assigned clinical mentors who, along with input from others, will develop a clinical action plan. If the students receive an overall "unsatisfactory" clinical grade during the probationary semester, they will be dismissed from the program.
• If an unsatisfactory semester occurs during the externship, the students must participate in a remedial plan developed by the Externship Coordinator and Clinical Director. Depending on the circumstances, this plan may require that the students return to the UB Clinic for additional clinical assignments. It is important to recognize that if students receive an unsatisfactory grade during an externship experience, they will be required to perform at least one additional (full) externship placement, irrespective of the number of clinical hours they have earned. This will result in a delay in graduation.

During the probationary semester:

• Students must maintain a regular clinic caseload for MA students or regular sessions for AuD students during the probationary semester.
• A clinical action plan will be implemented to help the students improve and monitor their clinical performance.
• The students will not be permitted to participate in any externship placements until they achieve satisfactory performance in the UB Speech, Language, and Hearing Clinic in the semester directly preceding the externship placement.

Students may have a maximum of two Clinic Probations during the entire graduate program. If a third unsatisfactory performance occurs at any point (within the UB clinic or at an external clinical site), the students will be dismissed from the program.

In cases where there is a discrepancy among clinical faculty in the assignment of a semester-final grade, the following policy will apply to determine the state of clinical hours accumulated in the semester:

• If any clinical faculty member assigns the student a final grade of unsatisfactory for overall performance, that unsatisfactory grade will be reflected on the grade report. All hours associated with that or those (unsatisfactory) case(s) will remain unapproved and will not be counted in the student's total hours earned.
• Should one or more supervisors assign the student a satisfactory grade during this same semester, the hours associated with that or those cases will be approved and will be counted in the student's total hours earned.
• Note: Each externship placement is considered equivalent to one clinical semester.

If students do not meet both the academic and clinical requirements described above during the same semester, they will be dismissed from the program without a probation period.

Students may appeal their dismissal by sending a written appeal to the Chair of the Department no later than two weeks after receiving written notification of removal from the program. Students are encouraged to discuss the situation with their academic advisor in preparing the appeal.

It is department policy that all CDS courses (excluding practicum) must be taken for a letter grade. In addition the required Graduate Statistics Course must be taken for a letter grade. Student may opt to take up to six credits of elective coursework for a grade of S/U (Satisfactory vs. Unsatisfactory). Students must contact the course instructor in writing of their desire to take a course S/U. It is the discretion of the instructor whether they grant the student's request. Additional information may be found at the Graduate School Website.

"A complaint about any accredited program or program in candidacy status may be submitted by any student, instructional staff member, speech-language pathologist, audiologist, and/or member of the public" (per CAA website).

All complaints must be signed and submitted in writing to the vice presidents for academic affairs ("Vice Presidents") American Speech Language-Hearing Association, 2200 Research Boulevard, #310, Rockville, MD 20850. Complaints will not be accepted by e-mail or facsimile.