Clinical Performance Plan and Program Dismissal Policies

Dismissal from the master’s program, due to poor clinical performance with unsuccessful remediation and/or progress, may occur at any time during the course of study.

Candidate Disposition for All Certification Programs

Candidates in programs leading to New York State Teacher Certification: Teacher of Students with Speech and Language Disabilities (TSSLD) are expected to demonstrate a set of values and attitudes consistent with the highest of professional standards. The values and attitudes must be demonstrated in concrete ways in their interactions with members of the faculty, school personnel, and students/clients. Inappropriate behaviors may warrant remediation, probation, or dismissal from the program.

• An Academic Dispositions Concerns Report can be filed at any time during the semester if a student is found to have displayed a lack of professionalism based on the above standard. There are four levels of concern that rate a student’s performance: Level 0, Level 1, Level 2, and Level 3. At Level 3, the candidate may be removed from the program. For additional information please go to: www.fredonia.edu/academics/colleges-schools/college-education/coe/adcrb
• The CDS Student Clinician Dispositions Rating form is used to rate the Student Clinician's
  (Teacher Candidate's) performance in terms of attitudes, actions, tendencies, and dispositions. CDS student clinicians must present themselves professionally in the classroom and clinical settings, and this form provides documentation of professional dispositions. Each statement is aligned with the specific Interstate Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium (InTASC) standards. A rating scale of 1-4 (1=Not Proficient, 2= Developing proficiency, 3= Proficient, 4=Exemplary) is used to rate the CDS student clinicians on each of the ten professional dispositions. If a student clinician earns a rating of 1 on any disposition at any time during clinical placement, then the disposition(s) becomes part of the student clinician’s Clinical Performance Plan (CPP) for improvement.

The following guidelines will be used to assess and monitor a graduate student’s acquisition of clinical skills:

Graduate students enrolled in CDS 502 Clinical Practice, CDS 632 Graduate Student Teaching and CDS 605 Advanced Clinical Methods and Practice will be notified in writing by the clinic director of their Tier placement at the end of each semester. Graduate students will be notified at mid-semester/placement if Tier II classification level is assigned based on mid-semester clinical skills, grade, and/or professional dispositions rating of 1 not meeting minimum requirements.

• Tier I: The student clinician meets minimum clinical skills proficiency grade for the assigned level of clinical placement (CDS 502-Spring, CDS 502-Summer, CDS 502-Fall, CDS 605 and CDS 632-Spring-year2) at the end of the semester/placement. Since a student clinician at the Youngerman Center may have more than one supervisor, his/her performance evaluations are averaged based on the assigned clinical supervisors’ final performance ratings. Student clinicians at off-site placements will be assigned a grade based on the performance evaluation completed at mid and end of the clinical placement.

• Tier II: The student clinician who shows signs of difficulty in acquisition of clinical skills is considered in need of remediation and will be placed on Tier II based on the following:
  • The student clinician is issued a rating of 1 on any professional disposition at any time during a clinical course.
  • At mid placement/semester, the student clinician’s clinical skills ratings drop below minimum requirements for each assigned clinical placement (CDS 502-Spring, CDS 502-Summer, CDS 502-Fall, CDS 605 and CDS 632-Spring-year 2). Any clinical skill under established minimum may result in a Clinical Performance Plan (CPP) after discussion between supervisor, student, and Clinic Director.
  • The student clinician earns a mid-semester clinical grade lower than minimum requirement for each assigned clinical placement (CDS 502-Spring, CDS 502-Summer, CDS 502-Fall, CDS 605 and CDS 632-Spring-year 2).
  •  The student clinician earns a final clinical course grade below the minimum requirement for each assigned clinical placement (CDS 502-Spring, CDS 502-Summer, CDS 502-Fall, CDS 605 and CDS 632-Spring-year 2).   
    - Since a student clinician at the Youngerman Center may have more than one supervisor, his/her performance evaluations are averaged based on the assigned clinical supervisors’ final performance ratings. Student clinicians at off-site placements will be assigned a grade based on the performance evaluation completed at mid and end of the clinical placement.

