University Series 008 | University of Colorado Denver

Shauna Costello (00:00):

You're listening to the university series from operant innovations, a podcast brought to you by ABA technologies. This week, we're heading to Denver, Colorado to speak with Dr. Pat Romani and Tara Hayes about the university of Colorado's BCBA and BCABA programs. We're here with Tara Hayes and Dr. Pat Romani from the university of Colorado, Denver to talk a little bit more about their program. So thank you both for joining us today.

Dr. Pat Romani (00:32):

Yes. Thank you for having us.

Shauna Costello (00:33):

And I'm going to let them just tell a little bit more about themselves and how they got to be in their roles at the university of Colorado.

Dr. Pat Romani (00:43):

Great. Um, so, so currently I'm, I'm an assistant professor at the university of Colorado Anschutz medical campus. So I'm assistant professor in the school of medicine there. Um, and then I'm also the clinical director over the psychiatric inpatient services at children's hospital, Colorado. And so, um, supervise clinical care on three different inpatient units. Um, one that, um, delivers primarily a behavioral analytic assessment and treatment programs for kids called the neuropsychiatric special care unit. Um, in being a part of this role and affiliated with the university of Colorado. I was fortunate enough to be connected with the ABA certificate program at the university of Colorado at Denver. And I've recently assumed the role as the BCS coordinator for, for that program, um, and have been excited to be able to share some of the knowledge that I've gathered over the years, practicing and being supervised as a, um, as a behavior analyst, um, with, uh, behavior analysts, uh, students and BCABA students across the state of Colorado and then, and also internationally as in nationally and internationally, as well as we recruit students from quite a variety of backgrounds.

Tara Hayes (01:56):

And I'm Tara Hayes, I am the associate clinical manager at children's hospital, Colorado of the neuro psychiatric special care units. And when I came here, dr. Romani had taken over the position as the program coordinator for CU and asked me to teach. I had previously taught at the university of Missouri st. Louis.

Shauna Costello (02:16):

Wonderful, and that's a little bit more about you guys. Can you give us an overview of the program as a whole?

Dr. Pat Romani (02:24):

Sure. So our program, the university of Colorado at Denver is located in Denver, Colorado, and the ABA certificate program is housed within the school of education and human development at UCD. Um, we're a fully online program though. And so students don't come to campus for, for, um, their classes, but instead, um, use canvas as our online education platform that, that the university uses, um, to access course material. And then some of our classes as well, we've been transitioning into synchronous core structures. Students can meet in real time with instructors to be able and theirs and their peers, um, to be able to have a more, um, typical classroom experience where we might need for two or three hours and have some small group discussion, as well as larger group lectures followed by, um, quizzes and, and, and, um, evaluations of course, content throughout the asynchronous classes, uh, will post their course material on canvas and students can easily access that from their home, um, at any time to be able to access, um, lectures, course readings, um, and any other relevant course materials, as well as discussion boards to interact with their classmates, um, to discuss discussion questions.

Dr. Pat Romani (03:46):

And then also to receive feedback from instructors who will frequently monitor those discussion boards and post comments back to them as well. Um, students are also able to email or call faculty, um, just schedule, you know, meetings either in person over, over, um, video conferencing platforms like zoom or via phone to be able to ask questions or meet about, um, course material, things like that. So we do make ourselves, even though we're an online program, we do make ourselves pretty available to students to be able to address any of their needs.

Shauna Costello (04:20):

And that's great to hear, cause I know that sometimes with online programs, I've heard him just with some previous supervisees, um, some of the pitfalls that can come about from some of those online programs. Um, and so with the two kind of different programs like the, to the synchronous and the asynchronous, a lot of times some questions come about with practicum experience, how do you guys maybe kind of look into those practicum sites? Are the students, you know, fully on their own or do you try to make sure that they, the practicum sites that they're at are doing what they're supposed to do?

