Speech-Language Pathology & Audiology

Practice Guidelines

Supervision of Graduates Completing their Experience Requirement

The licensed professional who serves as supervisor of an individual who is gaining the required experience for licensure has the responsibility for transitioning the supervisee from student to professional. Supervision in this capacity consists of overseeing the work of the person completing the 9-month experience requirement, and of mentoring that individual so that s/he gains the competence and confidence to practice independently. The supervisor should provide a minimum of 3 hours per week of supervision and a majority of that time should be spent in direct observation of the individual being supervised.

Recent graduates have a given knowledge base and a limited skill set. The purpose of the experience requirement for licensure is to give each graduate the opportunity to develop and use his/her skills, and to receive ongoing feedback and professional support from the professional who supervises him/her.

With this in mind, the supervisor must be readily available to the supervisee, and should

• provide direct observation of the supervisee with clients
• review the records of the supervisee
• provide co-treatment with the supervisee, when appropriate
• direct the supervisee toward professional training activities
• provide regular feedback to the supervisee concerning professional strengths and weakness
• set a professional example for the supervisee

Supervisors should use the published "Guidelines for Evaluating Applicant's Experience" to assess whether an individual has successfully completed the experience requirement.

Supervisors should understand the New York regulations concerning the experience requirement.

• Full-time work is 35 hours or more.
• An applicant for licensure has only 48 (consecutive) months to complete the 36 week experience requirement. Neither law nor regulation authorizes an individual to practice speech-language pathology nor audiology beyond the completion of the 36 week experience requirement.
• Individuals beginning the experience requirement should submit their application for licensure, and, with the supervisor, should complete Form 4A, Supervisory plan. The State Board will issue Form 6, which is the approval of the Supervisory plan.
• An applicant may have a maximum of two employers while completing the experience requirement.
• For non-school based practice, the supervisor must be licensed in New York State and currently registered as an audiologist or SLP.
• For school-based practice, the supervisor may be NYS licensed and registered, or may hold ASHA CCC.
• There are restrictions on part-time practice. An individual completing the experience requirement may work part-time provided these conditions are met:
  • For each employer, the individual must work a minimum of 12 hours per week and at least two days per week.
  • Part-time employment is only acceptable if the individual works for a given employer for at least 6 months.
• At the completion of the supervised experience, the supervisor must complete Form 4B, Record of Supervised Experience, and must mail it in an official envelope to the State Education Department.