The Evaluation of Practicing Audiologists Capabilities assessment program has helped to make AuD distance education affordable and accessible for current audiology practitioners.

By Tracy Harding and Susan Paarlberg

The year was 1988, and the revolutionary plan was to move audiology to a doctoring healthcare profession signified by the newly created AuD degree. The goal was an educational upgrade–benefiting both audiology practitioners, who deserved the autonomy and title of doctor, as well as the patients they served, who expected their hearing healthcare to be provided by a competent and skilled doctoring practitioner.

At the time, the audiology profession numbered 7,000 (a count that now exceeds 16,000). With only 800 of those holding a PhD, the profession had almost 90 percent of its membership ready to embrace a professional education upgrade. They needed it, they wanted it, and they knew their patients deserved the very best that could be offered in terms of skill base and knowledge. What became clear, however, was the need for two different educational delivery modes.

Residential programs would take time to develop and fill their pipelines with new students, but they would eventually become the primary source for AuD education. It was widely agreed, however, that master's-degreed practitioners deserved recognition for the skills they had otherwise acquired through hard work and years of continued education.

It was also generally accepted that existing practitioners would be more willing to accept young colleagues with the new doctoral degree if they had a chance to earn it. Those practicing audiologists had achieved the highest clinical degree possible at the time, and needed an educational upgrade model that required them to give up neither the successful practices they had built nor the professional careers they had sacrificed to achieve.

Enter the Evaluation of Practicing Audiologists Capabilities (EPAC) and distance education.

The EPAC Influence

When the Audiology Foundation of America (AFA) was founded in 1989, its ultimate charge was to bring the AuD into existence and achieve a critical mass of AuD degree holders. While one of those goals has been achieved—the AuD is now a reality—audiology does not yet have a critical mass of AuD holders (50 percent of the profession, or 7,500-8,000 practitioners). The AuD number is currently approaching 5,000, which is just over 30 percent of the profession, but predictions show that critical mass will not likely be achieved until 2010.

Of course, the transition would not even be this close if a practical and successful method had not been found for upgrading the educations of those audiologists already in practice. That's where the EPAC and distance education programs made their phenomenal impact.

The EPAC is an assessment tool that revolutionized thedelivery of AuD education for practitioners. It allows credit and advanced placement to be given for skills and capabilities already attained through education, practice expertise and experience, and it was developed to give practitioners a chance at an accessible and affordable degree.

When practitioners fill out an EPAC, schools that accept it complete an assessment and determine the number of classes a given practitioner needs to fulfill AuD degree requirements. If practitioners have spent years fitting hearing aids, but have had little focus on balance issues, their classes will be focused in that area. If they lack experience with certain techniques because their own practices do not have a focus in that area, they can gain the new skills through distance education courses and bring an upgraded level of care to their patients.

While functioning primarily as an assessment tool for practitioners, the EPAC also helped define some of the program curriculum development at the education programs that accepted it—the Arizona School of Health Sciences (still currently open) and the Pennsylvania School of Optometry School of Audiology (now closed for new distance education applicants). The EPAC assessment allowed those schools to establish the demand for particular coursework based on the needs of their applicants.

That very process provided a clear direction for the development of courses in 10 pre-determined areas. It also established practitioner outcome measures that would be expected of graduates. Course modules were based on the model curriculum developed by ADA in 1988 and have since been updated through work at the AFA with dozens of contributing audiologists.

Where Would We Be?

Imagine where the profession would be without the EPAC and distance education opportunities. Baylor University graduated the first residential AuDs in 1996. There were three students in the graduating class. Five years later in 2001, residential programs had managed to bring their combined AuD graduation number up to only 39. Of course, it takes time for residential AuD programs to develop and see their first graduates—but where would the profession be today if it had relied solely on residential programs to spur the AuD movement?

To date, 1,095 AuDs have graduated from residential programs. That would put today's AuD number at just over 7 percent of the profession—with still a long way to go. More than triple that number have graduated from distance education programs, and over 2,000 of those practitioners have used the EPAC to gain credit for the professional capabilities and expertise they have finely honed through experience and continued educational updates and seminars.

Residential enrollment will continue to grow and eventually will be the only source for AuD education. But in the meantime, distance education programs have proven their worth to the AuD movement. We couldn't have done it without them, and we couldn't have done it without the EPAC. It has always been the role of the AFA to promote professional doctoral education and embed the AuD degree in the minds of practitioners, as well as the general public, as the preferred standard for hearing healthcare. We're not all the way there yet—and so our work continues.

Practitioners who have not yet looked into earning an AuD degree need to move toward doing so now to bring new capabilities to their patients and help the profession's status within healthcare. Visit the AFA's Web site, www.audfound.org, for more information on AuD program options.

Tracy Harding is publicity and development specialist and Susan Paarlberg is executive director of the Audiology Foundation of America.

Today's Distance Education Programs

In the beginning, there were as many as five distance education AuD programs available to practitioners, with many options for coursework, program duration, involved travel and research. Today, there are only two programs—the University of Florida and the Arizona School of Health Sciences—accepting students for distance education, with their own associated requirements.

After a spike in application submissions during 2006, the University of Florida's distance education program has seen a leveling off through the first half of 2007. The program's future will likely be determined by continued changes in those numbers.

"The UF program will continue to admit applicants as long as the demand remains high," says program coordinator Lynn Niederlitz. "Interested audiologists should be aware that should enrollment drop below the program's breakeven point of 120 students, the program will announce a final application deadline.

"The distance learning audiology faculty at UF is currently developing an alternative program model," Niederlitz adds. "This model will accommodate individuals who are currently unable to participate in the program due to travel constraints. Students will complete the program online through synchronous and asynchronous discussions and presentations as well as online clinical training. The faculty hope to not only serve master's-level audiologists here in the United States, but to offer additional opportunities to individuals interested in hearing healthcare around the globe. The program will announce these options as they become available."

The Arizona School of Health Sciences will take a similar approach in terms of its future role in AuD distance education.

"A.T. Still University-Arizona School of Health Sciences (ASHS) is still currently taking applications from practicing audiologists who wish to begin the Transitional Doctor of Audiology Program offered online," says Tabitha Parent Buck, AuD, associate professor and chair of audiology.

"ASHS is enrolling 80 new students per quarter into the online program, and applicants are being scheduled for interviews now to start the program in 2008. The program has not set a deadline for accepting applications at this time. A deadline will be set based on monitoring incoming applications and numbers of newly enrolled students. When a deadline is set, it will be widely published. ASHS also has 37 entry level AuD students currently enrolled in the campus-based program."