Course Delivery Information

Course Delivery Methods

In the Department of Social Work, students choose to either be in the fully online or mixed traditional course delivery method:

• Fully online students will take all their courses online (in asynchronous online, synchronous online, and/or hybrid online formats) and are guaranteed a spot in online sections of all required courses. Online courses in the Department of Social Work are not self-paced.
  • Please be aware that in the BSSW Program, all required, sequential courses are only offered in either synchronous online or hybrid online formats.
• Mixed Traditional students can take courses in any of the formats listed below – in-person, hybrid in-person, asynchronous online, synchronous online, and/or hybrid online. Students are guaranteed a spot in a section of all required courses for their program, but we cannot guarantee students will get their first choice of section or delivery method.

Within these larger course delivery methods that define how a student is moving through the program, the Department of Social Work uses five course delivery formats for individual courses:

• In-Person Courses have instructional activities that are facilitated in-person at scheduled times, either on-campus or at other physical locations.
• Hybrid In-Person Courses have instructional activities that are facilitated through scheduled in-person sessions and either A) asynchronous online instruction, or B) scheduled meetings using live virtual meeting technology. When you are in a hybrid course, please see course notes to check the requirements for your hybrid course.
• Asynchronous Online Courses have instructional activities that are facilitated online with no required scheduled meeting times. Assignments and assessments take place on a specific schedule. There are no location-specific requirements.
• Synchronous Online Courses have instructional activities that are facilitated online at scheduled times through live virtual meeting technology.  There are no location-specific requirements.
• Hybrid Online Courses have instructional activities are facilitated online through both asynchronous online instruction and at scheduled times through live virtual meeting technology. There are no location-specific requirements. When you are in a hybrid course, please see course notes to check the requirements for your hybrid course.

MSU Denver uses multiple course delivery formats (instructional methods) that you may see for courses offered outside of our department in addition to the ones listed above. To learn more about all of these options, please visit the MSU Denver Registration Guide.

Online Learning Expectations

Whether fully online or hybrid, online learning requires you as a student to effectively manage your time, plan ahead, communicate openly and timely, present yourself professionally, and to fully understand the expectations of your course. You need to be assertive and communicate immediately with your instructor when you have questions or need clarification in assignments. Online and hybrid course delivery options require you to be active in Canvas multiple times a week (e.g., discussion boards, presentations, assignments, peer interactions, course material, etc.), to read all emails and announcements (as they are not reinforced in face to face class), and complete all required material in the weekly modules.

Though you don’t have a physical class, you still need to schedule time for yourself to complete course assignments and learning time, not just course reading. Online does not mean less time or less rigorous. You should schedule the equivalent time of a face to face class (approx. 3 hours) each week in order to learn the course material through participation in discussion and completion of your learning modules in addition to reading, homework, and assignment time required for “out of class” time. Make sure you’re aware of what activities in your course are asynchronous or synchronous:

• Asynchronous activities are activities, readings, assignments, videos, and other tasks required in your course that you do on your own time while meeting the expected due dates and times.
• Synchronous activities are activities that occur with others at a scheduled time but that are accessible to you online. This means that you will use meeting software such as Zoom, Skype, Google Hangout, and/or other platforms to communicate and meet with your class and instructor at a specified time. This may be meeting with your whole class and the instructor, meeting individually with your instructor, meeting with a group of students, or meeting with one other student in order to complete required course expectations. Synchronous learning in online education has been demonstrated to increase student outcomes, sense of community, and overall student satisfaction with online learning. When you are in an online course, please see course notes to check synchronous requirements for your online course. When you are in an online course, make sure to check the synchronous requirements for your class to make sure you understand the time and day you are required to attend via Zoom, Teams, etc. Your instructor will let you know the exact requirements when class starts.