Speech-Language Pathology Assistant (SLPA) Fieldwork Experience

SOP Content: Your Statement of Purpose should answer the following three prompts (100 – 500 words per
prompt): 

1. Discuss your relevant work or volunteer experience (if any) with children and/or adults with speech and language disorders or other types of disabilities? What qualities do you possess that you believe are important and will enable you to work with clients with disabilities?
2. Tell us about yourself as follows:
   • Discuss your background, including languages other than English that you are able to speak, read, write (including level of fluency)
   • Describe extracurricular activities in which you have participated
3. Describe your professional goals and the reasons why you believe that a person with speech, language or hearing disabilities would benefit from your services as a SLPA.

SOP Formatting: Please use the following guidelines to properly format your Statement of Purpose:

• Double-spaced, 12-point type, Times New Roman font
• Include your full name and the page number at the top of each page (e.g. Matty Matador 1)
• File naming convention: last name_first name_SOP (ex. Smith_John_SOP)
• PDF or Word file formats only

Unofficial Transcripts: attach copies of unofficial academic records/transcripts from any/all academic institutions you have attended in the past, in doc, docx, pdf, jpeg, img, tif and txt formats only.

Please note that these transcripts are unofficial copies only. Official copies of your transcripts still must be sent per the instructions on the Application Instructions webpage.

Recommendations Required: Applicants will need three (3) recommendations submitted to the department as a part of the program application. These recommendations should be from either academic or professional sources, not personal references.

During the application, you will be asked to provide the name and email of three recommenders who will be sent electronic recommendation requests by email once you complete your online application. 

What is FERPA and How Does It Affect Application Recommendations: All students who are admitted and matriculated to the program will have access to the information provided on any recommendations submitted on their behalf, under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA), unless such access is waived.

You Choice to Waive or Not Waive: During the online application, you will be asked whether you waive or do not waive, this “FERPA Access” to your recommendations. Your choice will be disclosed to your chosen recommenders within the request email. This waiver is voluntary and cannot be a condition of admission, award, or employment, and is specific only to these recommendations.

As an applicant, you have the right to view your recommender’s submission; however, please be aware that many recommenders may expect you to waive this right. As such, they may be less likely to submit a recommendation if they know that you will be able to read it. Please carefully consider this when making your waiver choice.

‘I waive my right…’ means that you will NOT be able to see what your recommenders write.

‘I do not waive my right…’ means that you WILL be able to see what they write, after the admission process is over.
 

Timing of Recommendations: Recommendations request emails are only sent after your online application is submitted to the email addresses you provide in your application, so please give your references ample time to complete their recommendation. We recommend contacting your recommenders prior to starting your application here. This gives the individuals writing your letters ample time to write you a strong letter. 

Please advise your recommenders that these requests will be sent by the CSUN Tseng College for Graduate, International and Midcareer Education’s “CSUN Adobe Sign” from the echosign@echosign.com email address, and to check their spam and/or junk mail filters before contacting our office about missing requests. 

Changing your Recommenders/Waiver Choice: If you need to change either your recommender or your waiver choice after submitting your application, please contact us at prog.support1@csun.edu for next steps. 

Applicants will also need to secure an SLPA supervisor and fieldwork site for the 100 hours of clinical fieldwork before starting the program. As all placements must be approved by the University fieldwork experience coordinator, applicants will be asked to provide the following contact information during the application:

1. Contact information of a California licensed and ASHA certified speech language pathologist who will be the applicant’s supervisor during the program
   1. Your proposed supervisor will receive a separate email form to confirm their credentials and the site information after you submit your application, so please ensure you provide them amply time to respond and complete the form. If you have also listed your supervisor as one of your recommenders, please advise them that they will receive two different email requests from CSUN’s Adobe Sign platform, and that both will need to be completed and submitted by the application deadline. Please advise your supervisor to look for an email from “CSUN Adobe Sign” at echosign@echosign.com, and to check their spam and/or junk mail filters.
       
   2. Please use the “Supervision Requirements for Clinical Fieldwork Experience” document to help facilitate the discussion with your supervisor. For more information on securing your practicum site and supervisor, contact Sherry Foldvary at sherry.foldvary@csun.edu.
2. Information on your Clinical Practicum Site, including the contact information of a person authorized to sign/verify the Clinical Practicum Agreement with CSUN

   1. The person authorized to sign the Clinical Practicum Agreement with CSUN can be any of the
      following:

      • Private Practice - owner(s) of the private practice,
      • Public Schools - human resource representative, school board president, etc. 

      Your supervising SLP is not authorized to sign the Clinical Practicum Agreement unless, he or she is the owner or director of the fieldwork experience site. Please check with your supervisor/fieldwork experience site to determine the appropriate individual to include in your application.

   2. Special Note for Students in the Los Angeles area: please note that LAUSD does not take calls from students regarding placements. Any requests must come directly from the university and their priority is to place graduate students. Do not call LAUSD regarding a SLPA placement.