(Divided 2000)
Special Education/Communications Disorders Department
Mission

The primary mission of the Department of Special Education/ Communication Disorders is to provide a quality instructional program, guided by the competencies suggested by our professional societies, Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) and American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) to prepare students for their future roles as special educators or speech-language pathologists. To this end, special education undergraduate and graduate courses provide a broad knowledge base, applied skills and competencies, and appropriate field experiences leading to initial certification. Undergraduate and graduate courses in the communication disorders program are sequenced to provide students with both basic and specialized professional knowledge and applied skills leading to the preparation of certified speech-language pathologists. Further, graduate courses in both programs present specialized skills, research competencies, and instructional strategies consistent with the roles of master teacher/clinician. The personnel preparation emphasis in this department parallels the theme of teacher preparation in the role and mission of UNK and the priority of providing quality instruction as emphasized in the mission statement of the College of Education.