Dear CAPCSD Member, 

 

It’s September.  I feel like that is a sentence, question, and exclamation all at the same time.  It is the time of the semester where I start to mutter to myself,  

 

“Why isn’t there a safety town for college students?” 

 

Let me guess, not what you expected me to say.  Do you know what safety town is?  If you aren’t familiar, safety town is usually a one-week program that teaches children around five years old safety skills.  Topics covered are things like crossing the street, stranger danger, how to ride a bus safely, how to ride a bike, and safety sign awareness.  The first safety town was held in 1937 and then was formalized in Bedford, Ohio in 1964.  Which happens to be where I live; they are now all over the country. 

 

(Yes, I know this feels tangential but hang in there you are almost to the point.) Safety town was established to give children the skills and safely practice going to school.  You read that right, children who did not understand the safety rules of the road were experiencing injuries some fatal, so a group of people said let’s teach the hidden curriculum that these children need to access education. 

 

Doesn’t that feel like a college campus?  Where the routines of campus life collide with all the unwritten rules that we assume students have already learned? How many times have you said the phrase “common sense” in the last month?  the last year?  Perhaps this common sense isn’t common at all and is part of a hidden curriculum that makes access to the education and skills we provide difficult.  I encourage you to spend some time with our DEIB article this month, “Teaching CSD Students is a Public Health Issue.”   

 

Board Update 

The Board of Directors worked this past month with Committee Chairs to develop goals related to the strategic initiatives of advocacy, clinical education, admissions, and competency-based education.  Committee Chairs participated in an orientation session led by Clark and Sanchez Consulting on committee leadership including contributions from two of our committee chairs Christi Masters and Lisa Bowers.  Thank you to everyone who participated. 

 

As we settle into the semester, please take a moment and look through the webinar offerings from CAPCSD this month.  Let’s keep learning and growing together! 

 

Oh, and watch out for students on the crosswalk and those not on the crosswalk (I’m telling you, safety town)! 

 

Warm regards,

 

Christie 

Christie Needham

President 
 

Important Dates

Below are the upcoming important dates so that you may plan accordingly. Dates are subject to change. CAPCSD will send separate email for each of the below dates with official information.

  • September 1, 2026 - Clinical Educators' Academy Application window opens
  • September 16, 2026 - Call for Papers & Posters submission deadline
  • September 30, 2026 - Clinical Educators' Academy Application deadline
  • September 30, 2026 - CSDCAS Deferral window closes & the 2025-2026 cycle Final Decisions are due

Proposed Federal Accreditation Changes Could Affect CAA and Accredited Programs

The U.S. Department of Education is moving forward with significant changes to the federal requirements for recognized accrediting agencies. This rulemaking, known as Accreditation, Innovation, and Modernization (AIM), grew out of a 2025 executive order directing the Department of Education to review and revise federal accreditation requirements. A negotiating committee representing accreditors, institutions, and other stakeholders met earlier this year and reached consensus on draft regulatory text addressing a range of issues, including accreditation; conflict of interest requirements; outcome metrics; and viewpoint diversity.

 

Several of the proposed changes could directly affect the Council on Academic Accreditation in Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology’s (CAA) relationship with the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) and the requirements for accrediting agencies to operate separately and independently from related organizations under the Higher Education Act (HEA).

 

Read more about how these proposed changes can affect the CAA and accredited programs.

Additional Background

Contact

For questions about CAA’s information regarding the proposed rule, contact accreditation@asha.org.
 

Clinical Educators' Academy applications open until 9/30

Apply today!

Faculty from CAPCSD member programs are invited to apply to the CAPCSD Clinical Educators' Academy. This in-person event will be held in the days leading up to the 2027 CAPCSD Annual Conference at the Atlanta Marriott Marquis. In order to apply, the applicant’s program must be a CAPCSD member with their 2026-2027 membership dues paid in full as of September 15, 2026.

Tuesday - Wednesday, March 30 - 31, 2027
Limited to 75 participants

Important Dates

  • Tuesday, September 1, 2026 - Application window opened
  • Wednesday, September 30, 2026 - Applications are due at 11:59 PM ET
  • Friday, October 30, 2026 - All applicants are notified regarding selection; Registration opens
  • Friday, December 11, 2026 - Participants must confirm, register, and pay registration fee, or an alternate participant will be selected. Registration fee of $350 is for Academy only.
  • Tuesday, January 5, 2027 - Conference registration and hotel room block open. Conference registration is required for Academy participants and is not included in the Academy fee.

Program Description

 

The Clinical Educators’ Academy continues to contribute to CAPCSD’s mission and vision of advancing academic leadership and program excellence in Communication Sciences and Disorders. This day and a half opportunity if for leaders in CSD clinical education to take time to consider their professional identity, develop coaching strategies, and consider ways their program supports students and professionals. Sessions will include keynote from dB Coaching Group founders Amy Badstubner, AuD, CPC, and Kari Dermer, AuD, CPC, ELI-MP, which will lay the foundation for participants to focus on ways to support professionals around clinical education topics. This in person event will be scheduled immediately preceding the 2027 CAPCSD conference in Atlanta, GA. It will consistent of a day and a half of content from CSD professionals plus a series of 4 follow up webinars across the 12 months that follow.

