Experience with Graduate/Master's Online Distance Learning

[RP12345]

Hello,

I am looking to hear from those who are or who have been a distance GRADUATE SLP student. What was your experience like? I personally can do the traditional on campus student experience right now, but in a year my situation could change. Therefore I am wondering if it is smarter to attend a distance program from the very beginning. Do you feel like you learned the material well? or do you wish you would have had more of the on campus research experience, and clinical involvement?

Thank you for your advice.

[smarieSLP2b]

If in one year your situation might change, then you might as well apply for a distance program to be on the safe side. It would suck if you start a traditional in person program and can't complete it and have to drop out due to your situation changing. Why not stick to a distance/3-year part-time program that would offer you some flexibility? University of South Carolina is 3 years part-time and you only have to go for one summer. I'm not in an online program but I have a friend in an online SLP program and worked with an SLP who got her degree that way. One is going to Nova, and the SLP went to Idaho State online and loved it. All online programs are the same level of rigor as traditional in classroom programs. You will come out just as knowledgeable. ? With your practicum placements I don't see why you would miss out on any clinical involvement.

[smileyslp]

21 hours ago, smarieSLP2b said:

If in one year your situation might change, then you might as well apply for a distance program to be on the safe side. It would suck if you start a traditional in person program and can't complete it and have to drop out due to your situation changing. Why not stick to a distance/3-year part-time program that would offer you some flexibility? University of South Carolina is 3 years part-time and you only have to go for one summer. I'm not in an online program but I have a friend in an online SLP program and worked with an SLP who got her degree that way. One is going to Nova, and the SLP went to Idaho State online and loved it. All online programs are the same level of rigor as traditional in classroom programs. You will come out just as knowledgeable. ? With your practicum placements I don't see why you would miss out on any clinical involvement.

Yup! I completely agree. The interactions are similar to in-person programs and some universities offer online office hours with professors so you still get one-on-one interactions (I would just recommend researching which ones do this if it matters to you). It has also been easier because of social media, so even though my cohort is spread out across the States, we are all able to touch base with each other in a Facebook group, text message, etc. I'm not sure about all of the programs, but I know some record their lectures so you can attend the live sessions and re-watch them as many times as you want. For me, that has been one of the pros that in-person programs typically don't offer.

[smarieSLP2b]

2 hours ago, smileyslp said:

Yup! I completely agree. The interactions are similar to in-person programs and some universities offer online office hours with professors so you still get one-on-one interactions (I would just recommend researching which ones do this if it matters to you). It has also been easier because of social media, so even though my cohort is spread out across the States, we are all able to touch base with each other in a Facebook group, text message, etc. I'm not sure about all of the programs, but I know some record their lectures so you can attend the live sessions and re-watch them as many times as you want. For me, that has been one of the pros that in-person programs typically don't offer.

What online program do you attend?

[RP12345]

Thank you for the advice! Do either of you know how clinic works as an online student? I know for many grad programs the grad students do clinic every semester, and they have their own clients and work on treating. So how do you do clinic as an online student? I believe a lot of them require on campus attendance during a summer, or some other time, but it seems like one summer isn't enough to get all the experience you need within clinic.

[bibliophile222]

Honestly, the whole clinic component is a big reason why I didn't attend NYU online. You only do two 4-day stints in their clinic before doing externships, which for me would not have been enough since I had no related experience! If you've been an SLP-A or had other closely related experience, though, maybe that would be fine.

But yeah, many other programs have you do six weeks or so in the summer, which I think would be enough of a clinic experience. The downside to that, of course, is the cost and inconvenience of relocating for six weeks.