Graduate student Laura Rittel and others are getting hands-on experience with assistive technology in Rockhurst’s new CSD labs.

Faculty and students in Rockhurst University’s Communication Sciences and Disorders program have a lot to be excited about this year. Their department has recently achieved re-accreditation, launched a newly revised curriculum, introduced three new labs and welcomed a new chair.

The CSD program received full re-accreditation status from the Council for Academic Accreditation of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association for a period of eight years — the maximum accreditation period granted to any program.

Thanks to feedback from CSD alumni, the department has completed a comprehensive revision of the curriculum that meets — and in some areas exceeds — the CAA’s 2008 standards. The new curriculum features a sharper focus on research and the academic coursework that prepares students for clinical experiences.

Students already have taken advantage of three new labs that opened earlier this year. The augmentative and alternative communication lab allows hands-on experience with various assistive technology devices. An adult/child language lab provides opportunities to demonstrate, conduct and evaluate diagnostic and therapeutic strategies. The new therapy resource lab allows students more opportunities to practice intervention techniques.

“These curricular and laboratory enhancements will more effectively prepare our students for clinical experiences,” said Carol Koch, interim chair, who will become department chair on July 1.

CSD prepares practi-tioners to assess, diagnose, treat and help to prevent disorders related to speech, language, cognitive-communication, voice, swallowing and fluency.

Students in the program can expect a healthy job market upon graduation. The Bureau of Labor Statistics expects the field to see excellent job opportunities in the coming years. U.S. News & World Report ranked speech-language pathology and audiology among the top 25 careers for 2008.