Online Degree Programs

A prestigious award for Dr. Jacob Gross’ outstanding work!

By admin | September 1, 2015

Dr. Jacob Gross, assistant professor in the College of Education and Human Development, Department of Educational Leadership, Evaluation, and Organizational Development (ELEOD) at the University of Louisville, has received the Robert P. Huff Golden Quill Award and was recognized with this honor at the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators’ (NASFAA) annual conference awards ceremony. This award is given annually to exceptional scholars for their significant contributions to literature on student financial aid.

Dr. Gross is the most junior faculty to receive this award joining top scholars, who have been previously honored by the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA), such as Will Doyle at Vanderbilt, Laura Perna at UofPenn, and Bridget Terry Long at Harvard.

Dr. Gross’ expertise and research areas include educational attainment of
underrepresented groups; postsecondary access and student success; policy analysis; financial aid; interplay between state and institutional postsecondary policy; and social theory.

Dr. Gross has served as the Editor for the Journal of Student Financial Aid (JSFA) since 2011, and as a JSFA Editorial Board member from 2008 to 2011. During his time as Editor, he worked to move JSFA to a new journal management system, built an Editorial Board comprised of both researchers and practitioners for a more balanced review process, and actively recruited research that is both practitioner-relevant and of the highest scholarship.

Dr. Gross has contributed greatly to the field of student financial aid with multiple research studies and articles focused on postsecondary access and student success; policy analysis; and financial aid published in other highly respected research journals including: Journal of Higher Education, Research in Higher Education, and NASFAA’s Journal of Student Financial Aid, as well as several book chapters focused on multiple aspects of student financial aid.

In his acceptance speech, Dr. Gross said “I am honored and humbled by this recognition. As a former Pell Grant recipient and someone who believes deeply that access to higher education is a human right, I want to thank NASFAA for serving as a tireless advocate for equity and access. As a researcher who has never worked in financial aid, I want to say thank you for being the kind of organization where I feel comfortable, at home, and where I never feel bad about asking questions.”

The Golden Quill Award is the most recent of Dr. Gross’ honors, which include similar recognitions from:

ASHE/Lumina Dissertation Fellowship, 2008-2009
Spencer Foundation/Indiana University Discipline-Based Scholarship in Education Associateship, August 2006 – May 2008
AIR/NCES Graduate Fellowship Recipient, 2007-2008
AIR/NCES/NSF National Summer Data Policy Institute Fellow, June 2005
Poynter Center/NSF Graduate Research Ethics Education in Social Sciences Fellow, June 2005

About this award: The Robert P. Huff Golden Quill Award is typically presented each year to an individual or individuals chosen for their contributions to the field of higher education services and specifically the literature on student financial aid.

The award is named in honor of Bob Huff, former director of financial aid at Stanford University, an outstanding contributor to the scholarly literature on student aid. Bob received the first Golden Quill Award in 1984.

Nominees for the award are judged on the basis of published work which exemplifies the highest quality of research methodology, analysis, or topical writing on the subject of student financial aid or its administration.

About NASFAA: NASFAA’s mission is to provide professional development for financial aid administrators; advocates for public policies that increase student access and success; serves as a forum on student financial aid issues, and is committed to diversity throughout all activities.

NASFAA has nearly 20,000 members, student financial assistance professionals at approximately 3,000 colleges, universities, and career schools across the country. NASFAA member institutions serve nine out of every ten undergraduates in the U.S.

About CEHD: The College of Education and Human Development (CEHD) at the University of Louisville is focused on providing excellent service, resources and tools for success for all students, in the classroom and in their profession. CEHD offers a variety of programs at the undergraduate and graduate levels that have gained a strong national reputation for their high quality and rigorous curriculum. Programs are delivered face-to-face as well as fully online or through a combination of the two learning methods. To see the online programs offered at UofL, visit http://louisville.edu/online.

Social Work Degree Guide Ranks UofL’s Online MSSW Program #3 in the Country

By admin | July 2, 2015

The Social Work Degree Guide recently compiled a list of the 25 best nationwide CSWE accredited online Masters of Social Work programs for 2015. Only programs accredited with CSWE, the Council on Social Work Education, were chosen for the listing. The online Master of Science in Social Work (MSSW) program at the University of Louisville Kent School of Social Work ranked very highly, coming in at #3 in the country and achieving the Guide’s highest possible point score total.

Ranked as the #1 Social Work program in Kentucky, and touted as a top-ranked program by US News & World Report, the online MSSW program at UofL’s Kent School was awarded the #3 spot in the nation due to educational excellence in the areas of online education, enrollment flexibility, accessibility for students regardless of geographic location, and having an Advanced Standing option in place for those students already holding a bachelor’s degree in social work.

Students are able to complete the MSSW program at UofL’s Kent School entirely online, while following the same course curriculum as traditional classroom students. The program is open to all candidates currently holding a bachelor’s degree. A Standard Track is offered for those students with a bachelor’s degree in a field other than social work, while an Advanced Standing Track is available to streamline the process for those holding a bachelor’s degree in social work.

Within the online MSSW program, multiple areas of specialization are available for students to choose from, including Psychosocial Oncology, Mental Health, Alcohol and Drug Counseling, Military Social Work, and Gerontology. The online curriculum is focused on facilitating practices that support and promote social justice. In addition to the online courses, the degree also has a real-world learning component, which involves hands-on instruction, performed in a student’s approved location of choice. This provides invaluable field experience to online students, enabling them to acquire hands-on opportunties in their own communities.

