These comprehensive exams are administered during the Au.D. student's third year – Fall Semester. The exams last 1-1.5 hours, are oral and are attended by the examination committee which will consist of at least three Audiology faculty. The exams cover academic and clinical knowledge that students have gained during the program.

Rationale: The purpose of this exam is to ensure the clinical readiness of each Au.D. student prior to their fourth-year externship and to satisfy the UNL Office of Graduate Studies requirement for the students' application for admission to doctoral candidacy. The student's academic readiness for the completion of their final year of study (i.e., 4th year) will be evidenced by attaining a passing score for the comprehensive examination.

Exam Structure: The student will be questioned regarding material presented and graded by the examination committee. The examination committee will present two to three clinical cases at 25-40 minutes each. The clinical cases will include the pertinent background information about the clinical scenario to start the case. Pre-determined questions about the clinical scenario will be asked and any additional information about the scenario will be available upon request by the student. Test findings will be presented in the form of raw test data to be interpreted by the student. 

Nature of Clinical Cases: The clinical cases may involve the following areas:

  • Diagnostic situation (auditory, vestibular or both) that will involve the student having to request and interpret the correct tests to achieve the correct outcome for the specific patient's situation.
  • Rehabilitation situation involving the selection, fitting and/or follow-up of a patient requiring a hearing aid, osseointegrated device, or cochlear implant.
  • One of the cases will involve a pediatric patient. The remaining 1-2 cases will involve an adult patient.

Nature of the Single Short-Answer Questions: These questions are on topics relevant to the clinical cases. All questions are designed for a brief answer format. These short-answer questions are integrated into the clinical case studies, as appropriate, and may involve information regarding basic audiological/vestibular concepts or clinical decision analysis.

Grading Structure: Each of the clinical cases has multiple parts. The examination committee judges whether the correct answer was provided and the number of points awarded, out of the total available, for each question. The final percent score is averaged across the committee members. A total percentage score of 85% or better is needed to pass the examination.

Non-pass Results: 

  • A passing score is 85% or better.
  • If a student fails the initial exam, then the start date for the fourth-year externship could be delayed and the student will complete a remediation plan in consultation with the examination committee. The remediation plan may include, but is not limited to:
    • Meetings with faculty member(s)
    • Assigned readings
    • Clinic time
  • At its discretion, the committee will decide if the student needs to retake the entire examination or can retake a portion of the exam (e.g., pediatric case). This decision will be based on the scores obtained for each case and content area.
  • The student will have a choice of taking the retake examination in an oral or written format.
  • Failure to pass the retake examination can result in termination from the program.
  • The timeline for the retake will be determined on an individual basis by the examination committee and student.

Examination Materials: A pool of clinical cases and single questions has been developed by the Audiology faculty. The clinical cases and single questions are kept on file and comprise a pool for rotation in various combinations.