Departmental Policies/Actions Supporting Equity & Inclusion

Our Department has been making, and will continue to make, efforts to structure policies and procedures so they allow broad participation in our field. Some recent examples are listed below.

Ongoing Faculty participation in programs designed to expand undergraduate access to research through programs under the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Consortium

Ongoing Ensuring that we offer advising, classes, and mentoring opportunities to ensure all students understand the admissions process, how to succeed in our undergraduate program, and are in a position to be fully prepared for graduate school. Some examples include:

  • SCI 195 “Student Success Strategies for Speech, Language, and Hearing Science Students” This course is automatically added to the schedule of freshmen who have declared a major and recommended for transfer students.
  • SLHS 497 “Mapping Your Future” This course is available to any undergraduate and focuses on exploring the field and practical preparation for life after the undergraduate degree
  • Brown Bag Sessions. These informal sessions were created to increase interactions between faculty and students. Each meeting has a topic, which varies widely and is based on student input

Members of our faculty have contributed to the national discussion on diversity, equity, and inclusion. ASHA has gathered this scholarship to share with members and the wider public. Our faculty contributed to the discussion on graduate school admissions.

Our timeline:

2013 Added to curriculum: SLHS 435/535 Bilingual, Mulitculturalism, & Nonmainstream Dialects

2013 Established a bilingual certificate programs. At this time, ours was one of only 30 MS and 3 AuD graduate programs with a specific focus on bilingualism in the nation.

2014 Hired Bilingual Clinical Faculty member and expanded community bilingual clinical practicum opportunities

2017 Added to curriculum: SLHS 597 Topics in Delivery for Bilingual Populations

2018 Establishment of a dedicated lactation room

2019 Creation of an Inclusive Teaching Practices resource

2019 Extensive review of Admissions criteria and implemented a holistic admissions process. This process de-emphasized standardized test scores, and specifically recognized the value of experiences including work and caregiving.

2020 Discontinued GRE requirements for MS and AuD program admissions applicants.

2021 Established SLHS HUB

2021 Hired Bilingual Clinical Faculty member and expanded community bilingual clinical practicum opportunities

2022 Hired additional Bilingual Clinical Faculty to further expand community bilingual clinical practicum opportunities

We are continuing to work on ways to improve our policies and procedures and will update the website as we make progress towards our goals.

Do you have a suggestion for a policy we might consider? (See the Equity and Inclusion page to see some of the initiatives that committee is currently working on). Do you have feedback or questions about a policy/procedure that is in place? Do you want to help us shape our policies? Tell us!

The Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences is committed to creating and maintaining an environment free of discrimination -- in the classroom, the clinical setting, and the workplace.  The University of Arizona Office of Institutional Equity provides education and support for these efforts.

The University of Arizona is an equal opportunity, affirmative action institution. The University prohibits discrimination in its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, or genetic information and is committed to maintaining an environment free from sexual harassment and retaliation.