Hybrid OT Masters Programs

[SamuraiIAmurai]

Hey! I just wanted to get some information about hybrid programs. Are they considered as effective as on-campus full time programs? Do employers look at them the same way as on-campus programs? Also, I know OT is a very hands-on profession; are hybrid programs able to teach the information sufficiently? Any opinions or information is appreciated!

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[jewel11786]

What do you mean by hybrid programs?

 

[SamuraiIAmurai]

By hybrid, I mean a program that has both online and in-person components. There are programs that are 60-70 percent online and 30-40 percent in-person. I am curious whether anything is lost in a hybrid program, where part of the learning is done on-line.

 

[jewel11786]

Hybrid programs are more for people who are motivated and self-disciplined. You may not cover everything in class but you are responsible for reading the material and doing the assignments on your own, without the professors seeing you often to remind you or guide you. I'm in a weekend program which is about 30% in class and 70% on your own. It's definitely harder but it really depends on the type of learner you are. The hardest thing for me is balancing school work with work and real life. Since I work during the week and go to school on the weekends. I'd recommend you evaluate your own learning style first and of course the quality of the program at the school. I think my program is very well done.

 

[SamuraiIAmurai]

Jewel, thanks for getting back to me! It is good to hear that you like your program! Do you feel like you're getting enough hands-on experiences and learning the material well? I am very self-motivated and on-task, so I feel like I could be successful in a hybrid program, and I have heard great things about the program I was accepted into. I am only worried about the online aspect not being immersive enough or not giving me a deep enough understanding of the material, and I'm am worried I won't get enough hands-on experiences, since OT is such a hands-on career.

 

[jewel11786]

Which OT program were you accepted to? Yes. I feel like I do get alot of hands-on experience, we usually have open labs after class during the weekends as well, which gives good practice.

 

[SamuraiIAmurai]

I was accepted to Shenandoah University. I have heard great things about the program from the OTs I have shadowed, and they've said it would be a good school to go to since I live in the area. I know around 60-70% of the work is online, and then you are on campus one day a week. I was also accepted to a school that is about 5 hours from where I live that is an on-campus, full-time program. What school do you go to?

 

[jewel11786]

Misericordia in PA. On campus one day a week doesn't seem bad at all I guess depending on how far you live from campus. Do they have mostly labs or classes on-campus?

 

[SamuraiIAmurai]

I believe the on-campus time is spent on hands-on learning. The student handbook says that the discussions and projects have been moved online so the faculty can use face-to-face time for experiential and applied learning activities. I visited the program, and they have OT rooms that seem to have the equipment you would need to learn about treatments and adaptations.

 

[Johann00]

Definitely make sure you're going to be able to self-motivate. I'm in a hybrid program (mostly because I had to be with all the other stuff I have to juggle), and I don't really like it. It's not that I'm incapable of studying on my own, but there's just so much I get out of face-to-face, hands on learning.

 

[SamuraiIAmurai]

Johann, which program are you in? What do you dislike about your program: just that you don't get as much face-to-face time? Do you get sufficient hands-on experience? I do better in more structured programs (like an on-campus program), but I am very self-motivated and able to stay on-task (mostly. I definitely get burned out, though). I would love to hear more about your experiences.

 

[OT15]

Hey! I just wanted to get some information about hybrid programs. Are they considered as effective as on-campus full time programs? Do employers look at them the same way as on-campus programs? Also, I know OT is a very hands-on profession; are hybrid programs able to teach the information sufficiently? Any opinions or information is appreciated!

I'm in a program now where I'm taking 5 classes and we meet every other Friday and Saturday (two days out of two weeks). I don't think I am missing anything, but it's hard to say because I have only attended this one program. The hands on experience is usually done in fieldwork assignments therefore, there isn't really a difference there. My school has three options: traditional where you have class everyday, 2nd option- Have class about 2 days/week, 3rd option- the program I am in. If you're not disciplined it can definitely be hard, but I think you learn the same things just a little mechanism.

 

[Johann00]

Johann, which program are you in? What do you dislike about your program: just that you don't get as much face-to-face time? Do you get sufficient hands-on experience? I do better in more structured programs (like an on-campus program), but I am very self-motivated and able to stay on-task (mostly. I definitely get burned out, though). I would love to hear more about your experiences.

I guess I'd rather not say which program I'm in just in case someone I know or from my school reads this page. But what I don't like about it is that that AOTA insists that all OT programs fulfill certain academic requirements (whether they're hybrid or not). And so in order to meet those requirements, we end up doing a lot of tedious activities online that aren't very useful and don't really help me learn this material. It's also difficult that most of my correspondence to my instructors about the courses I'm taking has to be done via e-mail.

Above the annoyances of what I mentioned about, though, my biggest issue is that I honestly don't believe that I'm learning to be as good of an OT as I could be if I were in an on-campus program. I think I would be understanding more and getting FAR more hand-on experience that I am right now. And in case you didn't already know this, OT is an extremely "hand-on" profession, so that part of the education is extremely important.

Hybrid programs are a wonderful option for people that can't make school work any other way. But my suggestion would be that, unless you honestly can't make it happen any other way, try to get into an on-campus program. I truly believe you'll get more out of it.

 

[SamuraiIAmurai]

Johann, what you said is exactly what I am worried about. I have been accepted to an on-campus full time program, but it is 5 hours from where my husband (who can't move) and I live. The hybrid program would allow me to continue to live at home, which would save a lot of money. However, everything you said is exactly what I am worried will happen.

OT15, do you get any hands-on learning in your program beyond your fieldwork? I am just worried about learning treatments and evaluations in a fieldwork setting as opposed to a classroom setting.

 

[OTdreamer]

Has anyone heard anything about the University of Minnesota's hybrid program?

 

[Johann00]

I heard from some of the OT's I volunteered with before applying that people that come out of the U of M hybrid program are not very prepared for the profession. And that they end up having to teach students from that program a lot of things that they should already know. I've also heard that the U of M's first-time NBCOT exam pass rate is very low.

The first semester in the program, you only spend 4 days on campus. This is only a guess, but I suspect that means that they're hoping to weed out a bunch of students that can't cut it in an extremely ambitious 16.5 credit (7 classes!) semester.

Just a head's up...

 

[bebob]

I know someone who goes to a program where they only meet one weekend per month. She still said it's pretty intense. I imagine they must have tons of like, "tedious" assignments. The advantage she has is her job as a rehab aid so she already has hands-on experience.

 

[SamuraiIAmurai]

People in hybrid programs, do you feel like you're missing out on anything? Are you getting an in-depth understanding of OT? And, are the graduates from your program getting good jobs?

People in on-campus programs, do you understand where the 70% of online content could come from, or does it seem unlikely to you that you'd learn as much if all these lessons/ discussions/ readings were online?

 

[Johann00]

The bottom line in all of this is that if you can graduate from a program and pass the NBCOT exam, you will be an OT. Nobody will be able to take that away from you, and the likelihood that a prospective employer will reject you solely based on the program you graduated out of is very low.

But, like I said before, you just have to understand what you want to get out of your education. If you have kids or a job that you absolutely cannot quit and a hybrid program is the only thing that will work for you, then there's nothing wrong with that option. My advice, however, would be that if you can find a way to make an on-campus program work in your life, I'm 99% positive you will get more out of it (academically, socially, and professionally) than you would from a hybrid program.

Quite frankly, there people in my hybrid program that really don't need to be there. They don't have a family yet, only work part-time, and as far as I can tell, must spend 10 hours a day studying. It's a waste because they're delaying their graduation by nearly a year and they're taking up a spot in the hybrid program from someone that actually needs that flexibility.