Online Occupational Therapy Program Assessment: Application of the Sloan Consortium

Abstract

Purpose: In order to assess outcomes of an online Transitional Masters of Occupational Therapy (TMOT) degree program, the Sloan Consortium’s Five Pillars Model of Quality was applied to: 1) student assessment of learning and programmatic satisfaction; and 2) faculty satisfaction with the online teaching context. Method: Two surveys were used for post-programmatic data collection; one survey was specifically developed to measure TMOT graduates’ learning and satisfaction with programmatic parameters. The Online Faculty Satisfaction Survey (OFSS) was used to measure teaching faculty’s perspectives. Results: Graduates' responses indicated a moderate to strong support for learning effectiveness, satisfaction with online learning, institutional commitment, and cost-effectiveness. Faculty noted concerns with the time-intensity of online teaching, yet were satisfied with teaching self-efficacy, student participation, and learning outcomes.Conclusion: While this survey research suggests the online learning environment is a viable method to accomplish outcomes in occupational therapy education, the study findings also illustrate the structural and integrative value of the Sloan Consortium’s Five Pillars Model for program assessment across allied health disciplines. The Five Pillars Model’s value encompasses both the student perspective and faculty satisfaction, as well as other aspects of the online context for higher education.