South Dakota Board of Regents
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:  Friday, Dec. 17, 2004
FOR MORE INFORMATION: Janelle Toman, (605) 773-3455

Regents Approve Forensic Technology and Audiology Programs

MADISON, S.D. – The South Dakota Board of Regents Friday approved a new bachelor’s degree in scientific forensic technology at Dakota State University and a clinical doctorate in audiology at The University of South Dakota.

“Public universities must continue to be responsive to South Dakota’s changing economic and workforce needs,” said Regents President Harvey C. Jewett. “New and revised programs such as these are in direct response to what employers tell us they need from our graduates.”

Both programs are expected to be implemented in the fall 2005 term.

At Dakota State University, the forensic technology degree will train individuals to help solve high-tech crimes, or traditional crimes using high-tech methods. “New and different types of crime require new forensic tools, especially in terms of digital evidence,” Jewett said. The new degree has a major emphasis on technology, whereas similar programs in other states focus more broadly on criminal justice or criminal and civil law.

Students graduating from the DSU program will be able to use computers and other modern technology to investigate, document, and visualize—especially with 3-D modeling and animation—events causing injury to humans or damage to property. DSU officials said the new program will draw on coursework from programs already established in physical science and computer graphic design.

The clinical doctorate in audiology (Au.D), which is a first professional degree, replaces an audiology specialization at USD within the existing master’s degree in communication disorders. Audiologists are certified professionals responsible for diagnosing and treating hearing and balance disorders. 

“Recent changes in national certification standards have established the professional doctoral degree as the entry-level degree for audiologists,” Jewett said. After Dec. 31, 2006, accreditation will be granted only to doctoral-level audiology programs, at which time the USD master’s degree specialization in audiology will be phased out. The university will continue to offer a master’s degree in speech-language pathology.

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