Five-Year Strategic Plan
Preamble
The current strategic plan was developed drawing on the strengths and
opportunities that exist in the Department of Communication Sciences and
Disorders at Oklahoma State University. This document will be revised annually
based on the input of the faculty.
Focus Area One: Integration of academic and clinical training to enhance graduate
education experience
The goal of the graduate training program is to provide a well-rounded educational
experience to our graduate students to that they are abreast with evidence-based
practices. To this end, the clinical and research faculty will work together to teach
classes as well as provide clinical experience to our graduate students.
Individual(s) responsible: Academic faculty teaching graduate courses and clinical
supervisors.
Focus Area Two: Recruiting a diverse body of top graduate students
In the recent years, our graduate cohort has included about 20% of diverse
students. We will be working to steadily increase that percentage to about 30%. To
this end, the program will reach out to all the ASHA minority caucuses to recruit
students from minority backgrounds to our graduate program.
Individuals responsible: Program Director/Department Head, Graduate Program
Coordinator, and Graduate Committee.
Focus Area Three: Increasing student as well as faculty research productivity
Over the last 3 years, the research productivity has improved considerably as
measured by the number of peer-reviewed publications as well as the
external/internal funding support. The program will be working with the college
Dean to identify the feasibility of starting a doctoral program. This will further
help the program to boost the research productivity. Additionally, the program
director will be encouraging the graduate students to be involved in graduate
theses.
Individual(s) Responsible: Ph.D. Faculty
Focus Area Four: Continuing the ongoing efforts in community engagement
The Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders at Oklahoma State
University has a rich history of serving the community through the Oklahoma State
University Speech-Language-Hearing Clinic. Some of the ongoing community
engagement projects include the Cowboy Aphasia Camp, Hearing Screenings
offered in partnership with ABLE Tech at Oklahoma State University, accent
modification program offered to student trainee pilots at the College of Education,
Oklahoma State University, to name a few. Additionally, the program has received
community engagement grants from the College of Arts and Sciences, Oklahoma
State University each of the past three consecutive years. The Department of Communication
Sciences and Disorders will continue its efforts to serve the community by identifying
appropriate community engagement partners.
Individual(s) Responsible: Academic Faculty and Clinical Supervisors
Assessment of the strategic plan
The current strategic plan will be evaluated every year during the department
faculty meeting during which the progress made in each focus area will be
documented. If there is a lack of progress for one or more focus areas, remedial
measures will be discussed and implemented during the meeting.