The College is celebrating its 10th year of the Online Master of Social Work Program. The College developed one of the first accredited Online MSSW programs in the country. While other online programs have developed over the past few years, the UT online graduate social work program is unique in that it is taught by the same faculty who teach in the college’s face-to-face programs, provides high level advising and consultation by UTCSW faculty and staff, and constantly evaluates its program and publishes these results.
Based on internal research, published in peer-reviewed journals, the College has found similar performance in terms of knowledge and skills gains from both its online and traditional programs. Students emerge with the same strong clinical skills regardless of the online or traditional format of their coursework. By having the same faculty and curriculum, the college offers students a similar quality experience.
Sherry M. Cummings, PhD,and the College’s Associate Dean for Academics (pictured above left, with co-authors Allison Milam and Associate Professor of Practice Kate Chaffin, Director of the Online and Nashville MSSW Programs) has recently had an article published in the Journal of Social Work Education. The article, “Comparison of an Online and a Traditional MSSW Program: A 5-Year Study” is excited that the lessons learned from a decade of experience will inform the practice of other programs.
The purpose of the current study was to compare 5 years of educational outcome data for online and face-to-face MSSW students (N=883) who graduated from University of Tennessee, Knoxville College of Social Work. Students’ knowledge (comprehensive exam scores, grade point averages), skills (field evaluation scores), and perception of their graduate social work program were examined. Univariate and multivariate analyses revealed significantly higher knowledge scores for face-to-face, and significantly greater skills ratings for online students. Online students possessed significantly more positive perceptions of faculty and their own preparedness for professional practice. Effect sizes for all findings were extremely small, however, and suggest that differences between online and traditional student outcomes have minor practical relevance related to student achievement.
Read the study at: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10437797.2018.1508391