Transitioning into an online dental hygiene degree-completion program

Purpose The University of British Columbia's (UBC) Dental Hygiene Degree-Completion (DC) program has offered an academic pathway for dental hygienists to earn a degree exclusively through an online delivery format since 2006. The students' experiences transitioning to online learning and related student support needs have not been previously studied. Thus, this study investigated students' experiences as they entered an online dental hygiene DC program Methods An online survey with open-ended and closed-ended questions was distributed to all 53 currently enrolled dental hygiene DC students in September 2019 Results Thirty-two students completed the survey for a 60% response rate. Most student respondents (78%) had no prior experience with online education. Only 59% of respondents were confident in their abilities to navigate a Web-based learning environment. Three-quarters (75%) of respondents felt like a valued member of the Faculty of Dentistry community but only 47% felt they belonged to the larger university community. Most (72%) were familiar with the support resources within the Faculty but fewer than half (41%) were aware of additional resources outside of the Faculty. Students aged 30 years and older felt more comfortable reaching out to faculty and staff members (90% vs. 55%; P = 0.05). Students with prior online learning experience were more aware of student support resources outside of the Faculty (57% vs. 36%; P = 0.05) Conclusion Lessons learned from this study have informed several recommendations to better support student transition to online learning that can be applicable to this program and in other institutions.