Clinical Practicum Component

Speech Upgrade Project participants in Categories II and III of the program will be required to complete 100 hours of supervised clinical practicum. Those in Category IV will be required to complete 150 hours. Participants can earn these hours in one of two ways.

1. Enrollment in a supervised clinical practicum program based in the participant’s current school employment setting.

2. Enrollment in Kean University’s clinical practicum course; CDD 5227/5228 in the University Speech and Hearing Clinic. University-based practicum would be required for speech correctionists who are not currently employed.

Here’s how the school-based supervision works:

Participants in Categories II and III must complete 100 hours of supervised clinical practicum which may be completed in one semester.

Those in Category IV must complete 150 hours, requiring at least two semesters. Participants Officially designate between 75 and 100 hours of their regular intervention per 15-week semester as “practicum hours” (approximately five to seven hours per week; five to ten clients) from the school caseload. These comprise the teaching cases included in this practicum. One-fourth of those practicum hours must be personally observed and supervised by a certified Speech-Language Specialist employed by Kean University. The supervisor makes a minimum of five trips to each school site and spend from four to five hours on-site observing therapy. When feasible, the supervisor meets with a group of supervisees at a central location twice over the course of the semester. Group meetings provide information and a framework for the practicum course and its requirements as well as lecture material and group supervision.