Dr. Pat Romani (04:59):

Yeah, so we do, um, we, so we do provide some consultation on, on practicum sites. So if students have a question about a practicum site, if students want a referral for a practicum site, we are able to help with that. Although we don't directly supervise those, um, practicum settings, many of our students actually work in, um, are either registered behavior technicians or practitioners in private companies that are staffed with many, um, board certified behavior analysts. And so can receive their practicum hours, um, within their, within their work setting. Um, and so that's an area, but that is an area of the program that we're looking to develop over the next few years to be able to offer some practicum settings potentially here at children's hospital, Colorado amongst our clinical services. Um, as well as our, our other faculty members work in a variety of very, uh, unique settings.

Dr. Pat Romani (05:53):

Um, one of them works with, uh, dr. Jeff Kupfer works with, um, kids and young adults and adults too, with traumatic brain injuries, kind of in a, in a rehabilitation center, which could offer a very unique setting to apply behavior analytic knowledge, um, as well as, um, Heather Matheny, who's another instructor in our program works, uh, owns her own ABA, uh, early intervention agency. And so to be able to contact those types of experiences as well. So that is a part of the program that is still in development. Um, and we are more than happy to offer feedback and advice on practicum settings. Um, but it's something we're hoping to be able to offer more formally, um, for future cohorts coming up.

Shauna Costello (06:35):

That's awesome. And I know that, um, you talked about some of the faculty that, you know, are there and on staff and some of the research that they're doing, but what else is going on with the faculty there and what are some of the, you know, research that's going on, and is there a way at all for maybe some of your students to potentially get their hands on it?

Dr. Pat Romani (07:01):

Definitely. Um, so I can talk a little bit about, um, what some of the faculty are doing, and then Tara can talk a little bit about some of the research opportunities that we have available, um, here at children's hospital, Colorado in SEU, as well as some of the, um, opportunities that might be available, um, with some of our other faculty members. Um, so we have five faculty on staff within, uh, CU's ABA program. They have, um, I think we have a really nice diversity of clinical and research experiences. Um, like I said, um, I hold a dual appointment in the department of psychiatry at the school of medicine SEU as well as in the clinical director of, of the inpatient psychiatric programs here at children's. Um, and, and do, do supervise the behavioral analytic clinical care of, um, kids with intellectual developmental disabilities that are psychiatrically hospitalized.

Dr. Pat Romani (07:53):

Um, and then Tara Hayes, like she said, is our, as our associate, one of our associate clinical managers at children's hospital, Colorado on those psychiatric inpatient units. And she has a plethora of experiences, um, with early intervention, as well as the assessment and treatment of severe behavior disorders for the IDD population. Um, our other three faculty members are dr. Jeff Kupfer, um, dr. Camille Kolu and then Heather Matheny, um, dr. Kupfer like I, like I briefly mentioned is a doctoral level of behavior analyst who works at learning services incorporated, which is a local age rehabilitation center for, um, kids through adults with traumatic brain injuries. And he consults quite a bit on skill development, as well as the management of, um, challenging behaviors that emerge as a result of, of a traumatic brain injury and the conversations that we've had, um, regarding that issue are fascinating.

Dr. Pat Romani (08:51):

And in terms of the way to apply, um, behavior analytic knowledge and concepts and principles, to be able to manage that, that unique population, um, it's, it's really kind of a neat experience that, and, and needs, um, set of experiences and, um, skills that he brings to his classes. Um, dr. Kolu is also a doctoral level behavioral analyst who owns her own, um, private agency. And she specializes in the assessment and treatment of children following traumatic experiences. And so being able to apply ABA to kids and adults, um, that, that have traumatic backgrounds and being able to coach group home staff, direct care staff schools on trauma-informed behavior analysis, um, as she has a history of, of disseminating kind of, um, behavior analysis under that way. And, um, and so she brings those types of, um, practices to the to the classes, which as, um, many of our students work in schools or, or, um, direct care agencies.

