The Wild West
The Proliferation of Online Education in Social Work Calls for Educational Policy Standards
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.18060/28458Keywords:
online education, accreditation, ADEI, social work practice doctorate, antiracist, educational assessmentAbstract
There are increasingly more undergraduate and graduate social work programs online, with almost all social work practice doctorate programs built on an online model. Despite some concern about the proliferation and quality of select online offerings, the Council of Social Work Education (CSWE) has not developed separate or additional accreditation standards for online programs. Workforce data indicates that Black social workers are more likely than their White counterparts to attend online social work programs and have higher student loan debt. The proliferation of newly accredited social work programs, many of which are online with national catchment areas, has caused some to question whether there are too many programs and whether the quality of social work education has deteriorated given the need to chase the market share. As CSWE has publicly enhanced its commitment to antiracist practices in social work education, the time has come to institute standards to ensure that the benefits of accessibility of social work education have not resulted in unequal outcomes, especially at the economic expense of students of color. Suggestions to guide preliminary discussions about online quality standards are presented.
References
Adler, M. J. (1997). How to speak, how to listen. Simon & Schuster.
Afrouz, R., & Crisp, B. R. (2021). Online education in social work, effectiveness, benefits, and challenges: A scoping review. Australian Social Work, 74(1), 55-67. https://doi.org/10.1080/0312407X.2020.1808030
Allen, I. E., & Seaman, J. (2013). Changing course: Ten years of tracking online education in the United States. Babson Survey Research Group & Quahog Research Group, LLC. http://www.onlinelearningsurvey.com/reports/changingcourse.pdf
American Council on Education [ACE]. (2026, February 6). Graduate loan limits and professional degree definitions take shape in ED proposal. Author. https://www.acenet.edu/News-Room/Pages/ED-Issues-OBBB-RISE-Proposed-Rule.aspx
Apgar, D., & Nienow, M. (2022). Newly released data on examination pass rates supports need for widespread reform. Research on Social Work Practice, 33(1), 5-7. https://doi.org/10.1177/10497315221124137
Apgar, D., & Nienow, M. (2023). Becoming woke by the ASWB pass rates: A closer look at racial inequities in social work. Journal of Evidence-Based Social Work, 21(2), 162-176. https://doi.org/10.1080/26408066.2023.2265911
Baker, J., & Tukhvatulina, S. (2023). Reflections of adult learners in asynchronous online degree programs. Journal of Effective Teaching in Higher Education, 6(1), 47-65. https://doi.org/10.36021/jethe.v6i1.344
Bannon, L. (2023, May 4). Lawsuit says University of Southern California used misleading practices to sell online degree program. The Wall Street Journal. https://www.wsj.com/articles/lawsuit-says-university-of-southern-california-used-misleading-practices-to-sell-online-social-work-degree-6545ded9
Bureau of Labor Statistics [BLS]. (2025, August 28). Social workers: Occupational outlook handbook. https://www.bls.gov/ooh/community-and-social-service/social-workers.htm
Canada, K. E., Freese, R. A., Bailey, R. M., & Fitch, D. (2021). Evaluating learning outcomes and assessing social work skill development: Comparing online vs. in-person education. Journal of Technology in Human Services, 40(1), 47-57. https://doi.org/10.1080/15228835.2021.1997693
Council on Social Work Education [CSWE]. (2020, March 23). CSWE COVID-19 member “pulse” survey results. Author. https://spark.cswe.org/HigherLogic/System/DownloadDocumentFile.ashx?DocumentFileKey=6eee2f33-1964-44be-8e81-1ab8865a9fd8
CSWE. (2022). 2022 educational policy and accreditation standards for baccalaureate and master's social work programs. Author. https://www.cswe.org/getmedia/bb5d8afe-7680-42dc-a332-a6e6103f4998/2022-EPAS.pdf
CSWE. (2024). 2022-2023 statistics on social work education in the United States. Author. https://www.cswe.org/getattachment/61b4f594-6109-43f7-9acd-49b6e9cd5131/cswe_2022-2023-summary-of-the-us-annual-survey-of-social-work-programs.pdf/
CSWE/Group for the Advancement of Doctoral Education [GADE]. (2021). CSWE/GADE report on the current landscape of doctoral education in social work. Author. https://www.cswe.org/education-resources/research-statistics/research-briefs-and-publications/cswe-gade-report-on-the-current-landscape-of-doctoral-education-in-social-work/
