Are These “Wings” or a “Jet Pack?” Students Assess the Informal Curriculum of the UNT Online Master's Program

Abstract

A growing literature evaluates online learning outcomes and pedagogy within the virtual classroom, though assessments of entire online programs are comparatively rare. As online learning takes place through multiple modalities in multiple contexts, we were particularly eager to explore the informal and hidden curricula within the University of North Texas (UNT) online program in applied anthropology–the structural situations and circumstances of learning from the assignments, approaches, and pedagogies that we formally employ. We draw on alumni assessments of value to identify where these informal and hidden areas of our curricula are, and the challenges and opportunities they present. Our results underscore how much professional socialization takes place outside the online classroom, from gaining experience with virtual communication and collaborative work teams, balancing time-management skills, and being able to apply anthropological knowledge to different work situations. Current events (this manuscript was finalized at the time of widespread COVID-19 “shelter-in-place” quarantines and shuttered offices) suggest that learning how to succeed at online collaborations and virtual work teams will rapidly become globally critical occupational skills, and professional teaching programs will be increasingly pressed to respond.