Bachelor of Social Work

Social work is a profession based on principles of social justice, human rights, collective responsibility and respect for diversity.

Our Bachelor of Social Work will prepare you to work with people and their environment. You’ll learn about people through their life span, societies and helping traditions from western and indigenous perspectives.

Learn more

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Availability

Our distance learning courses are offered throughout the year to help you fit study around your work and life commitments.
Courses are offered up to 12 times per year depending on demand and availability of academic staff.
Exact start dates are in the course information pages and in our Enrolment dates page:

Enrolment dates

Cost

• Course costscan be found on all course pages.  The fees may increase annually.
• Qualification cost – to give you an idea of how much a qualification may cost in total over the duration of your studies, an approximate cost is provided for many of our qualifications. This is based on the required number of courses to complete the qualification and the average cost of those courses. It does not include annual administration fees, text books and course materials or external exam fees, and is subject to annual course fee increases.

Credits

Courses are assigned credits depending on how much time and effort is needed to complete their learning outcomes. In general, each credit represents approximately 10 hours of study time.

Delivery method

• Online – The course materials for online courses are delivered in an online format and all assignments are submitted online.
• Mixed – These courses are delivered using a mix of online and paper based course materials. This may include receiving paper course materials, submitting  assignments online, or being required to participate in online forums and learning activities.
• Print Only - The course will be delivered using paper based courses materials, and assignments may need to be submitted in hard copy rather than online. This will depend on the course.

Whether courses are delivered online, on paper or a mixture of both, there may also be components such as workshops, noho marae, work experience and practicum to participate in. To find out what your course involves check the course information page.

EFTS

EFTS stands for equivalent full-time student. An EFTS is the study time required for each course and is used by the Tertiary Education Commission to decide if a course is part-time or full-time. 

One year of full-time study is generally between 0.8 and 1.2 EFTS.

Level

You can tell how hard a course or qualification is by the level it is set at:

• Levels 1-4 are about the same as secondary school and basic trades training.
• Levels 5-7 are the same as university study.

Prerequisites

• Prerequisites are courses that must be completed before another course can be studied.
• Co-requisites are courses that can be studied at the same time as another course.

If a course has a specific prerequisite or co-requisite course, it will be listed on the course page under the title 'Prerequisites'. If no courses are listed, check the entry and other requirements under the qualification you are studying for. Some courses require you to have studied at a particular level prior to enrolling.

Student loans

Not all qualifications or students are eligible for student loans. You will need to meet criteria such as studying a minimum number of credits over a specific study period. It is up to you to apply for a student loan via StudyLink - Open Polytechnic does not do this for you.

Information about student loans and eligibility

StudyLink website

Teaching weeks

Teaching weeks is the number of weeks that we teach a course. This differs from the enrolment period, which is based on the course start and end dates.

For example, a 20-week enrolment period will have 16 teaching weeks, followed by four weeks to accommodate marking, any extensions and reassessments, or exams.

Workload

The workload estimate given on a course page is calculated like this:

Number of credits x 10, divided by the number of teaching weeks for the course. The hours will be rounded up to nearest whole number.

Please note, this is a guide only. You may need more or less time for study, and you may also need to do more hours during assessment due dates or exams times.

• Level

7

• Credits

480

• Cost $22,516 NZ Domestic Not including any course materials or external exam fees.
• Student loan Available. 

Student loans and eligibility

Vaccination Information

This programme of study has practical components. Some agencies may require you to have a COVID-19 vaccination.

Programme Information

When you study this programme, you’ll learn about people through their life span, societies and helping traditions from both western and indigenous perspectives. 

It is designed for people who want to study full-time or part-time by distance learning. It will prepare you to become a confident, analytical and critically reflective practitioner. You will gain the knowledge, skills, attitudes and values to work in social services in Aotearoa New Zealand.

> Open Polytechnic has a lot of support available if you need it, and this helps aid in success for learners, I feel confident that I have been set up with the right foundations to help prepare me to enter the social work profession. > > > Roka-Reni Osborne, Bachelor of Social Work graduate

 

Career opportunities

A social worker can be employed as a generic social worker or within a specialist area such as:

• child protection
• schools, disability
• crisis response
• violence
• community development
• health and mental health
• housing
• working with older people

Practical experience

During the programme you will be required to attend 20 days of face-to-face workshops and noho marae. Travel and accommodation will be at your own expense.

There are also two 60-day practicums and a 30-hour volunteer experience.

Both practicums and the volunteer experience may be within your area.

 

Meet Ali Symmons and Papa Leota, students of our Bachelor of Social Work

 

Recognition of prior learning

If you intend to apply for Recognition of Prior Learning or Cross Credits, you will need to download and complete an application.

Learn more about how we recognise previous study and experience

 

Registration

Upon successful complete of this qualification you will be able to become provisionally registered. After 18 months of full time work you will then become fully registered. To find out more about registration requirements visit the SWRB's website.

Social Workers Registration Board website

 

Learner Story

[Distance learning gets thumbs up from social work ākonga

Bachelor of Social Work ākonga (learner) Roka-Reni Osborne (Ngāruahine, Taranaki) chose to study with Open Polytechnic because it allowed her to get a qualification while staying within her own rohe (region).

Roka-Reni Osborne

Bachelor of Social Work](/study-with-us/student-stories/roka-reni-osborne/)

 

Maximum Programme Completion Time

To be awarded the qualification, the programme must be completed in no more than 8 years of first enrolment, unless there are exceptional circumstances.