The ASHA Journals Academy is happy to announce the long-awaited launch of the PREP Development Modules, part of the Peer Review Excellence Program (PREP). PREP is designed to make reviewing for the ASHA Journals as easy and accessible as possible. Over the past several years, we have dramatically expanded resources available to reviewers and editors of the ASHA journals. The PREP Development Modules, a series of interactive courses, represent the next step in ensuring that reviewers feel prepared and confident when assessing manuscripts.

Three Modules are now available, The ASHA Journals Editorial Board Model, Peer Review Basics, and Performing a Review for the ASHA Journals. Each of the three launch modules takes approximately 30 minutes to complete, making them an efficient way to familiarize yourself with the ASHA Journals peer review process. All three of the available modules are free and open to all who would like to learn about peer review and the ASHA Journals process.

The Modules

  • Module 1: The ASHA Journals Editorial Board Model gives an overview of the model and helps reviewers understand the structure of the program.
  • Module 2: Peer Review Basics gives a general overview of peer review principles, such as the role of the reviewer, the components of a review, and how to become a reviewer.
  • Module 3: Performing a Review for the ASHA Journals walks reviewers through the steps of completing a review and the review criteria established by the ASHA Journals peer review template.

Each module has short knowledge checks throughout to assess your comprehension of the material. Upon completion, learners will have the option to print a certificate of completion for their records. Your progress is tracked by a cookie, so you can leave a module and pick back up anytime. Just note that if you change web browsers or clear your cookie data, you may have to start over. There’s more to come from the PREP Development Modules as well, as a fourth module on publication ethics is already in development.

An important note… although PREP Development Modules are not eligible for ASHA CEUs at this time, they are eligible to be applied toward your ASHA certification maintenance as up to 2 Certification Maintenance Hours (CHMs).  Simply submit a compliance form through your My Account section of the ASHA website. You must also check with your state licensing board about whether this is an approved activity for the purposes of maintaining your state license. For questions regarding ASHA certification maintenance and accepted activities, please visit the Certification Maintenance page on ASHA.org.