When Gallatin College Montana State University student Rachel Johnson got home from her full-time job at a wedding venue in Livingston, she was exhausted.
With a cup of coffee nearby, she began clicking through her online courses for a two-year Associate of Arts degree. Some nights were long, but picturing a diploma in her hand in May 2026 reminded Johnson of her “why” — her reason for finishing school at the age of 28.
“There are people I could help on the other side of this. I’m not doing it just for myself,” she said. “One day, this degree will open more opportunities for me, and I could help someone else down the road.”
For Gallatin College MSU students who work full time, live in rural Montana or help care for their families, online courses often provide one less barrier to education.
About 250 students have enrolled in at least one online course at Gallatin College MSU each semester, with most working toward a two-year Associate of Arts or Associate of Science degree, said Janet Heiss Arms, director of Gallatin College MSU’s associate of arts and science programs. More than one-third of the college’s general education courses are now online since fully remote degree programs were approved in 2024.
“Students essentially vote to maintain our online course offerings with their enrollments, and the first and fastest courses to fill are our online sections.” Heiss Arms said. “Clearly students want this.”
Johnson has taken all her courses online thus far and will complete 12 credits remotely in the fall. She hopes to take a few in-person classes for her final semester, but for now, the flexibility of online courses accommodates her work schedule and minimizes travel to Bozeman. It also means Johnson could still complete her Associate of Arts degree if she decides to move before graduation.
She is considering pursuing a bachelor’s degree in film in the future. A two-year degree, Johnson said, is an affordable way to explore her passions before committing to an expensive, four-year program.
General education credits from Gallatin College MSU are transferrable to four-year universities such as MSU, where students have the option of completing a full bachelor’s degree in liberal studies online as well. Online sections of some MSU students’ core classes are also available through Gallatin College MSU, ranging from Native American studies to introduction to biology courses.
To assist students with managing coursework, online academic advising and MSU’s virtual writing center services are available for Gallatin College MSU students.
Johnson said the care professors put into their online courses was unlike anything she experienced at her previous university, where she completed one semester online before moving to a new state. At Gallatin College MSU, she spoke with a writing professor on the phone about feeling overwhelmed during her first semester of school, and she connected with an instructor teaching digital photography this spring.
“There are so many times he would write to us saying, ‘You’re important. You matter, and if you need me, I’m here for you,’” she said. “If you’re dealing with a lot of stress managing online school and work, it’s nice to see that professors understand.”
Gallatin College MSU will also extend its online offerings to the medical field with a one-year behavioral health certificate, in which all but two labs are held online. Students will receive instruction on mental illness, addiction, caregiving and counseling to prepare for clinical assistant positions in environments such as hospitals or community outreach centers.
DeeDee Dalke, Allied Health program director for Gallatin College MSU, hopes the hybrid format of online and in-person coursework will draw students, like Johnson, who want to educate themselves but require flexibility to complete their degrees alongside work and family life.
“They want to be of help to their communities but can’t because of that barrier,” she said. “I hope that with this program and programs in the future, we can give them skilled instruction online and then have them come in person for hands-on labs to learn among their peers.”
The program is also an avenue for public service personnel, nonprofit employees or Gallatin College MSU students already pursuing certificates in medical assistantship and phlebotomy who want to widen their skill sets. Dalke said health care workers with “a lot of tools in their bag” are becoming more invaluable to combat staff shortages, particularly in states with numerous rural counties, such as Montana.
“I hope our students can add value to those workforces, so we can have better patient quality of care and better safety,” Dalke said. “When you have robust teams, your burnout goes down. Because we offer this certificate primarily online, we hope to provide an opportunity to meet that need for nontraditional students across the state.”