Leveling the playing field: the development of a distance education program in rehabilitation counseling

This article describes the curriculum design and development of an online Master's degree program in Rehabilitation Counseling at the University of South Carolina. The use of Bloom's Taxonomy as a method for selecting distance education techniques and teaching methods to ensure equivalency of the educational experience to traditional classroom teaching is described. The author presents tables to demonstrate the cognitive competencies, traditional and distance education methods, and use of synchronous and asynchronous methods in reaching desired educational objectives. This process has resulted in the creation of a program that offers distance education options, traditional classroom options, or a blend of approaches. The menu of options has met the unique learning needs of all students and has offered students with disabilities a level playing field on which to build rehabilitation counseling competencies.