Striking a Balance in School Psychology Training: a Comparison of Blended Delivery Formats and Student Outcomes

Abstract

As higher education faces declines in federal funding and enrollment, academic programs are increasingly tasked with examining their recruitment and admissions practices, mode and flexibility of delivery, and student retention. In particular, some programs may encounter pressure to introduce part-time or distance learning options into traditionally full-time, on-campus programs. Concurrently, the field of school psychology suffers from a critical nationwide shortage, which further strengthens the impetus for programs to attract and successfully prepare graduate students in greater numbers. In this article, we examine various metrics of student success from one graduate program that concurrently offered program curriculum in two blended delivery formats. In particular, we examine (a) enrollments; (b) timely remediation; (c) retention and degree completion; and (d) intern performance and post-graduation employment across the two delivery formats. We discuss potential benefits and challenges of distance education in school psychology training and offer recommendations for balancing quality and accessibility in curriculum delivery.