Dr. Pat Romani (09:55):

We're certainly seeing a rise in kids with, with traumatic backgrounds. And the call for being trauma informed is certainly very strong, but being able to have that behavior analytic spin to it is quite important and she's, and she's a wonderful proponent of that and, um, does really great work. And then, like I mentioned, Heather Matheny is a master's level behavioral analyst, and she owns her own practice, um, in Colorado Springs, um, delivering early intervention services to young kids, um, diagnosed with, with IDD or, um, yeah. With, with intellectual or developmental disabilities. Um, Tara, do you want to talk a little bit about some of the research that we have to available to us here at CU?

Tara Hayes (10:36):

Um, yeah, so we have a variety of research focus, and a lot of our research is really driven by the interest of our staff here at children's hospital, and then also kind of the hospital as a whole. Uh, so currently I'm beginning research for my dissertation. I'm a PhD student. So the focus of that research is within the context of functional communication training, which we do a lot of that on the neuropsychiatric special care unit. So that was a pretty easy implementation there. Um, another interesting project that dr Romani and myself had worked on was to increase hand hygiene compliance. Um, so this is a really, really important focus at children's hospital. And by hand hygiene, I mean, both washing your hands with soap and water, but also using hand sanitizer any time there's any patient contact. And that's a really big focus for the hospital and improving that. And, uh, our unit in particular, the neuropsychiatric special care unit was relatively low. Um, and then Dr. Romani and I implemented an intervention and we were able to increase hand hygiene pretty significantly. We're now working on implementing that across several different units, dr Romani and myself, along with two of our behavioral health specialists on the neuropsychiatric special care unit also recently completed a study that investigated the results of functional analyses that were conducted before and after scheduled naps, um, and the development of effective, uh, treatment to reduce problem behavior within the context of the periods of time before and after these naps. And then dr. Romani and myself also work with one of our behavioral health specialists. She had completed a graduate, um, her graduate degree kind of paper that she did, um, about the effects of autism on the wellbeing of the families that were, um, affected by this. And she came to us, had the paper, and we were able to work with her on some edits and some additions. And that paper just recently got published in a student journal.

Dr. Pat Romani (12:23):

So I think we, you know, we definitely try to show how the science of, of behavior analysis can be applied to a variety of, of what, in a variety of ways, um, such as meeting hospital, um, preferences that is hand hygiene, as well as, you know, functional communication straining the treatment of severe behavior, and then our other faculty members, um, dr. Kupfer and dr. Kolu published quite a bit on, on their respective areas of interest, um, with traumatic brain injury. So the application of behavioral science to, um, the treatment of individuals with memory loss, or, um, as, as they need to rebuild their skills following injury, and then also application of behavior analysis for kids that, um, for kids following traumatic experiences, or that have traumatic backgrounds,

Shauna Costello (13:11):

And you just segue right into my next question perfectly. I was looking at, you know, the core sequences and, um, this and that, but with the very wide array of research topics and faculty that you have, this must play into your courses and the types of experiences and examples. And it seems like that can bring a different type of experience to the courses that students, you know, might not be able to get from other online programs.

Dr. Pat Romani (13:46):

Yeah. Yeah, certainly. I mean, I think that our faculty do a really nice job of taking their own personal interests and matching it to the students that we have coming in. Um, like I've said before, many of our students are either working in school districts, um, or they are working in an ABA service agencies and we really try to give them a rounded experience that will help them work with a variety of populations while still learning the core content to be, um, uh, to be, you know, practicing and, and very efficient Behavior analysts. And so it is really nice how we have that type of faculty here at CU. And, and we certainly try to encourage them in each of the faculty to share that knowledge with students, um, so that they can contact, um, relevant course material and how to apply the principles of behavior, um, to a variety of kids in a variety of populations that they're, they're inevitably going to see out in practice.

