I received the above e-mail message while preparing the manuscript for this article. A colleague at the University of Hawaii referred this undergraduate student to me after she had initially inquired about audiology from a family medicine physician at the university. As a permanent part-time professor at the University of Hawaii (living in Maine and Florida), I teach three online prerequisite courses for academically, geographically, and culturally diverse cohorts of undergraduates interested in applying to a graduate program in audiology or speech pathology. 

This article is the first of a two-part series on evidence-based audiology and the education of audiologists. A second article will offer additional strategies for more effectively instilling in students the principles of evidence-based audiology, and their application in clinical practice.

To expand on this theme, let us look at the ACAE Accreditation Standards for the Doctor of Audiology Program, Standard 25:

ACAE prides itself on having the most sophisticated, interactive, and up-to-date electronic system for accreditation not only for audiology, but the electronic platform rivals any other discipline for seamless data entry, retrieval, interaction between reviewers and programs, and ability to update with minimal effort. 

So why hasn’t all this wonderful technology done away with the (historically dreaded) site visit? The site visit remains critical to the accreditation agency and the program, and if done correctly, does not need to be dreaded by either party.