2023 Early Hearing Detection & Intervention Conference
March 5-7, 2023 • Cincinnati, OH
10/13/2017 | 5:30 PM - 7:15 PM | Distance Education Au.D. Degree Bridge Program: Five Year Analysis | West Ballroom at Shalala Student Services Building
Distance Education Au.D. Degree Bridge Program: Five Year Analysis
In the USA, the audiology profession increased the educational requirements from the Clinical Master’s degree to the Clinical Doctorate (Au.D.) degree. No other countries have adopted this educational transition and the Au.D. degree is not generally available outside the USA. An exception is that international audiologists with a Master’s degree in audiology, or equivalent, and a minimum of three years clinical experience in audiology, can participate in two-year, online, distance education “bridge” program to obtain the Au.D. degree from an American University.
Of relevance to the global audiology community, in 2011 Salus University Osborne College of Audiology opened a bridge Au.D. program created for international audiologists who wanted to advance their knowledge base, improve their clinical practices, and obtain the Au.D. degree. Many of the program participants were from countries that do not offer any similar systematic programs of study for post-professional education in audiology. In a professional world where the working audiologists cannot relocate to a centralized educational site, online education may be the most efficient and effective method to bring new information to the clinical professionals.
Of significance to global audiology educators, the Salus University program is completing a five-year, retrospective analysis, based on survey data collected from the program graduates. The analysis results include assessment of program strengths and weaknesses; the relative values of the twenty online courses and the (minimum of) two hands-on, four-day workshops; the degree to which program participants changed and/or improved their hearing health services in clinical practice; and recommendations which can be applied for future on-line, distance educational ventures supporting global audiology education.
- To explore the relevance of online education as an opportunity for audiologists in low-resource communities to enhance their foundational knowledge and clinical skills.
- To gain an understanding of the strengths and weakness within the online format to upgrade audiologists with the Master’s-level clinical degree to the Doctoral-level clinical degree.
- To gain an understanding of the qualitative impact of the Online International AuD Degree Bridge Program.
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Presenters/Authors
Victor Bray
(), Salus University, vbray@salus.edu;
Dr. Victor Bray is an Associate Professor and the former dean of the Salus University
Osborne College of Audiology. He received his PhD from the University of Texas at
Austin, MSC in Audiology from Auburn University and BS in Biochemistry from the
University of Georgia. His current research activities at Salus University include evaluating hearing instrument signal processing, the co-management of comorbidities in audiologic medicine, and the role of audiology education in the audiology professional transition
process.
He is a recipient of several awards including the Academy of Doctors of
Audiology (ADA) David Goldstein Award “for promoting audiology’s transformation to a
doctoral degree with the Au.D. as its distinctive designator,” ADA’s Joel Wernick Award “in recognition of an outstanding educational contribution within the fields of audiology and hearing science,” the Outstanding Alumnus Award from The University of Texas at Austin College of Communication for a career as an “audiology innovator and educator” and recipient of the Hearing Industries Association (HIA) volunteerism award “for dedication, expertise and effort in creating a structure that ensures the substance and the science that supports hearing aid marketing and advertising in America.”
ASHA DISCLOSURE:
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Girija Sundar
(), Salus University, girija.sundar@gmail.com;
Dr. Giri Sundar is Director of Distance Education and Assistant Professor at Salus University Osborne College of Audiology. Dr. Sundar developed the second generation online AuD-degree Bridge Program at Salus University for audiologists in the USA and international audiology community. In her current capacity, she is responsible for developing academic programs for practicing clinicians across the world and currently runs several Hybrid Programs at Salus University.
Dr. Sundar had a clinical practice in Audiology and Hearing aids for over 25 years in Northern New Jersey. Dr. Sundar joined Starkey International as director of business development for the company’s entry into the Indian market from 2006-2009.
Dr. Sundar was awarded a PhD and MPhil in Hearing Sciences from City University of New York, M.S. in Communication Disorders/Audiology, B.S. degree in Speech Pathology from William Patterson College, Wayne, NJ and B.A. in Social Sciences from Queen Mary’s College, Chennai, India.
ASHA DISCLOSURE:
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Nonfinancial -