Shauna Costello (14:45):

Yeah. And that's really exciting because, you know, it's not just this clinical model, it's not this in school model or this in-home model, but the experience that the faculty have there can really show a wide, a more broad array of how certain treatments or consequences or procedures are going to really impact. And I know that you and I had been talking about this 10 day intensive inpatient therapy. Like a lot of times people don't really think about those aspects when they're, you know, first going into a field like this. So I think having that type of experience in the faculty really can bring, like you said, that well-roundedness to the students that are being produced from the program. And I was looking at the website and I know that this is always a question I like to ask. Cause we're in that in between period now between fourth and fifth edition, um, how are, what is the core sequence like what can some of the students expect when they enter into the program and the types of courses and projects and experiences that, you know, they are going to be a part of.

Dr. Pat Romani (16:00):

So, um, we, the so kind of to go back about that fourth and fifth core sequence, addition or additions, um, we are getting ready to transition all of our courses to the fifth edition, um, and adding a class in on, um, which we're very excited about, um, on special topics in behavior analysis. And so I can talk more about that in a little bit, but so right now though, um, BCBA students have six classes that they take and, um, they have, uh, data classes, um, which focus mostly on research designs and, and the application of research designs in practice, um, as well as in empirical work. And then, um, courses also on early intervention in the application of verbal behavior skills, as well as, um, two classes on principles and concepts of behavior analysis. And within each of the classes, um, there's sometimes different requirements.

Dr. Pat Romani (16:58):

Um, they will be either foundational or, or practical in nature where, um, the foundational assignments really focus on, um, students being able to demonstrate their knowledge of, of behavior analysis in ways that they're, um, kind of learning within the course lectures. And that might take the form of, um, of group projects with their peers, um, course content course discussions on the canvas website, as well as, um, as well as assignments that they might need to turn in, um, completing different prompts that the instructors provide them. Um, the practical assignments might include actually collecting data, um, analyzing crafts that are, um, that are presented to them, um, being able to, uh, craft, um, show how to, how to use Excel or other other, um, uh, data analysis packages to be able to conduct those types of visual analysis of graphs and then, um, and be able to determine how we might apply those data, um, and evaluates and next steps in terms of treatment.

Dr. Pat Romani (18:03):

If we provide a, um, uh, an example, um, for the students to respond to. So we have those six classes right now, and we work on a semester long system, um, and, and kinda go continuously throughout the year. And so, um, students are usually able to complete the program and in less than two years, if they kind of go through, uh, go through completely, um, without taking any breaks, that is, and then with the, um, when, when our fifth edition task courses go into effect, um, we will be adding a special topics in behavior analysis class, which will be co-taught by all, all the faculty. And we'll be taking different lectures on that really focus on, um, really delve really deeply into core concepts of behavior analysis, such as motivating operations, um, those types of concepts, as well as, um, special practice areas like tele-health, um, trauma informed behavior analysis and things like that. So I know that we, as a faculty in developing that course are really excited to, um, have the students participate and really gain that extra knowledge and that deep dive into some of the course content that they're otherwise getting, but really hopefully we'll gain a more, um, more grounded understanding of it.

Shauna Costello (19:21):

Yeah. And it really gives you some more with the increased hours requirements and topics requirements. It really gives you the ability to dive into some of these other topics as well. Um, and something just to know, you know, from, you know, I've been creeping on the website is that you guys don't just have a BCBA sequence, right. You also have a BCABA course sequence as well. Perfect.

Dr. Pat Romani (19:47):

Yeah, we do. We have a BCABA and a BCBA course sequence, um, that, that we have, uh, a lot of times they take classes, those two students, um, groups of students take classes together. Um, but we, but it is nice to have both, and it offers a wide variety of, of people, the opportunity to gain some further training in behavior analysis.

Shauna Costello (20:09):

Yeah. And I can imagine just coming in with the different types of experiences or the different levels of experience and really help bring some of those, maybe the BCABA students up, and maybe even show the BCBA students, what some of the, you know, the BCABA students are experiencing and feeling and potentially make them even better supervisors in the future.

