There is a $126 per month pay differential between NC public school SLPs who have the advanced license and those who do not.  All NC public school SLPs are paid on the School Psychologist pay scale, but advanced license holders are paid at the 6th year level.  Advanced license holders should receive that salary level on the DPI pay scale, PLUS they should ALSO receive all supplements paid by their school system.  The advanced license salary bonus comes from the state, and does not reduce the amount of any local supplements to that salary.

The 6th year level assumes 30 graduate credits per year beyond the bachelors degree, and the advanced license is awarded to SLPs who have completed AN APPROVED 60 SEMESTER HOUR PROGRAM in Communication Disorders.  Completing an approved 60 hour program is judged to be equivalent to the completion of an Ed.S. degree and deserving of that salary level.

Please note that one does NOT qualify for an advanced license simply by earning 60 graduate credit hours.  The 60 hours must match an approved 60 hour masters program in Communication Disorders, and be certified by the NC university offering that program.  Regardless of ho    w many hours you accumulated in your masters program, the first step is to contact one of the Consortium universities and ask if they would be willing to evaluate your transcript to determine what other courses you might need to complete in order to match their approved 60 hour program.  Most programs would assign you an advisor, and would "sign off" on your advanced license application after you have met their requirements.  It is important that you follow the advanced license application procedures prescribed by the university program which agrees to sponsor you.

SLPs who earned their masters degree at one of the Consortium universities should probably contact their alma mater first; it is usually easier to match their 60 hour program requirements than those of another university.  However, since it may be necessary to complete one or more on-campus courses to qualify for the advanced license, you may prefer to contact the university nearest you.  Since no university has any obligation to sponsor you for an advanced license, you may wish to contact, or at least be prepared to contact more than one university.

Your sponsoring university will prescribe which additional courses you need to complete, if any, and determine if any of those courses can be completed as distance education courses.  The sponsoring university may require that you complete one or more courses on their campus so they can better evaluate the applicant they are sponsoring.  If your sponsoring university is willing for you to complete one or more courses by distance education, you are encouraged to contact any of the Campus Coordinators, or the Consortium Coordinator, Dr. Bill Barber, to obtain information on course offerings and/or to indicate which courses you wish we offered.  The Campus Coordinator you contact, or the Consortium Coordinator, will provide you with information on enrollment procedures.