PLEASE NOTE: This page has now been updated for the Spring 2007 semester.

All Students in the Doctoral Program in Clinical Audiology must pass written comprehensive examinations as part of the requirement to advance to Doctoral Candidacy. The following is intended to help you prepare for this process.  Please contact the exam coordinator for additional information when necessary.

The examination questions will be administered over a period of two and 1/2 days, with a rest day between days one and two. During the first two days, there will be two questions given in the morning and one question given in the afternoon. The third day will consist of the remaining single question. Testing typically takes place in the 1st-2nd week of November for Fall candidates and in the 1st-2nd week of April for Spring candidates. The re-take day is typically scheduled 10-16 days after the second testing day. Every effort will be made to administer the examinations in a separate room designated for Audiology students only.

Comprehensive Exam Dates for Spring 2007 are April 25, 27, and 30.
Click here for Spring 2007 schedule (pdf)

Computer Instructions

The proctor will use the first half-hour of the first comprehensive testing day to give you the following computer instructions. However, you are encouraged to read them prior to the comprehensive testing days.

You are not allowed to bring your notes or books with you; please store them somewhere else. Neither food nor drink will be allowed inside the open labs. You will be assigned a PC. You will use the same PC throughout the entire examination day. Only you and the proctor will have access to it.

What you will receive from the proctor?

• A code number, which will be unique to you, to preserve your anonymity. This will be given on the first day of the exam. You will use the same code number for all topic areas for all exam days.
• A USB memory stick.
• A blank sheet of paper to organize your thoughts, which will be collected with your answer.

How to save your answers?

Your answers in each topic area should be saved in a single file. The file name of each topic area will be a combination of the topic area and your code number. For example, if you are writing on Research Methods and your code number is S02, your filename may be S02ResMeth.doc. Specific instructions regarding filenames will be given to you on the day of the exam.

• Use a header to number all your pages and label the top of every page with its filename.
• Save your answers on the C: drive AND on the USB Memory stick. Save your file every 10 minutes on both drives.

When you're done

• When you have finished answering the questions in a topic area, save your file and return the memory stick to the proctor. Also return the question sheet, scrap paper and the floppy disk to the proctor.

• Read carefully: for example, answering a question about a 1-year old client as if it were a 5-year old client is likely to result in a failed question, even when the answer is correct for the 5-year old client and even when after the test the professor finds that the student knows the correct answer for the 1-year old student.

• Be specific: most questions ask for specific information about a topic. However, on occasion some students may answer such questions by writing down everything they know about the topic. It gives the impression they did not read the question, may result in a failed question, and unnecessarily takes up precious exam time.

• Be complete: provide all specific information asked for in a question.

Will grading be anonymous?
Yes. The identities of the students and examiners are anonymous throughout the grading process. This is why you will be assigned a unique code number on the day of the test. Should a re-test be necessary, then a new unique code number will be assigned to the student taking the test. Once the grades are submitted, students will be informed of the two (or three) graders for each question and the final exam outcome. Similarly, faculty will be informed of the identities of the students and their performance for each question. This permits students and faculty to contact each other for follow-up on the quality of the individual student's answers to the questions.

What grading system will be used?
Each question will be graded by a minimum of two members of the regular and/or adjunct faculty who have expertise in the examination topic area. The graders may or may not be the faculty members who taught some of this information to the students through coursework or independent study. Faculty members grading each question will assign a grade of High Pass, Pass, Low Pass, or Fail. The criteria for grading a question in each of these categories are described in Table 2.

After the grades have been submitted, if the Exam Coordinator notes any disparity of two grades or more (for example, High Pass and Low Pass) for a student on a particular question, he/she will inform the relevant examiners. These examiners may discuss the grades submitted, and, following this discussion, a consensus grade may be reached by the examiners. If a consensus is not reached, a third expert will be asked to read and grade the student's question to resolve the disparity.

While we expect all of the doctoral students to pass the comps, sometimes a student fails a question. This would occur if two graders for a question both submit a grade of "Fail." In the event that only one grader submits a grade of "Fail," a third expert will be asked to read and grade the student's question. A student would then fail the question if two of the three examiners submit a grade of "Fail." In order to pass the comprehensive examination question, the average grade must be at least "Low Pass."

When can I expect to get my grade?
Please allow for a few weeks to receive your grades. Faculty members receive the answers to their topic area(s) on the day of examination and are given one-to-two weeks to complete their grading.