Dr. Pat Romani (20:36):

Yeah, that's a, that's a great point. And I think it is a strength of having the two groups of students sometimes take classes together is being able to, um, is making sure that both have appreciation for the different certain certifications, as well as, um, understanding what course material the BCABA students might not get as much of, or, or, you know, as you're supervising them or supervising trainees in the future need to focus on, um, yeah. To make yourself a better supervisor.

Shauna Costello (21:05):

And I know that, so with the synchronous and asynchronous courses and the BCBA and BCABA course sequences, um, and you said you're on a semesterly basis and it's kind of ongoing. What does that mean for the application process? When is there a set application date or are there set start dates things along? What does that application process look like?

Dr. Pat Romani (21:31):

Yeah, that's great. So we have two deadlines for applications for prospective students. Um, one in the fall, one in the spring, um, that would then start, uh, with the following semester. So the fall students would be having the opportunity to start, um, in our January semester. And then the summer students would start in the, the spring students would start in the summer semester. And so, um, our application process includes being able to document your, um, your degree from either your bachelor's degree or your masters degree, as well as, um, a statement of interest of why you're interested in pursuing certification behavior analysis. Um, and then, uh, uh, at least the curriculum vitae to, um, able to document some of your experiences that you have, um, that would kind of make you a good fit for our, for our program.

Shauna Costello (22:22):

And so what is the next steps after they're like, okay, I want to apply. Is there an interview process? Do they get to talk to, you know, some of the faculty to see if the program is going to be a good fit? What is the what's, what are the next steps after that application?

Dr. Pat Romani (22:38):

Yeah. So when, when students submit their application, um, I guess going back to, before you submit the application, we always encourage students to reach out to us to be able to ask questions about the program. Um, I, for one get quite a few emails from the, um, listserv to be able to ask questions about, do students meets, um, you know, criteria to take a certain class, or is this a good fit for them this program? And so I think that's always a good idea to be able to reach out to either myself or any of the faculty, um, to be able, just to ask if, you know, to ask kind of what types of experiences would that you gain from attending CU's program once you apply, um, the, uh, the, uh, the applications are reviewed and there is not an interview process. Um, and we look at, uh, your, your fit kind of given the, the culture that we want to create in our program. Um, based on the personal statement that you provide, as well as the, um, the CV that you provide as well, looking at your professional experiences, and also the reason why you want to go into this field.

Shauna Costello (23:45):

And I think that CV is really going to be probably one of the biggest, most important parts of this to really show your experience and that personal statement to add on to why you want to continue or start in this field, because, um, I know as a behavior analyst, it sort of becomes your life, um, in and outside of practice. So, um, finding those right candidates can be, yes, I know that that's really building that CV and seeing what kind of experience they have, and maybe even what kind of experiences that they want with, I mean, even learning from some of the faculty members that you've mentioned as well.

Dr. Pat Romani (24:26):

Yeah, exactly. I think, and I agree with that, that, um, you know, I think the CV is a really important piece of that to be able to clearly document kinda what experiences you have and then your personal statement to expand on that. And why is you, you know, why what do you hope to gain from the core sequence? What do you hope to do? What are your future aspirations I think is always a really good tactic when, when applying.

Shauna Costello (24:49):

And is there a difference in the application process between the synchronous and asynchronous is there, or do they just have to maybe, you know, like, is there just a spot on the application? They're like, well, no, I want this one or no, I want this one.