The student clinician and clinical supervisor(s) at the Youngerman Center or off-site facilities are notified in writing of the student clinician’s tier and professional disposition status. The clinic director, the student clinician, and the clinical supervisor will collaboratively develop clinical remediation goals specific to the student clinician’s assigned cases and any clinical skill that do not meet the established minimum requirement. A Clinical Performance Plan (CPP) will be drafted and may also include any professional disposition(s)rating(s) of 1. The clinic director will finalize the CPP and then meet again with the student clinician to review the plan and obtain their signature. The finalized plan will be distributed to the student clinician’s assigned clinical supervisor(s). The student clinician will receive a copy of the signed CPP and will be responsible for scheduling weekly meetings with assigned clinical supervisor(s). The student clinician will work with current clinical supervisor(s) and may be assigned different clinical supervisors as needed. The student clinician will maintain a minimal caseload of two clients (YC) with additional assignments when possible. The assigned clinical supervisor(s) will closely monitor the student clinician’s clinical skills development through observation and weekly meetings and document in writing meeting dates and comments on the CPP. The clinic director will review the clinical supervisors’ meeting notes weekly and discuss student clinician performance on targeted remediation clinical goals and/or dispositions. At the end of the semester, the clinic director will meet with the student clinician to discuss progress and tier level status.

The student clinician will be placed on Tier I after meeting established minimum grade and
established clinical skills ratings for each assigned clinical placement (CDS 502-Spring,
CDS 502-Summer, CDS 502-Fall, CDS 605 and CDS 632-Spring-year 2) and the student clinician must meet a rating of 3-Proficient for all professional dispositions to be placed on Tier 1.

The student clinician may be required to attend additional days at the assigned clinical placement in order to address targeted remediation clinical goals and/or professional dispositions. If a student clinician is unable to obtain clinical opportunities to address targeted remediation clinical skills, then alternate arrangements will be made by the Clinic Director.

The student clinician who fails to demonstrate sufficient progress with their Clinical Performance Plan (CPP) and fails to meet Tier I requirements in acquisition of clinical skills, final grade and/or professional Dispositions at the end of the semester in more than one out of three CDS 502 Clinical Practice courses, will be dismissed from the program.

When a student clinician is placed on Tier II, the following remediation and intervention methods may be offered depending on his/her needs:

• Additional meetings with assigned clinical supervisors.
• Video self-observation session reviews.
• Observation of clinical sessions held by other graduate students.
• Role-play of activities with the clinical supervisor.
• Co-treatment of the client with the clinical supervisor.
• Case study assignments, including report writing.
• Clinical Simulation for simulated evaluation scoring and interpretation, treatment, etc.

CDS 605 Advanced Clinical Methods and Practice and CDS 632 Graduate Student Teaching are the capstone assignments prior to receiving the master's degree. The student clinician is required to meet the minimum established grade, clinical skills ratings, and professional dispositions at mid and end of placement in order to progress to the second required course the second half of the Spring semester. If a student clinician requires additional clinical opportunities to address targeted clinical skills, then alternative arrangements and/or extended time at placement may be granted with approval from placement supervisor/site and Clinic Director.

Student clinicians who do not meet clinical performance requirements, ASHA standards, and
professional Disposition standards, will not meet graduation requirements and will, thus be dismissed from the master’s degree program.

Additional Criteria

• Student clinicians are required to complete three semesters of CDS 502 Clinical Practice. The student clinician must meet established minimum grade, clinical skill requirements, and professional disposition ratings two out of three semesters of CDS 502 in order to be enrolled in the advanced clinical placement courses (CDS 605 Advanced Clinical Methods and Practice, CDS 632 Graduate Student Teaching).
• There may be circumstances when the student clinician does not meet the minimum clinical skills rating for an individual clinical skill. When this occurs, the clinic director will consult with the clinical supervisor(s) to determine if the clinical skill requires a formal Clinical Performance Plan (CPP) to target the clinical skill. If a CPP is appropriate, the clinic director will meet with the student clinician to discuss and develop a plan to address the target clinical skill. The student clinician and clinic director will sign the plan and a copy will be given to the clinical supervisor(s) and student clinician. If there is more than one clinical skill that does not meet the minimum rating, the creation of a formal Clinical Performance Plan is at the discretion of the clinic director and clinical supervisor(s).
• A student clinician can be removed and dismissed from the program at any time if it is determined that the student clinician’s performance jeopardizes the welfare or safety of their client(s), or if it is deemed that the student clinician’s level of clinical skills does not benefit the client(s). The clinical supervisor will calculate a grade based on clinical skills demonstrated at the time of the removal, and the grade earned will be entered as the final grade.
• If the student clinician is dismissed from the CDS program due to unsatisfactory clinical skills performance or due to Disposition ratings that are not Level 3-Proficient at the end of the semester/placement, they will not receive credit for earned clinical hours during that semester.
• Student clinicians are required to sign an acknowledgement of the above policies and procedures prior to starting any clinical placements.