Advertising Contract Conditions and Standards

• It is assumed that advertisers have read this rate card and agree to its conditions without any further contract or notice.
• ASHA endorses equal employment opportunity practices and accepts only ads that are not discriminatory on the basis of race, color, sex, religion, age, national origin, sexual orientation, or physical handicap.
• The acceptability of an ad for publication will be based upon legal, social, professional, and ethical considerations.
• Ads must be in keeping with the professional policies of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association.
• NSSLHA is a legally recognized affiliate organization of ASHA and follows ASHA’s advertising policies and procedures. NSSLHA is the recognized pre-professional association for undergraduate and graduate students interested in the discipline of the communication sciences.
• ASHA reserves the right to refuse, reject, or cancel any ad for any reason at any time without liability, even though previously acknowledged or accepted.
• Acceptance of an ad does not imply ASHA’s endorsement or guarantee of the product or service advertised. ASHA is not responsible for any claims made in an ad.
• ASHA practice professionals review all ads for claims.
• Statements about and illustrations of all products must meet professional standards. They must not be deceptive or misleading by either statement or omission, must not disparage others in the ad or on their website, and must not make unsupported claims.
• Advertisers making claims are expected to have research data that substantiates these claims and that is easily assessable via a website and/or made available upon request.
• Products must be in accordance with all applicable federal and state laws, and they must meet applicable FDA regulations and FTC requirements. Adherence to legal and regulatory requirements concerning the content of advertising is the manufacturer’s responsibility.
• ASHA does not accept ads for job sites.
• Advertisers and advertising agencies assume responsibility for all contents of advertisements printed, and each represents that it is fully authorized and/or licensed to publish the entire contents and subject matter contained in its advertisements including:
  • the names, portraits, and/or pictures of living persons;
  • any copyrighted material;
  • any testimonials contained in any advertisement submitted to and published by ASHA.
• Advertiser and agency will also indemnify and save harmless ASHA, as publisher, against all loss, liability, damage, and expense of any nature arising out of the copying, printing, or publishing of its advertisement, including without limitation reasonable attorney’s fees resulting from claims or suits for libel, violation of rights or privacy, plagiarism, copyright, and trademark infringement.
• The fact that an advertisement for a product, service, or company has appeared in an ASHA publication shall not be referred to in collateral advertising.
• Position specifications stipulated on insertion orders will be treated as requests only and will not be binding on the publication.
• The word Advertisement will be placed with copy that in the publisher’s opinion resembles editorial matter.
• Failure to make insertion orders correspond to the rate schedule is regarded as a clerical error. Publication and charges will correspond to the schedule in force without further notice.
• Advertising agency agrees to pay charges for advertising published at its direction.
• Rates, conditions, editorial calendar, and space units may change without notice.
• For recruitment/classified advertising, the following guidelines apply:
  • Ads for clinical positions must indicate the appropriate certification.
  • Ads for hearing aid dispensers must indicate ASHA’s certification requirement (CCC-A).
  • The Clinical Fellowship (CF) is the postgraduate period of professional experience required for ASHA certification once the academic course work and the clinical practicum have been completed. The minimum entry level for the profession is a master’s degree.
  • The following abbreviations signify certification status:
    • CCC-SLP: holds CCC in speech-language pathology
    • CCC-A: holds CCC in audiology
    • CF-SLP: eligible to begin CF in speech-language pathology

Terminology Guidelines

• Speech-language pathologists should not be referred to as therapists, speech therapists, or speech pathologists.
• Speech-language pathologist (pathology) should be written as such, NOT as speech/language pathologist or speech language pathologist without the hyphen.
• To avoid repetition in ad copy, the term clinician may be used when referring to a speech-language pathologist or audiologist.
• Audiologists may not be referred to as Hearing Aid Dispensers.
• Avoid the terms teacher and teaching when referring to the positions or services of speech-language pathologists and audiologists.
• The term specialist may not be used except in the areas of fluency, child/language, and Neurophysiological Intraoperative Monitoring.
• Programs—not departments, schools, or hospitals—can hold Council on Academic Accreditation in Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology accreditation.
• NSSLHA is the National Student Speech Language Hearing Association. NSSLHA does not use the dashes separating the disciplines in the title of the name.
• Continuing Education Providers—not courses—are approved by ASHA’s Continuing Education Board. ASHA approved CE Providers are the only organizations approved to offer continuing education courses for audiologists and speech-language pathologists for ASHA Continuing Education Units (CEUs).

Effective October 1, 2017:

1. 1. Advertising cannot include phrases such as free CEUs, free ASHA CEUs, or any language implying or suggesting the award of ASHA CEUs at no cost. If a course is being offered for ASHA CEUs, the wording of the course itself or any promotional material announcing that course should not state that the course includes CEUs or includes ASHA CEUs. In this context, includes is synonymous with free.
      • ASHA CEUs are never “free.” It is considered false advertising to claim that “free ASHA CEUs” are being offered. In order to earn ASHA CEUs, course attendees must be eligible to earn ASHA CEUs, must have successfully completed the course offered for ASHA CEUs, and must have paid the ASHA CE Registry fee for the year in which they completed the course.
      • The only instance in which ASHA CEUs could be offered for free is if the ASHA Approved CE Provider pays the annual ASHA CE Registry fee for each course participant requesting ASHA CEUs and the participant is eligible to earn ASHA CEUs.
      • The word free may be used when advertising a course with no registration fee. If a course registration is free, but the purchase of an item or items related to the course is required to participate in the course—for example, a book or a device—this must be disclosed in the advertising.
   2. When an ad references credit being offered, the specific types of CEUs, credit, or hours being offered must be identified. For example, use ASHA CEUs not CEUs; LSLS CEUs not CEUs; or Professional Development Hours (PDH) not hours.
   3. The acronym “CEU” should not be used to mean “course.” For example, instead of saying New CEUs, say New courses for ASHA CEUs.

Review the examples and guidance on the correct use of the terms “CEU” and “ASHA CEU.” [PDF]

Advertising Rates

The total number of issues in which advertising is placed within a 12-month period determines the advertising rate. Advertisers are protected from rate changes for the duration of the contract. If the contract is not fulfilled within the specified contract period, contract billing will be adjusted accordingly. No ad will be published unless a written insertion order is received. After publication, the company placing the ad will receive a tear sheet containing the ad along with the invoice.

ASHA multi-insertion rates are cumulative across all publications, giving you the ability to use all publications at your discretion.

Agency Commission

A 15% commission on space will be allowed to recognized advertising agencies.

Discounts

A 15% discount will be given to nonprofit organizations, if so specified, on space rate only for product/CE advertising only. Where nonprofit discount applies, agency commission will not apply.

Past Due Information

ASHA reserves the right to withhold further advertising space from any advertiser with a past-due account. A finance charge of 1.5% per month will be applied on all past-due balances.

Cancellations

No cancellations will be accepted after the closing date. If new copy is not received by the deadline, copy from the previous issues will be repeated. Failure to provide written cancellation by the deadline will result in the advertiser being invoiced for the full cost of the insertion. Orders for special placements cannot be rescinded.