The graduate program in speech language pathology at SUNY Buffalo State received only positive feedback at last week’s accreditation meeting.

The Council on Academic Accreditation in Audiology and Speech Language Pathology held the meeting Thursday afternoon in E.H. Butler Library where parents and teachers gathered to share their opinions of the program.

After the meeting there was an open forum for public comment. The people attending the meeting gave positive feedback and meeting officials agreed that no changes will need to be made to the program.

One mother at the meeting shared her perspective on behalf of her son.

“I was really impressed,” she said. She said the speech clinic provided her son, who is in eighth grade, what he needed, especially for being an older child still attending a speech program.

She said that her son enjoyed the one-on-one attention, even at an age where going to a speech clinic isn’t the most exciting thing. The mother expressed how thankful she was for the opportunity to send her child there.

“It was wonderful,” she said.

A professor at the meeting shared her experience in what she called a “wonderful partnership” between the program and her school. On top of the benefits of it being cheaper than a college program, she explained the benefits she saw the program had on the children firsthand.

The program in speech language pathology, “is an invaluable asset to the growth and development of the students,” she said. She even brought in a story regarding a student that was “highly successful” due to the program.

The program serves as a “seamless” transition for the students. They even pushed into the classrooms with the Rode to the Code, which is a phonemic awareness program.

 “They were highly professional,” she said. “They had a warm and welcoming way with the children.”

Although the meeting was open to suggestions for changes to the program, only positive things were said.

The program has its own speech clinic on the campus, which allows students to dive right into practice under supervision of licensed and certified individuals.  The clinic is open to clients of all ages with various services available.

The accreditation group said this is positive for the community and there will be no changes to the program.

“We will use (those positive comments) for evaluation,” accreditation team member Julie Scherz said. “And that is what we like to hear.”

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