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| Undergraduate Catalog 2004-2006: Programs |
Bachelor of Social Work
The Bachelor of Social Work degree is a four-year program accredited by the Council on Social Work Education. It is built on a strong liberal arts base that prepares the student for beginning social work practice with communities, groups, families, and individuals in a variety of settings with diverse populations and problems. This program also prepares the student to pursue graduate study in social work. Graduates with the BSW degree are eligible to sit for the state social work license (LSW) and to apply for advanced standing in the Aurora University MSW program.
The curriculum offers basic liberal arts education in the first two years with a professional orientation during the third and fourth years. This provides the option for students to transfer in or out of the program without loss of credit until the beginning of their junior year. The educational components of the BSW degree program include the general liberal arts and sciences, supportive liberal arts requirements, and the social work curriculum foundation, which includes a field work component.
The focus of the program is on understanding how people function in relation to their environment, and on developing growth enhancing professional relationships. Students develop an understanding and appreciation of human diversity and are able to practice effective social work with vulnerable populations especially those experiencing social and economic oppression. In developing professional competency, a strong emphasis is placed on the student's interpersonal effectiveness and self-awareness.
Career Options
Career opportunities for graduates with a BSW degree cover a wide variety
of social services in private and public agencies, including general social
services, health services and rehabilitation, child and family welfare, youth
services, geriatric services, juvenile justice services and services to women.
General Education
With an academic advisor, students select courses in the Ways of Knowing
areas: Knowing Ourselves and Others, Observation of the Natural World, Aesthetic
and Philosophical Expression, and Mathematical and Technological applications
to complete their general education requirements.
Supportive Liberal Arts Requirements
In addition to meeting
the general education requirements of the university, specific liberal arts
courses are also required to support the social work required (foundation) course
work. These include:
PSY1100 General Psychology (or suitable
transfer course)
SOC1100 Principles of Sociology (or
suitable transfer course)
PSC2110 United States Government (or
suitable transfer course)
PSY3350 Child and Adolescent Development
(or suitable transfer course)
PSY3360 Adult Development and Aging
(or suitable transfer course)
Admission to the BSW Program
Students must be admitted
to the School of Social Work before beginning the social work coursework in
the junior year. Students declare their intention to pursue social work as their
major in their freshmen and sophomore year and can begin taking 100 and 200
level social work classes prior to formal admission to the BSW program. Formal
admission to the School of Social Work occurs during the spring term of the
sophomore year. Applicants to the BSW program are expected to have an overall
grade point average of 2.50 on a 4.0 scale and to submit the required program
application materials (obtained by calling the School of Social Work). The formal
admissions process includes an interview with a BSW faculty member once application
materials are submitted.
In accordance with Aurora University regulations, the School of Social Work reserves the right to maintain academic standards for admission and retention in the social work program, above and beyond compliance with the general academic regulations of the University.
Also recognizing that there are professional competencies and conduct not measurable by academic achievement alone, the School of Social Work reserves the right to make decisions regarding admission and retention based on high standards of personal and professional conduct. Because social work education involves a significant amount of internship experience, and preparation for helping vulnerable populations, student evaluation will honor not only the rights of students, but also the rights and well-being of clients and others to whom students relate in a professional role.
Full-Time/Part-Time Study Students can complete the BSW program either as full or part time students. Required course work must be completed within five years. Required courses beyond the introductory course(s) are sequenced and begin in the Fall term of each year.
BSW SOCIAL WORK CURRICULUM
FOUNDATION
The program emphasizes community practice, research and service. Students are
taught to examine problems from an ecological perspective and to effectively
intervene in ways that are preventive, build on strengths, and promote healing.
The social work curriculum integrates knowledge, values, and skills related
to the eight basic components necessary for preparation for social work practice:
Values and Ethics, Diversity, Populations-At-Risk and Social and Economic Justice,
Human Behavior and the Social Environment, Social Welfare, Social Work Practice,
Research, and Field Education.
Required Courses: 44-48 semester hours
Foundation Knowledge, Values,
and Skills - 36-40 semester hours
SWK3100 Introduction to Social
Work (4) (or SWK1100 Careers in Social
Work [4] and SWK2100 Social Work in
American Society [4])
SWK3140 Social Work Practice with Groups
4)
SWK3150 Social Welfare: Institutions
and Policies (4)
SWK3300 Community Organization and
Social Service Organizations (3)
SWK3400 Human Behavior and Social Environment:
Integrative Seminar (4)
SWK4100 Social Work Practice with Diverse
Populations (3)
SWK4110 Generalist Social Work Practice
I (4)
SWK4120 Generalist Social Work Practice
II (4)
SWK4200 Social Work Research I (3)
SWK4300 Social Work Research II (3)
Field Instruction (concurrent with SWK4110
and 4120) - 8 semester hours
SWK4210 Field Instruction I (4)
SWK4220 Field Instruction II (4)
Selected Courses:
a minimum of one course from courses listed below. The BSW program provides
students with the following elective courses from which they are required to
select a minimum of 1 course. Students may be granted credit for suitable transfer
courses.
SWK2050 Drugs and Human Behavior (4)
SWK2150 Violence in America (4)
SWK3710 Child Welfare Services (3)
SWK3730 Social Development and Prevention
Programs (3)
SWK3750 Substance Abuse (3)
SWK3770 Social Work Practice with Older
Adults (3)
SWK3780 Computer Applications in Social
Work (3)
SWK3810 Selected Topics
SWK4250 Social Work Practice with Families
(3)
SWK4740 Family Violence: Issues and
Intervention (3)
Field Instruction
Field instruction is an integral part of the BSW curriculum. BSW students
are placed in an agency where they receive instruction from a qualified, approved
instructor holding an MSW degree. Students are required to complete a minimum
of 14 hours per week in their field placement during Fall and Spring semesters
for a total of 450 clock hours while enrolled concurrently in classes on campus
on the days they are not in field placement.
A wide variety of field practice settings are available, reflecting the fields
of service and social service agencies available for beginning careers in social
work. A series of theory and practice-related courses help the student to prepare
for and make productive use of the field learning experience.
ADVANCED STANDING FOR GRADUATE
WORK
Students who have earned a BSW degree at Aurora University, or through other
BSW programs accredited by the Council on Social Work Education, and who have
demonstrated excellence in scholarship in coursework and in the field are eligible
to apply for advanced standing in the MSW program at Aurora University. If granted,
advanced standing allows the student to apply BSW courses toward a maximum of
30 semester hours of the MSW degree. The MSW degree consists of 60 semester
hours.
TRANSFER CREDIT
Criteria for Academic Performance
The BSW degree program requires all students enrolled in the program to earn
a minimum cumulative grade point average of 2.00 in the five prerequisite liberal
arts general education supportive courses. In addition, students are expected
to maintain a cumulative grade point average of 2.80 in all social work coursework.
Full regulations are contained in the BSW Handbook.
Criteria for Personal/Professional
Performance
Students in the BSW program are evaluated, and may be dismissed from the program,
on the basis of standards of personal and professional behavior, lack of adherence
to ethical standards, and on the basis of certain civil and criminal records.
Full regulations are contained in the BSW Handbook.
Leave of Absence
If a student wishes to take a leave of absence of more than one term excluding
summer, a request for leave of absence must be made by filing the appropriate
form in the Registrar's Office. BSW students are expected to meet with the Chair
of the BSW program prior to filing the leave of absence form in the Registrar's
Office. The limit on terms for leave of absence is four terms or two years.
A student who does not fulfill these conditions is considered to have terminated
the program, and must reapply for admission to continue in the program.
Posted
31 December 2003
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