DACC Board Approves New Associate Degree for Speech-Language Pathologist Assistant

The Danville Area Community College Board of Trustees has approved a new Associate Degree Program for Speech-Language Pathologist Assistant.  Instructor Burgandy Nicoson said after Thursday (Feb 22nd) night’s meeting that this is a field that simply needs people, and needs training.

AUDIO: By providing this program and by training assistants we’ll be able to kind of fill in the gaps that currently exist.  (To) help our clients grow and develop their communication skills, I think, is absolutely critical.

DACC Vice-President for Academic Affairs Dr. Carl Bridges presents Speech Language Pathology Instructors Burgandy Nicoson and Staci Wright before the Board of Trustees.

Instructor Staci Wright agreed, saying that a program like this coming to DACC can produce more speech-language pathologist assistants who continue their education further.

AUDIO: And it continues to become more and more of a need every year.  And we seem to have less and less speech pathology grads from grad school.  So, I feel like this is just a great support system that will really fill in some gaps.

Meanwhile, another new Associate Degree at DACC is coming to fruition.  It was recently approved to take the already offered advanced certificates in  Echocardiography and Sonography and bump them up to Associates Degrees.  Program Director and Sonography Instructor Rachael Arnholt was at the meeting, along with some students, reporting that all is coming into place.

AUDIO: We just recently got all of the courses that we developed; so we’re making moves, and courses starting the summer.

(1st Picture) Echocardiography and Sonography Instructors Rachael Arnholt and Tammy Howard address the DACC Board of Trustees with VP Dr. Carl Bridges listening.  (2nd Picture) Echocardiography and Sonography students Rebecca Anderson, Aniston Myers, Chelsea Conner, and Adison Kinney listen in on DACC Board meeting.

Some other recent good news at DACC was the awarding of $550,000 from the Illinois Works Pre-Apprenticeship Program.  Program Administrator and Professor of Technology Doug Hunter says DACC’s semester long pre-apprenticeship program, which serves up to 60 students per year, is patterned after union apprenticeships.  For example, students in the program are paid $14 per hour to participate.  Hunter says the Illinois Works funding will help with that, and more.

AUDIO: We do have to use a lot of that to prep our lab.  We do have the lab space, so we have to buy machinery and all that.  And we give quite a bit of money back to the students.

DACC Clinical Coordinator for Radiologic Technology Madison Harrison; who was awarded tenure during the Thursday, February 22nd meeting; poses with Board of Trustees after receiving flowers from DACC Provost Dr. Carl Bridges. 

Also during Thursday’s meeting, Clinical Coordinator for Radiologic Technology Madison Harrison was awarded tenure at Danville Area Community College by a vote of the Board of Trustees.