Dr. Pat Romani (25:03):

So, um, so that's actually a good question. Good point of clarification. So are some of the classes are synchronous and some are asynchronous, and you applied to the program, you're applying to the BCBA or the BCABA program. Um, but some of the classes will be will meet live, and some of the classes won't meet live, and we're currently evaluating, um, that change to the core structure is, is, is relatively new as of this year. And so we're evaluating kind of the, the benefits and limitations of that. And, and as we kind of further refine our, our graduate program,

Shauna Costello (25:38):

No, and I think that's great because I think getting that feedback from the students, it's kind of like having that hybrid aspect to it, but still not, you know, you still have that accountability there with meeting sometimes live in, you know, some of the other courses might be more so on your own time. So I having that hybrid thing, I'm excited to hear, you know, about some of the feedback that you are getting from that.

Dr. Pat Romani (26:05):

Uh, yeah, I mean, I think the students are playing a really important part in driving future changes to our program. Um, via course reviews, as well as just conversations that we have with students. And I mean, anecdotally, as we're still collecting, um, the most recent semesters evaluations, but, um, the changes of the core structure and, and also the different types of courses that are available, um, seemed to be positively received to being able to contact their instructors, um, very easily. Uh, and, and oftentimes in person is, is nice so that they can receive immediate feedback on their behavior and the way that they respond to class prompts or the information that's being presented to them.

Shauna Costello (26:51):

Well, and I think that that speaks to the type of community that you guys are trying to build there. It's not just this online program, you know, come in, take them, get out kind of a thing it's you really trying to, it really seems like you're trying to build this community where, you know, we're not just here to provide this education to you. We are actually here to support you, to foster your learning, to mentor you in any way that we can. That's kind of what I'm hearing. And it's nice to hear from, you know, an online program, because I know sometimes a lot of students who, you know, they're not able to go to, they're not able to uproot their lives for two or more years to go to these on campus programs. Um, it's nice to make sure that, you know, we do have online programs out there really trying to build that, that mentorship community.

Dr. Pat Romani (27:41):

Yeah. Agreed. And I think that's, you know, being a fully online program is easy for students to, um, you know, not be, I mean, it would be easy for us to just pass students and not get to know them and that sort of thing. Cause their goal is to, is to receive there is to be able to sit for the certification exam. Um, but really within our program, we do want to have, um, an opportunity to be able to interact with students in real time and to be able to mentor them and help develop their skillset and develop their, you know, their, their knowledge of behavior analysis, but also, but also, um, provide feedback on how you interact with, with your peers, um, how to communicate clearly with each other in writing as well as in spoken language and our, in our synchronous classes. Um, and so it's nice that, you know, we do have faculty that really value, um, education, educating future generations of behavior analysts. And so we do really focus on building that community that is open to professional conversation is open to feedback. Um, and then, and is continually building, building their behavior analytic repertoires to be high quality behavior analysts in the future.

Shauna Costello (28:51):

Yeah. And I know that for me personally, I, it sounds like, I mean, you guys are kind of, I know you guys don't provide the supervision, but you're doing a lot of the aspects of supervision that I include in my personal supervision. Um, I know that with my supervisees, I'll even have them send me their emails, like their email that they're going to send first as like, send me what you're going to say first, I'll give you some feedback on it because, you know, if it's, they're starting to, because of my role as the professional development specialist, we're reaching out to a lot of these bigger names in the field that they might be a little bit, you know, like starstruck to reach out to. I know that I was in the beginning. I, I still am, but, um, it's getting better with time, um, because everybody's just been so wonderful that I talked, but, um, you know, if you're reaching out to like a John Bailey or a William Heward, or like, if you're reaching out to those people, it's like, yeah, send me, send me the email first. I'll give you some feedback on it to really start building those professional skills outside of just the professional practical skills.

Dr. Pat Romani (30:01):

Yeah. Because I mean, the education is more than just acquiring the behavior analytic knowledge, but also how do you, how do you disseminate that to your peers and to families and teachers and things like that? That's an equally as important skill, um, how we communicate and how we can share the information that in the, you know, the wonderful science that we have.