Cummings, S. M., Chaffin, K. M., & Cockerham, C. (2015). Comparative analysis of an online and a traditional MSW program: Educational outcomes. Journal of Social Work Education, 51(1), 109-120. https://doi.org/10.1080/10437797.2015.977170
Curran, L., Sanchez Mayers, R., & Fulghum, F. (2020). Human service administrator perceptions of online MSW degree programs. In P. A. Kurzman & M. Littlefield (Eds.), Online and distance social work education (pp. 316-332). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003016557-28
Davis, C., Greenaway, R., Moore, M., & Cooper, L. (2019). Online teaching in social work education: Understanding the challenges. Australian Social Work, 72(1), 34-46. https://doi.org/10.1080/0312407X.2018.1524918
Delisle, J., & Cohn, J. (2022, December). Master’s degree debt and earnings: New federal data expose risks for students and the government (Research report). Urban League Center on Education Data and Policy. https://www.urban.org/sites/default/files/2022-12/Master%E2%80%99s%20Degree%20Debt%20and%20Earnings.pdf
Denning, J. T., Eide, E. R., Mumford, K. J., Patterson, R. W., & Warnick, M. (2022). Lower bars, higher college GPAs: How grade inflation is boosting college graduation rates. Education Next, 22(1), 56-62. https://www.educationnext.org/lower-bars-higher-college-gpas-how-grade-inflation-boosting-college-graduation-rates/
Fabriz, S., Mendzheritskaya, J., & Stehle, S. (2021). Impact of synchronous and asynchronous settings of online teaching and learning in higher education on students' learning experience during COVID-19. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 1-16. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.733554
Forgey, M. A., & Ortega-Williams, A. (2016). Effectively teaching social work practice online: Moving beyond can to how. Advances in Social Work, 17(1), 59-77. https://doi.org/10.18060/20877
Gelber, S. M. (2020). Grading the college: A history of evaluating teaching and learning. Johns Hopkins University Press.
George Washington University [GWU] Health Workforce Institute. (2019, September). MSW graduates by race and ethnicity: Findings from the 2018 Survey of Master of Social Work Graduates. Author. https://www.cswe.org/CSWE/media/Workforce-Study/WorkforceStudy_Brief-MSW_Raceethnicity-pdf.pdf
Halaas, B., Li, J., & Reveles, J. M. (2020). Faculty perceptions of gatekeeping and student suitability in the context of traditional and online social work programs. Interchange, 51, 409-428. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10780-020-09392-3
Hamilton, I. (2024, May 31). 2024 online learning statistics. Forbes Advisor. https://www.forbes.com/advisor/education/online-colleges/online-learning-stats/#:~:text=NCES%20defines%20primarily%20online%20schools,always%20offered%20fully%20remote%20programs
Hamilton, M., & Watanabe, T. (2023, May 5). USC peddled inferior online social work grad program to use as a ‘cash cow’ lawsuit alleges. Los Angeles Times. https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2023-05-05/usc-sold-inferior-online-degree-to-use-as-cash-cow-suit-alleges
Hanson, M. (2025, February 18). Student loan debt by race. EducationData.org. https://educationdata.org/student-loan-debt-by-race
International Correspondence Schools [ICS] of Scranton Collection. (2024). ICS of Scranton, Pennsylvania—1891 to present. McHugh Family Special Collections, Weinberg Memorial Library, The University of Scranton. https://digitalservices.scranton.edu/digital/collection/ics/custom/history
Jones, S. H. (2015). Benefits and challenges of online education for clinical social work: Three examples. Clinical Social Work Journal, 43, 225-235. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10615-014-0508-z
Lee, J., Hernandez, P. M., & Marshall Jr., I. (2019). Review of online education in social work programs. Journal of Evidence-Based Social Work, 16(6), 669-686. https://doi.org/10.1080/26408066.2019.1676859
Levin, S., Fulginiti, A., & Moore, B. (2018). The perceived effectiveness of online social work education: Insights from a national survey of social work educators. Social Work Education, 37(6), 775-789. https://doi.org/10.1080/02615479.2018.1482864
McAllister, C. (2013). A process evaluation of an online BSW program: Getting the student perspective. Journal of Teaching in Social Work, 33(4-5), 514-530. https://doi.org/10.1080/08841233.2013.838200
Metropolitan Life Insurance Company. (1924, February 1). [Advertisement for correspondence courses]. The Survey, 486. https://archive.org/details/survey-1897_1924-02-01_51_9/page/486/mode/2up
Moore, S. E., Golder, S., Sterrett, E., Faul, A. C., Yankeelov, P., Weathers Mathis, L., & Barbee, A. P. (2015). Social work online education: A model for getting started and staying connected. Journal of Social Work Education, 51(3), 505-518. https://doi.org/10.1080/10437797.2015.1043200
