Grand Valley approves audiology doctorate, housing rates and campus projects

Grand Valley State University Board of Trustees members approved a Doctor of Audiology degree during their February 10 meeting held at the GVSU Detroit Center in downtown Detroit.

The 84-credit program will include clinical/experiential learning and a 12-month internship. The clinical degree is designed to educate students to be expert practitioners.

The program, to begin in fall 2018, will be accredited by the Council on Academic Accreditation in Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology. Students who successfully complete the program will be eligible for the Certificate of Clinical Competence in Audiology awarded by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, and for Licensure in Audiology awarded by the State of Michigan.

In other board action:

• Students will see a modest increase in room and board rates beginning with the fall 2017 semester; the board voted to increase the rate by 2.4 percent. The average cost for living on campus per semester will increase by $26 (or 1.7 percent); the cost per semester in a traditional living center will be $2,750.

• The board approved funding for the Mackinac Ravine Restoration Project on the Allendale Campus. The project will restore a ravine that has been degraded by excessive storm water. The project includes raising the level of the ravine bottom, and installing appropriate vegetation for protection of trees and other wildlife that could be affected by the project. Sidewalk and utility improvements will also be made on the south side of the Padnos Hall of Science. The budget for the project is about $4 million.