CAPCSD

What CAPCSD does

CAPCSD (Council of Academic Programs in Communication Sciences) is a U.S.-based nonprofit professional membership association founded in 1980, serving as the only organization whose mission is to improve the academic environment for Communication Sciences and Disorders (CSD) disciplines. The organization represents 600+ academic programs across the U.S. offering degrees in speech-language pathology, audiology, and hearing/speech/language science, serving faculty, clinic directors, clinical educators, and graduate students. Its core product portfolio includes CSDCAS — a centralized graduate application service operated in partnership with Liaison that allows prospective students to apply to multiple SLP and Audiology programs through a single portal — alongside annual and virtual conferences, the Lisa Scott Leadership Academy, Clinical Educators' Academy, Admissions Summit, webinars, the Clinical Education Resource Repository (CERR), the Key Principles Course, and a job board. The technology stack runs on GrowthZone's association management platform for membership management, event registration, and the InfoHub member portal. In November 2025, CAPCSD launched an AI Resource Hub providing guidance on generative AI applications in CSD education and clinical training.

The organization's business model blends institutional membership dues (individual membership is free for faculty and staff at member programs), conference and event registration fees, sponsorships and exhibitor fees, and externally funded scholarship programs. CAPCSD distributes over $1 million in scholarships since inception through programs including PhD Scholarships (up to $12,000 each, up to 10 per year), the Frances J. Laven Scholarship (up to $5,000 each, up to 10 per year), Plural Publishing Research Scholarships ($3,000 each, 2 per year), and the IVS Clinical Education Seed Grant ($5,000 annually). The organization maintains allied relationships with ASHA (American Speech-Language-Hearing Association) and AAA (American Academy of Audiology), positioning it as a clearinghouse between accreditors, academic programs, faculty, and prospective students in the CSD field.

Name

CAPCSD

Legal name

Council of Academic Programs in Communication Sciences

Website

https://capcsd.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1980

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

CAPCSD is a U.S. nonprofit professional association serving 600+ academic programs in Communication Sciences and Disorders, operating the CSDCAS centralized graduate application service, conferences, leadership academies, scholarships (over $1M distributed), and an AI Resource Hub for CSD faculty and students.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Professional Association Services (Communication Sciences and Disorders Higher Education)

NAICS

Business Associations (813910), Professional Organizations (81392)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYTHAHACAA

Association & Society Conference Management (Nonprofit, Professional Bodies)

Travel & Hospitality/MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences & Exhibitions)/Professional Conference Organizers (PCOs) & Meeting Planners

Keywords

• Professional association
• Communication sciences disorders
• Graduate application service
• Academic program membership
• Clinical education resources

Headquarters

HQ city

Indian Hills

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership Dues: Individual CAPCSD membership is free for faculty, clinic directors, and staff at CAPCSD member programs. The membership provides access to the InfoHub, job board posting, and other member resources.
2. Conference and Event Fees: The organization generates revenue through annual conference registrations, virtual conference fees, and professional development events. Member and non-member registration rates are available for webinars.
3. External Funding and Sponsorships: CAPCSD receives support through grants and sponsorships from organizations such as Plural Publishing (research scholarships), Intelligent Video Solutions (clinical education seed grants), and other corporate sponsors for conferences.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

CAPCSD is a professional membership association serving academic programs in Communication Sciences and Disorders (CSD), including speech-language pathology, audiology, and hearing/speech/language science. It delivers member services such as the CSDCAS centralized graduate application service, annual and virtual conferences, leadership and clinical educator academies, webinars, scholarship programs, the AI Resource Hub, and the Clinical Education Resource Repository to faculty, clinic directors, and students at member institutions.

