‘[If] we don’t have a vested interest, they don’t have a vested interest in us’: student experiences in an online bachelor of social work program

Online education has been increasingly utilized to expand access to education to students who are place-bound and to fill workforce gaps in helping professions. These potential benefits are of particular interest to the field of social work, whose ethical principles are consistent with educational and economic equity. This research, investigates a BSW distance education program in Montana, designed to serve rural and Indigenous communities specifically, through partnering community or tribal colleges. Semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted with students and faculty from partnering community and tribal colleges. Qualitative descriptive methodology and content analysis were used to guide the interview process and analysis. The results demonstrate the important ways in which faculty and program design are advantageous for students’ recruitment, retention, and success in the program. Student participants described the accessibility of the online format as important for meeting their needs as rural and Indigenous students. Committed faculty were reported as creating a sense of belonging for students. Valuable recommendation and areas of growth for the program were mentioned by both faculty and students. The results of this study contribute to the burgeoning literature exploring the evolution and potential of online education and demonstrate the potential for similarly organized social work programs.