The #3 ranking in the country, as given by the Social Work Degree Guide, is an honor, and speaks to the dynamic quality of the MSSW offered at UofL’s Kent School. The Kent School has been educating social workers since 1936. While steeped in a tradition of educational excellence, the Kent School remains entirely focused on the future with 100% online programs such as the Master of Science in Social Work.

For further information and to view the Top 25 Online MSW Programs 2015, as published by the Social Work Degree Guide, please visit the following link: http://www.socialworkdegreeguide.com/online-msw-programs/. Visit the University of Louisville’s Kent School Master of Science in Social Work program page to learn more about this highly ranked, dynamic, 100% online Master’s Degree program.

Faculty from UofL’s Kent School Contribute to Exciting New Oncology Social Work Publication

By admin | June 1, 2015

The reputation of the University of Louisville’s Kent School as a renowned center for oncology social work got an exciting boost in February of this year, when faculty members played a leading role in the development and publication of the Handbook of Oncology Social Work: Psychosocial Care for People with Cancer. Kent School faculty members Dr. Karen Kayser, Dr. Anna Faul, Shirley Otis-Green, Dr. Barbara Head, and Dr. Tara Schapmire served as significant contributors of scholarly knowledge to the book, which was published by Oxford University Press.

Addressing the psychosocial care of cancer patients and their families, the book takes a progressive and all-encompassing approach towards the psychosocial complexities faced by patients and their loved ones. With major innovations in the field and the evolution of the total care of the patient, the handbook aims to provide innovative tools caregivers can use to discover new ways to address multifaceted and often challenging issues. Some of the many areas covered include genetics, family and caregiver intervention, cancer across the lifespan, quality of life, professional development and education, ethical matters, loss and grief, and pediatrics.

The leadership and development demonstrated by the faculty contributors to the Handbook of Oncology Social Work: Psychosocial Care for People with Cancer has brought rapid growth to the national standing of the Kent School. The opportunities this book provides for new developments in modern psychosocial care for cancer patients, families, and caregivers solidifies the Kent School as a progressive center for the serious advancement in oncology social work.

For further information and to obtain a copy of the Handbook of Oncology Social Work: Psychosocial Care for People with Cancer, please visit the following link: http://www.bookdepository.com/Handbook-Oncology-Social-Work/9780199941926

Visit the University of Louisville’s Kent School of Social Work program page to learn more about the exciting educational opportunities awaiting you at the Kent School.

Andy Frey Does It Again! Research Funding at UofL’s Kent School of Social Work Hits Record High

By admin | June 1, 2015

It certainly is an exciting time to be involved with the University of Louisville’s Kent School of Social Work, which is fulfilling the mission of the university to provide excellent education through research. Dr. Andy Frey, Program Coordinator for the specialization in School Social Work, has again successfully brought a new grant to fruition. This award yields $3,499,896 for collaborative First Step Interventional educational research. With this award and with the addition of the $3,496,998 award (also from the Department of Education, Institute for Education Sciences), brought in the previous week, the Kent School records an all-time high of $20 million dollars awarded for research funding.

Frey’s recent grants will enable four years of collaborative research with the Oregon Research Institute and the University of Cincinnati, from 2015-2019. The purpose of these projects are to determine the efficacy of the Preschool First Step (PFS) and Tertiary First Step interventions for students with or at risk of developing behavior disorders in preschool/Head Start and grades K-3, respectively. The focus of the studies will be on improving social skills and academic engaged time, and improving social competency skills related to school success.

“First Step” is a collaborative home and school intervention program delivered by a behavioral coach that is geared for regular classroom settings, and designed to help at-risk children get off to the best start possible in their school careers.

PFS includes a classroom management component, a school component, and parental engagement activities. Sixteen preschool centers (8 in Oregon and 8 in Kentucky will be recruited to participate in each of three years. One child from each classroom will be recruited to participate, and centers will be randomly assigned to the PFS or business as usual comparison group. Children from the PSF intervention group will also receive a booster in kindergarten.

TFS intervention is similar, but is designed for children with more severe behavior, and has a more robust home component. For this project, Dr. Frey and his team will recruit 100 teachers/children/families in 16 elementary schools (grades k-3) across participating districts (JCPS, Oldham, and Greater Clark) per year. After four years, 400 teachers/students/families in 64 elementary schools will have participated. After consent is obtained from teachers and parents, participants will be randomly assigned to one of four conditions: (a) home and school components, (b) school component only, (c) home component only, or (d) business as usual/comparison. Outcomes will include teacher and parent reported measures of social skills and problem behavior and direct observation of student behavior in the classroom setting.

These collaborative research projects will give Kent School students enrolled in the School Social Work specialization unparalleled educational opportunities for participation in unique hands-on research at participating locations.

These dynamic educational research opportunities for students at the Kent School truly are second to none. Very few similarly sized schools of social work around the country have been so prolific with awards for educational research. It is truly an honor for both faculty and students alike at the Kent School of Social Work to be making such a dramatic impact on the lives of future generations in communities across the country.

In a note sent to the staff and faculty, Terri Singer, dean of Kent School said: “It is a great time to be a Kent School grad student and a member of the Kent School team. But let me add, it is good to be Andy Frey! Great job.”

Although the specialization in School Social Work is offered only on campus, students who live within driving distance from UofL and are enrolled in the online Master of Science in Social Work often attend courses in this specialization.

Visit the University of Louisville’s Kent School of Social Work program page to learn more about the many educational opportunities, both traditional and online, that the prestigious Kent School has to offer for you. To see the online social work offerings, visit: http://louisville.edu/online/programs/masters/master-of-science-in-social-work?utm_source=frey-article.

Category: Online Programs

A prestigious award for Dr. Jacob Gross’ outstanding work!

By admin | September 1, 2015

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