Product overview

CAPCSD (Council of Academic Programs in Communication Sciences) is a professional association serving academic programs in Communication Sciences and Disorders. Rather than a unified technology product, CAPCSD offers a portfolio of member services including the CSDCAS centralized graduate application service, AI Resource Hub for generative AI guidance, scholarship programs (Frances J. Laven Scholarship, PhD Scholarships, Plural Publishing Research Scholarships, IVS Seed Grants), annual conferences, webinars, leadership academies (Lisa Scott Leadership Academy), Clinical Educators' Academy, Admissions Summit, Learning Communities, Clinical Education Resource Repository, Key Principles Course, and a Job Board. These services support higher education programs in CSD by providing professional development, research funding, academic resources, and networking opportunities for faculty, clinic directors, and students in speech-language pathology and audiology.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• CSDCAS (Communication Sciences and Disorders Centralized Application Service)
• AI Resource Hub: Generative AI in Communication Sciences and Disorders
• Scholarship Program
• Annual Conference
• Virtual Conference
• Webinars
• Lisa Scott Leadership Academy
• Clinical Educators' Academy
• Admissions Summit
• Learning Communities
• Clinical Education Resource Repository (CERR)
• Key Principles Course
• Job Board

Named customers2 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability11 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• LiaisoncoreTechnology or Integration · 1 January 2025Liaison provides the CSDCAS (Communication Sciences and Disorders Centralized Application Service) platform, a centralized application system for SLP and Audiology graduate programs. CSDCAS allows prospective students to apply to multiple programs through a single application.
• ASHA (American Speech-Language-Hearing Association)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCAPCSD operates in an allied manner with ASHA. The organizations collaborate on various initiatives including CSD education surveys, clinical education resources, and professional development. ASHA's Council on Academic Accreditation and Council for Clinical Certification recognize interprofessional collaboration standards.
• AAA (American Academy of Audiology)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCAPCSD operates in an allied manner with AAA as one of the professional organizations in the communication sciences and disorders field.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA): ASHA is the larger, broader professional association for audiologists and speech-language pathologists and operates the Council on Academic Accreditation (CAA). ASHA overlaps with CAPCSD's academic-program mission but serves practicing clinicians as its primary constituency.
• American Psychological Association (APA): APA accredits doctoral psychology programs (Office of Program Consultation and Accreditation) and runs academic-program resources comparable to CAPCSD's portfolio, serving a much larger but adjacent health-professions academic constituency.
• American Academy of Audiology (AAA): AAA is the professional association for audiologists. CAPCSD explicitly operates 'in an allied manner' with AAA, and AAA covers some overlapping academic and clinical education programming at a broader, practitioner-focused level.

Direct peers

• Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC): AAMC is the academic-program association for U.S. medical schools and operates AMCAS, the centralized medical school application service — the closest structural analog to CAPCSD + CSDCAS in the health-professions academic space.
• American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN): AACN serves as the national voice for academic nursing and operates NursingCAS, a centralized application service. Its member-institution model, leadership academies, and conferences mirror CAPCSD's operating structure almost exactly, just at a larger scale.
• American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP): AACP serves colleges and schools of pharmacy and operates PharmCAS, a centralized pharmacy application service. Same institutional-member, conference-driven, centralized-admissions-services model as CAPCSD.
• American Dental Education Association (ADEA): ADEA represents academic dental institutions and operates AADSAS, a centralized dental school application service. ADEA's portfolio of leadership programs, conferences, and member services directly parallels CAPCSD's structure.

Others

• GrowthZone: GrowthZone provides the association management software powering CAPCSD's website, membership management, event registration, and InfoHub member portal — a key vendor but not a competing peer.
• Liaison International: Liaison is the technology partner that operates CSDCAS for CAPCSD. As a vendor, Liaison enables CAPCSD's centralized admissions service and is a critical infrastructure counterpart rather than a competing association.

Emerging players

• Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education (CAPTE): CAPTE is the specialized accreditor for PT education programs — narrower in scope (accreditation only) but structurally analogous to CAPCSD's academic-program mandate within the CSD field.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/capcsd
• Instagraminstagram.com/capcsd_official

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about CAPCSD