 
 
CAPCSD's 2027 Annual Conference banner with city skyline graphic, March 31-April 3, 2027, Atlanta Marriott Marquis venue

Annual Conference Call for Papers

Submit your paper or poster proposal today for consideration to be selected for CAPCSD's 2027 Annual Conference! The submission window will close on Wednesday, September 16, 2026 at 11:59 PM ET.

 

We welcome proposals that explore innovative, evidence-informed, and collaborative approaches to advancing communication sciences and disorders education. We encourage submissions that foster inclusive, supportive, and collaborative learning and clinical environments while advancing teaching, leadership, student success, clinical education, and program excellence. Proposals may address the conference theme or one of the following topic areas:

 

Clinical Education & Supervision

Technology & Innovation

Teaching & Learning Excellence

Innovative Curriculum & Assessment

Student Success

Leadership & Development

Additional Topic Areas (other than those above)

EXHIBITOR Education Presentation

Conference theme: Cultivating Connection: Advancing Leadership, Learning, & Community

 

 

For full details, please visit our Call for Papers & Posters webpage.
Two women posing for a picture at CAPCSD's 2026 Welcome Reception.

Scholarship Openings

2026-2027 Scholarships & Grants Applications are Now Open

 

The CAPCSD Scholarship and Grant Portal for the 2026-2027 application cycle is now open and closes on October 26, 2026, at 11:59 AM EST. Students and faculty in CAPCSD member programs with membership paid in full no later than September 15, 2026, are eligible to apply to three different scholarship and grant competitions, each with its unique focus.

 

Visit the CAPCSD Scholarships and Grants page for more information and to apply: https://www.capcsd.org/scholarships/.
 

CAPCSD Board Buddy 

CAPCSD's Board of Directors assigned a "Board Buddy" to each of its new board members to help transition into their new terms on the CAPCSD Board of Directors. To help our CAPCSD member programs get to know our new board members, each month the newsletter will feature a board buddy asking the new board member questions. This month, VP of Clinical Education, Andy Clare, posed these questions to the new VP of Research and Academic Affairs, Miechelle McKelvey.

 

What inspired you to join the board?


I've always believed that strong professions are built by people who invest in the success of others. Joining the CAPCSD Board felt like a natural opportunity to give back to the academic community that has shaped my own leadership journey while helping support the next generation of educators and leaders.

 

 

What unique perspective or experience do you bring to the board?

 

Throughout my career, I've had the privilege of working across diverse teams and leadership settings. Those experiences have taught me the importance of listening first, building consensus, and keeping the focus on mission-driven outcomes. I strive to bring a strategic perspective while staying grounded in the day-to-day realities our members face.
 

DEIB

Teaching CSD Students is a Public Health Issue

As CSD faculty, we spend long days teaching our students “how.” We help them take a better case history, notice a clinical detail, or more quickly meet a client’s need. As we’re doing that, though, we’re also teaching our students “who.” Who is an SLP or an audiologist? How do they act? What do they prioritize and value? We help our students learn who they are as a clinician, which is an identity they likely haven’t experienced before. Yet, we don’t often consider how we’re conveying these expectations or whether the expectations are an appropriate fit for each of our students.

 

Public health research considers a client’s ability to access culturally-concordant care (care from a clinician who shares their cultural background) to be one of many social determinants of health.

 A client’s ability to receive services from clinicians who understand their language, culture, community context, communication practices, and lived experiences can shape trust, diagnosis, treatment engagement, follow-through, and ultimately health equity. In medicine, culturally-concordant care has been linked to improved health outcomes, like reduced morbidity, increased patient decision-making in their own care, and enhanced follow-through with care plans. Read more....
 

Admissions Corner
 

New On-Demand Deferral Process

A new On-Demand Deferral process will launch in the 26-27 cycle, replacing the previous transfer settings-based deferral method.

This process allows programs to defer applicants during designated time windows.

Deferred applicants are applicants who:

  • Applied for admission in the 2025-2026 cycle
  • Received an offer of admission in that cycle
  • Could not accept that offer of admission due to health, personal, or other reasons agreed to by the school (for example, called upon for military service).

Deferred applicants are not the same as re-applicants. If your applicant falls into one of these categories, direct them to the re-applicant process instead:

  • Applicants who did not submit an application.
  • Applicants who completed an application without receiving an offer of admission and wish to be considered in the next application cycle. 

Deferral Time Windows

  • Window 1: September 1 – September 30
    Note: September 30 is also the deadline for all final admissions decisions for the 2025–2026 cycle. All deferrals and final decisions must be completed by this date.
  • Window 2: February 1 – February 28

Additional communications and reminders will be provided ahead of each window to support programs using this new process.

