Allied Health Online Program Possible Model for Future Distance Learning

The successful launch of an online program in the Department of Rehabilitation Sciences in the College of Allied Health Sciences (CAHS) is seen as a possible model for other online programs at the University of Cincinnati (UC). The program, Health Sciences–Behavior and Occupation Studies (HSBO), is an online, degree completion program for those who currently are Certified Occupational Therapy Assistants (COTAs).

For students, this program provides another step on their journey to becoming occupational therapists, a career path that has a projected growth rate of 29 percent by 2022 according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. 

"It kind of evolved when we were putting together all the pieces to do the master's program for occupational therapists, and found there's an unmet need here and we can fill that gap," says Dan Carl, PhD, assistant professor and clinical program director of health sciences in CAHS. "As we looked further into the need, we realized we could be at the forefront by offering this program and recruit students across the country to fill that need."

The five-semester program includes core health science courses such as anatomy, kinesiology and biomechanics accompanied by courses in psychology. Students in the program will actually earn a minor in psychology, an added value to their degree, one that will help them prepare for graduate programs in occupational therapy. 

According to Tom Herrmann, EdD, interim head of the Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, it was important to provide a pathway for working occupational therapy assistants to complete a bachelor's degree. "It provides them with the opportunity to expand their applied human science knowledge base, their behavioral science knowledge base, and opens doors for career advancement and application to graduate occupational therapy programs," he says. 

Carl says they exceeded their goal of 15 students for the inaugural semester in spring 2016. Another 15 students enrolled in the program for the summer semester and indications are that momentum will continue this fall and beyond into 2017.

Recruiters are the key to attracting students to an online program, says Rafael Castaneda, managing director, University of Cincinnati Research Institute (UCRI), who helped develop the program. "I call them the educational personal trainers, because they get things done in partnership with the students," he says. "It's very important that a human being be part of this process so that they can direct them to the various parts of UC that they may not necessarily be able to find on the website because it's so large."

Terra Butler, executive recruiter for UCRI, is responsible for recruiting the students to the HSBO distance learning program. "There is an overwhelming need for this because there aren't a lot of colleges and universities that offer this type of program," she says. Colleges that do offer a similar program usually have an additional on-campus requirement. "Ours is 100 percent online," says Butler. "Which is definitely a value-added for those students who need a pathway to earning a master's degree."

"This is how you deliver an online program," says Castaneda of the HSBO program. "I use it as an example for what future online programs at UC should look like."