Clinic Remediation and Program Dismissal Policies

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 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 or Tier III classification level is assigned based on mid semester grade and/or disposition ratings of 1.

• Tier I: The student clinician meets clinical skills proficiency by maintaining a minimum KASA-ASHA clinical skills rating of 2 (out of a possible 5, or an equivalent grade of C) for all individual clinical skills assessed using the Performance Evaluation Form at mid-semester/placement. The student clinician must earn a minimum rating of 3 (out of a possible 5) for all individual skills assessed using the Performance Evaluation Form at the end of the semester. A rating of 3 equates to a minimum grade of B. 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’s KASA-ASHA skills rating drops below rating of 2 for any assessed clinical skill mid-semester/placement.
  • The student clinician earns a mid-semester clinical grade of “C-” or lower.
  • The student clinician earns a grade of “B-” or lower as a final clinical course grade       
    - 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 is issued a rating of 1 on any professional disposition at any time during a clinical course.

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 clinical skills rated as below standard. A Clinical Remediation Plan (CRP) will be drafted and may also include any disposition(s) rating of 1.  The clinic director will finalize the CRP 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 remediation plan 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 CRP.  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 minimal skills proficiency ratings of 3 or higher across all clinical areas including specific remediation clinical skills at the end of the semester/placement, and a final clinical grade of “B”. The student must meet a rating of 2-Proficient for all professional dispositions to be placed on Tier 1. If there is insufficient progress in acquisition of clinical skills or the student does not meet proficiency for professional dispositions, then the student clinician will be placed on Tier III.

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 dispositions. If a student clinician is unable to obtain clinical opportunities to address targeted remediation clinical skills, then the student clinician will remain on Tier II for the next clinical placement.

• Tier III: The student clinician that demonstrates significant difficulty in skills acquisition will be placed on Tier III.  A Clinical Remediation Plan (CRP) will be initiated under the following circumstances:
  • The student clinician placed on Tier II fails to make sufficient progress.
  • The student clinician receives a final clinical grade of “B-” or lower.
  • The student clinician is issued a rating of 1 on any professional disposition.

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 clinical skills rated as below the standard. A Clinical Remediation Plan (CRP) will be drafted and may also include any disposition(s) rating of 1.  The clinic director will finalize the CRP and then meet again with the student clinician to review the plan and sign the plan which acknowledges his/her understanding. 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 remediation plan 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 CRP.  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.

The student clinician will be placed on Tier I if they have met Tier I and remediation requirements in all subsequent clinical courses. The student clinician who fails to demonstrate sufficient progress in remediation and fails to meet Tier I requirements in acquisition of clinical skills after two CDS 502 clinical courses will be dismissed from the program.

When a student clinician is placed on Tier II or Tier III, the following remediation and intervention methods will be offered dependent on his/her needs:

• Weekly 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.
• Utilization of video mode for simulated evaluation scoring and interpretation.

Student clinicians who do not meet clinical remediation requirements, KASA-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 obtain a minimum final clinical grade of B in two out of three semesters of CDS 502 in order to be enrolled in the advanced clinical placement courses (CDS 605 Advanced Clinical Practice, CDS 632 Graduate Student Teaching.)
• There may be circumstances when the student clinician does not meet the minimum skill 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 Remediation Plan (CRP) to target the clinical skill. If a CRP 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 Remediation Plan is at the discretion of the clinic director and clinical supervisor(s).
• If a student clinician earned a minimum of B+ during their first two clinical semesters but earns a B the third semester, the clinic director will develop a CRP. Permission to enroll in CDS 632 Graduate Student Teaching placement or CDS 605 Advanced Clinical Practice will be granted and the student clinician will be placed on a probationary basis during the first 6 weeks of the placement. By the end of this 6 week period, in order to continue at the clinical placement, the student clinician must meet minimal clinical skills proficiencies of 4.9-5.2 (out of a possible 7, or an equivalent grade of B-) for all individual skills assessed using the clinical grading form.
• CDS 605 and CDS 632 are the capstone assignments prior to receiving the master's degree.  The student clinician is required to earn a final grade of B or higher and minimum KASA-ASHA skills rating of 3 (out of a possible 5) for all clinical skills assessed in both CDS 605 and CDS 632 in order to meet degree requirements. 
• 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 proficient, 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.