For step-by-step instructions, refer to the full documentation: https://help.liaisonedu.com/WebAdMIT/Managing_Your_Applicant_Pool/Deferring_Applicants_On_Demand
 

CSDCAS Final Decisions 

Due: September 30, 2026! 

All CSDCAS participating programs agree to provide their final decision data to CAPCSD annually in WebAdMIT. One of the following final decision codes must be assigned to each verified applicant:

  • Denied: Applicant not offered admission for one or more of the following: did not meet admissions requirements, no seats available and therefore not removed from the waitlist, other reasons as determined by the program
  • Offer Withdrawn: Institution revoked offer of admission. This is commonly done if the applicant did not complete additional requirements.
  • Offer Declined: Applicant offered admission but did not accept. This could include a student who initially accepted and then decided not to attend.
  • Applicant Withdrew: Applicant withdrew application before a degree program admissions decision was made. This could include applications that were incomplete and never considered in the admissions process or applicants that asked to be removed from a wait-list before a final decision was made.
  • Deferred: Applicant applied in the current cycle and is approved to defer their admission offer to the next cycle due to an eligible applicant-driven circumstance.
  • Matriculated: Applicant offered admission to your program and enrolled in that program.

 

All other decisions (Offer Accepted, Offer Made, Interviewed, and Wait-Listed) are not final decisions and applications remaining in those categories need to be assigned to one of the final decision codes above. Applicants without a verified status (in progress, complete, received, on hold, etc.) do not need a decision code if you did not review them.

Here are the instructions to set these up:https://www.capcsd.org/csdcas-final-decisions/.

 
 

If you need help with the admissions processes for your MA/MS and/or AuD graduate education programs, or you need help with WebAdMIT or CSDCAS, please do not hesitate to reach out to the Admissions Committee and CAPCSD’s Director of Centralized Admissions.

 

Admissions Committee Contacts

https://members.capcsd.org/admissionscommittee

 

Teasha McKinley, Director of Centralized Admissions

teasha@capcsd.org 
 
 

If you can't attend the live webinar, register now and receive a recording of the webinar to view at your convenience. Please note, only registrants who attend the live webinar are eligible for ASHA CEUs.

 

How Federal Policy Changes Impact Audiologists, SLPs, and the People They Serve

 

🗓️ Thursday, September 3, 2026 
🕒 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM ET 

​​0.10 ASHA CEUs
No Cost to Attend
 

Ready for Clinic: Professionalism and Workplace Readiness for CSD Students

 

🗓️ Wednesday, September 23, 2026 
🕒 3:00 PM – 4:00 PM ET 

​​0.10 ASHA CEUs
 
CAPCSD Leadership Series | Fall 2026
Three Sessions. One Transformative Journey.

Leadership in academic programs in communication sciences and disorders is rarely simple — it's dynamic, demanding, and deeply human. Whether you're a seasoned program director or stepping into a leadership role for the first time, the CAPCSD Leadership Series was designed with you in mind.

 
This three-part series brings together expert voices to help you lead with greater intention, build the people around you, and navigate the hard moments with confidence and clarity. Across three Thursday evening sessions this fall, you'll gain practical frameworks, compassionate strategies, and the kind of honest conversation that makes good leaders great.

Attend one session or all three, each stands on its own.
Attending two or more?  Use code LS2026 at checkout to save 20% on your registration.

Part 1:
Leading With Intention

 

Thursday, Sept 10th 
5:30 PM – 7:00 PM ET

0.15 ASHA CEUs

 

REGISTRATION LINK

Part 2:
Building Leaders 

Thursday, Oct 8th 
5:30 PM – 7:00 PM ET
​0.15 ASHA CEUs

 

REGISTRATION LINK

Part 3: Leading Through Uncertainty and Imperfect Choices
Thursday, Nov 12th 
5:30 PM – 7:00 PM ET

0.15 ASHA CEUs

 

REGISTRATION LINK
 
Bring Social Determinants of Health Into Your CSD Curriculum
Two-Part Webinar Series

Your students and you know that social determinants of health (SDOH) matter. The challenge is fitting them into a curriculum that's already full.

This two-part webinar series gives CSD faculty a practical way to infuse SDOH concepts into the CSD curriculum, without overhauling what already works. Part I (Sept 29) introduces a Bloom's Taxonomy-aligned framework for building student awareness and clinical reasoning around SDOH. Part II (Oct 6) delivers ready-to-use strategies for faculty to put the SDOH framework into action.

Attend one session or both, each stands on its own.
Use code SDOH26 at checkout to save 20% on your registration.

Integrating Social Determinants of Health into CSD Curricula Part I

Tuesday, Sept 29th 
6:00 PM – 7:30 PM ET

0.15 ASHA CEUs

 

REGISTRATION LINK

Integrating Social Determinants of Health into CSD Curricula Part II

Tuesday, October 6th 
6:00 PM – 7:30 PM ET

0.15 ASHA CEUs

 

REGISTRATION LINK 
 

https://www.capcsd.org                                                                                                                                                                                       September 2026


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