National Association of Social Workers [NASW]. (2021). Code of ethics. Author. https://www.socialworkers.org/About/Ethics/Code-of-Ethics/Code-of-Ethics-English
NASW, Association of Social Work Boards [ASWB], CSWE, and Clinical Social Work Association [CSWA]. (2017). Standards for technology in social work practice. NASW. https://www.socialworkers.org/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=bq9JrB-oVm4%3d&portalid=0
National Center for Education Statistics [NCES]. (2023). Selected statistics for degree-granting postsecondary institutions that primarily offer online programs, by control of institution and selected characteristics: Fall 2022 and 2021-22. Author. https://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d23/tables/dt23_311.33.asp
Odell, J. H. (1910, November). The new era in education: A study of the psychology of correspondence methods of instruction [Transcript of speech]. Dedication of the Instruction Building at the International Correspondence Schools, Scranton, PA. https://archive.org/details/neweraineducatio00odel/page/n1/mode/2up
Okech, D., Barner, J., Segoshi, M., & Carney, M. (2014). MSW student experiences in online vs. face-to-face teaching formats? Social Work Education, 33(1), 121-134. https://doi.org/10.1080/02615479.2012.738661
Osburn, L., Short, M., Gersbach, K., Velander, F., Mungai, N., Moorhead, B., Mlcek, S., Dobud, W., Duncombe, R., Kalache, L., Gerstenberg, L., Lomas, G., Wulff, E., Ninnis, J., Morison, A., Falciani, K., & Pawar, M. (2021). Teaching social work skills-based learning online during and post COVID-19. Social Work Education, 42(7), 1090-1109. https://doi.org/10.1080/02615479.2021.2013795
Parks, R. F, Paros, A. K., & Yakubu, M. (2025). Examining impacts on digital discrimination, digital inequity and digital injustice in higher education: A qualitative study. Information Systems Education Journal, 23(1), 54-69. https://doi.org/10.62273/CBZW4487
Penn State Online Education. (2024). Legacy. Author. https://online-education.psu.edu/who-we-are/legacy/
Perry, A., Steinbaum, M., & Romer, C. (2021, June 23). Student loans, the racial wealth divide, and why we need full student debt cancellation. Brookings. https://www.brookings.edu/articles/student-loans-the-racial-wealth-divide-and-why-we-need-full-student-debt-cancellation
Reamer, F. G. (2013). Distance and online social work education: Novel ethical challenges. Journal of Teaching in Social Work, 33, 369-384. https://doi.org/10.1080/08841233.2013.828669
Reardon, C. (2011, July/August). A decade of social work today—10 trends that transformed social work. Social Work Today, 11(4), 10. https://www.socialworktoday.com/archive/071211p10.shtml
Rutgers University [RU]. (2025, March 25). MSW tuition and financial aid. RU School of Social Work. https://socialwork.rutgers.edu/admissions/master-social-work-msw-admissions/msw-tuition-financial-aid
Salsberg, E., Quigley, L., Richwine, C., Sliwa, S., Acquaviva, K., & Wyche, K. (2020, August). The social work profession: Findings from three years of surveys of new social workers. Fitzhugh Mullan Institute for Health Workforce Equity at George Washington University. https://www.cswe.org/CSWE/media/Workforce-Study/The-Social-Work-Profession-Findings-from-Three-Years-of-Surveys-of-New-Social-Workers-Dec-2020.pdf
Statista. (2025). Online university education - United States. Market Insights. https://www.statista.com/outlook/emo/online-education/online-university-education/united-states
University of Southern California [USC]. (2026). Tuition and financial aid. Author. https://dworakpeck.usc.edu/admissions/tuition-and-financial-aid/tuition-fees
Villalobos, A. (2023, November 17). Online college programs increasingly put Black and Hispanic students at risk. The Century Foundation. https://tcf.org/content/commentary/online-college-programs-increasingly-put-black-and-hispanic-students-at-risk/
Watkinson, J. D. (1996, October). “Education for success”: The International Correspondence Schools of Scranton, Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, 120(4), 343-369. https://journals.psu.edu/pmhb/article/view/45108/44829
Woo, Y., & Reeves, T. C. (2008). Interaction in asynchronous web-based learning environments: strategies supported by educational research. Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks, 12(3-4), 179-194. https://doi.org/10.24059/olj.v12i3-4.1691
Ying, J. (2020). The importance of the discussion method in the undergraduate business classroom. Humanist Management Journal, 5(2), 251-278. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41463-020-00099-2
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Dawn Apgar, Wade Luquet
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