Shauna Costello (30:22):

Yep. And I know that storytelling has been a big aspect of recent journals. So getting that type of language to our language to kind of work with other populations is a huge thing. So bridging that gap and hearing a lot more, put more and more programs bridging that gap is great. So I know that we've heard a lot about, you know, what can make CU different than a lot of other online programs, but I mean, what would you, is there, what else would you say about the program? What makes it unique to these other online programs that are out there?

Dr. Pat Romani (30:59):

Yeah, I mean, I think in terms of, um, I think one thing that that's really nice about our program that, um, that I'm, I'm appreciative, that we're able to offer is that students are able to work full time while still completing their coursework. And, and, um, like I've mentioned before, many of our students are educators or, um, direct care staff, right. Should behavior technicians and, and have full time jobs that they need to support this education as well as their daily life. And so I I'm happy that our program is able to accommodate, um, their busy schedules so that they can acquire this information and this professional development, um, that's their goal, um, while still maintaining a healthy, um, balance between work and work and life. So I think that's also really nice. Um, I mean, the other thing I'll say too, is that CU does offer quite a bit of, um, opportunity for students in terms of access to online libraries, um, to be able to access journal articles, um, like PsycINFO pub med and other major scholarly search engines. Um, and then also writing support too, for students that might need extra help. Um, maybe, um, students where English is a second language to be able to, to work on their writing and communication, um, as well. So I think that that's also a really nice aspect of CU.

Shauna Costello (32:25):

Yeah, that's great. And it sounds like you're really getting a very wide array of students that are coming in with a lot of different experiences or even backgrounds. And I can just imagine the type of like what brings to the courses as well, and especially in those discussions that you were talking about.

Dr. Pat Romani (32:45):

Yeah. I mean, it's, it brings about rich discussion of how to implement extinction in the school setting versus an in home setting versus a clinical setting. And so I think it's really nice to have a variety of students, um, that are, that are present and then having the forum, having a forum to be able to, for them to be able to have those discussions supervised by a faculty member.

Shauna Costello (33:06):

Yeah. I know. I keep, I love just learning about all of these different programs. Um, what else about CU, do you want potential students or even just people listening to know about the program.

Dr. Pat Romani (33:22):

I mean I think just to kind of re just to summarize some of the things that, I mean, I think, you know, the, I, I think I love CU's program because of the breadth, the diversity of faculty members, um, how we, we do have incorporate, you know, multiculturalism into all of our classes so that students become culturally competent practitioners. And so we do have discussions about how to, um, you know, implement different procedures with, um, with, you know, based on data that's being presented or based on cultural norms or based on past histories of, of traumatic experiences. And so I think that that's a really rich, unique part of the program as well. That's really important for people going into, um, service agencies and then really just the community that we're able to build, um, in an online setting, um, with, with regular feedback from the faculty members, as well as some face to face feedback with faculty in our, in our synchronous classes is, is really nice and something I'm really proud of, of our program.

Shauna Costello (34:21):

I know that you said reach out if you have any questions and I'll make sure to include not only the CU's website that has a lot of the information on it that you can get, but I'll also include your email on there as well. So that to make sure that they can reach out and ask any questions that they may have,

Dr. Pat Romani (34:40):

That would be great. And yeah, I would encourage, um, interested people to reach out via email, um, or to look at our website for more information to see if this is a good fit for them.

Shauna Costello (34:49):

Well, thank you both for joining us and telling us more about CU's program and how you really are building that community, even with all of your students and faculty, even though, you know, it may be an online program it's not only come in and take it your own pace. It's really come in we're going to teach you our history and what our experience have been so that we can prepare you and send you out to be the most competent behavior analysts that your students can be.

Dr. Pat Romani (35:19):

Yep, of course. Thank you for having us.

Shauna Costello (35:24):

Thank you for listening to the university series brought to you by operant innovations and ABA technologies. Next week, we'll be heading out to California to speak to the university of California, Santa Barbara, about their online program. And as always, if you have any comments, suggestions, or feedback, please feel free to email us at operantinnovations@abatechnologies.com.