Bachelor of Social Work in Social Work

Social Work Admissions Policy

1. Students must be admitted to the university and complete 30 hours of liberal arts coursework.
2. Students must take SWO 201 Introduction to the Profession of Social Work as the initial social work course.  This course is offered in the fall and spring semesters.  Students are expected to take the course during the second semester of the sophomore year.  Successful completion of the course with a grade of “C” or better is required as part of the admissions requirement to the Social Work Program.  Students are allowed to take SWO 201 after completion of 30 hours.
3. Students are allowed to take 12 hours prior to admission to the program: SWO 201 Introduction to the Profession of Social Work, SWO 300 Human Diversity, SWO 305 Social Work Skills, and SWO 311 Social Welfare Policy as long as they have a 2.25 GPA.
4. Students must complete an application for admission to the social work program. Applications can be picked up in the social work department.  The student must submit two letters of reference along with the completed application.  In addition, the student must submit an autobiographical statement as part of the application process.  The student should also schedule an interview with their social work faculty advisor at this time.  This process is completed while students are enrolled in SWO 305 Social Work Skills.
5. Students must demonstrate personal responsibility and show commitment to the social work profession as demonstrated in the personal interview with the faculty advisor.
6. Even though transfer credit will be given for social work courses taken at other CSWE accredited social work programs, students must complete the social work methods courses, senior field placement experience, and the Integrative Seminar at Delta State in order to receive the BSW degree.  Students transferring credit for social work courses from another social work program must present a letter of reference from the social work faculty, as one of his/her letters of reference.  In addition, if the courses transferred do not meet our requirements for volunteer experience, the student will be expected to complete the number of required hours before being given credit.
7. The social work faculty will meet on the first Monday in December and May, and the Friday prior to fall registration, to review applications for admission to the program.  Students can receive one of three statuses as follows:  1) Admitted    2) Admitted on Probation   3) Not admitted.
8. Students must have a 2.25 GPA to be fully admitted into the program.  Students who do not have a 2.25 GPA, but have at least a 2.00 GPA can be admitted on probation status.  Probation status can be maintained for one semester only (a semester is counted as fall, spring, or summer term.) Students with less than a 2.00 GPA will not be admitted.
9. Students are given a question to answer in class in SWO 201 to determine if any student has a writing deficiency/concern.  The purpose is to identify any writing concerns early in students’ social work entry classes and remediate as soon as possible.  Faculty notifies identified student in writing of the writing concern and student is referred to the writing lab and/or academic support lab.  Student may be placed on writing concern  probation.  The student will receive a letter regarding the concern from the department chair.  To have the writing concern probation cleared, student’s work must progress to satisfactory and an example of writing reviewed by faculty admissions committee.  If there continues to be no progress, the steps in the  procedure for counseling out of the program will be followed.
10. Following admission to the Social Work Program, in order to progress toward the B.S.W. degree, students must maintain at least a 2.25 overall grade point average with no grade below a “C” in professional courses.  Other Social Work classes can be taken unless the “D” or “F” class is a  prerequisite to the future class. Additional requirements for admission to Field Instruction are described in the Field Manual.
11. The social work department does not give credit for life or previous work experience.

Volunteer and Field Placement Experiences

Volunteering allows students to practice what they learn in the classroom in a safe learning environment with community partners who agree to supervise the student in a volunteer experience. Students accomplish many of the Program Learning Objectives (PLOs) and Student Learning Objectives (SLOs) listed in the course syllabus through the volunteering experience. Volunteering has many benefits for both the agency and the student. For the benefit of both the student and the agency, volunteers are not paid. Students may volunteer at their workplace only with the instructor’s approval if the volunteering hours are in addition to their paid hours and if their activities and services are unpaid. During their junior and senior years in the program, BSW students are encouraged to find various types of volunteer placements so they can gain well-rounded experiences that demonstrate to prospective employers and graduation schools that they can work with diverse systems of all sizes. The student selects a human services agency that meets the needs of the course, secures a supervisor, and volunteers for the number of hours specified in the syllabus. The Volunteer Agreement or Placement Confirmation Form constitutes a contract between the students, the agency, and the DSU BSW Program. Therefore, students are expected to honor their agreement, be dependable and honest, abide by the NASW Code of Ethics (2017) and the policies of this Handbook, and complete the experience according to the terms outlined in the course syllabus and the terms agreed upon with the agency supervisor. Each student will be evaluated by the agency staff member/supervisor who has worked with the student using the forms required by DSU BSW Faculty and provided in the course syllabus and in this Handbook (see Appendix). Students and their agency supervisors must fully complete and sign the required paperwork/forms in order to earn course credit as indicated in the course syllabus.

Students must volunteer for the number of hours specified below in the following courses:

• SWO 101 Volunteer in the Community I
• SWO 102 Volunteering in the Community II
• SWO 201 Introduction to Social Work
• SWO 301 Child Welfare and Advocacy
• SWO 309: Aging in the Community
• SWO 320 Social Work Methods
• SWO 421 Social Work Methods II
• SWO 475 Field Instruction and SWO 481 Integrated Seminar
  (See the Social Work Field Manual for updated Information)

• DSU Social Work Student Handbook
• DSU Field Manual 2021
• Volunteer Forms
  • SWO 101
  • SWO 102
  • SWO 201
  • SWO 303
  • SWO 309
  • SWO 320
  • SWO 421

Social Work Mission, Goals, Competencies

Mission

Consistent with the mission of the University, the Bachelor of Social Work program at Delta State University seeks to prepare students with professional knowledge, values, and skills for generalist social work practice by creating an environment that offers value oriented learning that emphasizes self assessment, service to community, self determination, social justice and respect for diversity.

Program Competencies

Upon completion of the Social work Program, students should be able to do the following:

1. Identify as a professional social worker and conduct oneself accordingly.
2. Apply social work ethical principles to guide professional practice.
3. Apply critical thinking to inform and communicate professional judgments.
4. Engage diversity and difference in practice.
5. Advance human rights and social and economic justice.
6. Engage in research-informed practice and practice-informed research.
7. Apply knowledge of human behavior and the social environment.
8. Engage in policy practice to advance social and economic well-being and to deliver effective social work services.
9. Respond to contexts that shape practice.
10. Engage, assess, intervene, and evaluate with individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities.

Goals

With the liberal arts and a person and environmental construct as its foundation, BSW graduates are prepared to continue their formal education in social work or engage in entry-level social work practice.  As such, it is our goal that by completion of the program, students will be prepared:

1. To prepare practitioners who engage in evidence-based beginning level generalist practice  with systems of all sizes and diverse populations
2. To prepare practitioners who understand and value human diversity;
3. To prepare practitioners who understand and appreciate the role and value of systematic data collection and analysis in systems of all sizes for the purpose of promoting the goals of the profession of social work;
4. To encourage the development of a strong professional identity and a commitment to the values and ethics of the social work profession in future practitioners;
5. To prepare students to understand the dynamics and consequences of social and economic injustice and the importance of alleviating injustice and oppression

Social, economic, and environmental justice is important to the DSU BSW Program and is part of the NASW Code of Ethics which we adhere to and the CSWE Educational Policy and Accreditation Standards competencies which we demonstrate. We teach it throughout our curriculum, include it in our assignments, volunteer activities, and simulations, and model it through kindness, respect, advocacy, and various activities. All our teaching, research, and service activities seek to promote and advocate for justice for all, especially the poor, vulnerable and oppressed at all levels of social work practice. Whenever injustice occurs, we try to listen and learn and then respond appropriately.