In order to earn a Bachelor of Science in Social Work degree from SUNY College at Fredonia, social work majors must (a) complete the general education program (CCC); (b) complete prerequisite social work courses; (c) successfully complete the Advancement process; (d) complete required social work courses; (e) complete 6 credit hours of coursework with diversity content from an approved list of courses (taken as part of the CCC); (f) maintain and complete a portfolio; (g) complete enough general elective hours and/or a minor to earn 120 credit hours and (h)consistently demonstrate professional behavior. You are encouraged to take electives that will enhance your existing talents, will teach you new ones, and/or will broaden your understanding of the world. If you have a specific career goal/interest, you may want to take courses giving you specific knowledge in that area or you may want to speak to your advisor about pursuing a minor/concentration in that area.

The following is a list of required courses in which you will learn the knowledge and skills need to become a professional social worker and to receive a Bachelor of Science degree in Social Work from SUNY Fredonia.

Prerequisites to Advancement:

Please note that no academic credit for life or work experience will be given as an equivalent for Introduction to Social Work or for Exploring Community-Based Social Work or for any required social work course listed below.

Required Social Work Courses:

This is a year of exploration as well as adjustment to the university and college-level expectations. Students are encouraged to explore a broad range of interest while concentrating on meeting some of the requirements of the College Core Curriculum, our general education program. Potential and declared social work majors should take SOC 116, PSY 129, BIOL 110 and statistics during their freshman year.

Note about Part-time study:SUNY Fredonia made an effort several years ago to offer part-time study option. However, lack of interest led to the cancellation of this option. We are, therefore, a full-time undergraduate program and part-time study is strongly discouraged. If life circumstances threaten to disrupt your ability to pursue your degree full-time, please talk with your advisor before making any decisions about your registration.

Note about International Study:Many students are interested in spending a semester abroad. Because of the sequential nature of the social work curriculum, the best time to do this is during the Sophomore year. Please speak to your advisor who can help you arrange your schedule accordingly. The program does not currently have International Field Practicums set up. However, if a student is interested in an International Field Practicum, he/she should see the Field Coordinator for more information.

'Advanced status' is a prerequisite for the Junior and Senior Methods courses. The term 'advanced status' refers to the successful completion of the Advancement process, our program's admission process. (All CSWE accredited programs are required to have a formal admission process.) Students who have the social work prerequisite courses completed or nearly completed are eligible to begin the Advancement process in the Spring semester of the Sophomore year. If granted 'advanced status' students enter the professional foundation courses the next Fall semester. Advancement not only represents successful attainment of the prerequisites but students are assumed to have explicitly and implicitly made a commitment to learn and follow the norms, values and practices of professional social work education.

'Advanced status' students need to remember several policies. Once you have achieved advanced status, you (a) must stay in sequence and (b) cannot skip courses. Each course builds on the preceding one. You must also receive a grade of "C" or better to continue in sequence. If you withdraw from a course or from school, you will have to wait a whole year to reenroll in the class. If you have withdrawn without taking a leave of absence from SUNY Fredonia and from the program, you must reapply for "advanced status" in the program in order to register for the courses. The program requires a written letter to the Program Director requesting a leave from the program which must be approved. The university policy is printed on page 200 of the 2005-2007 Catalog.

This Handbook is required "for Advanced Status Students", but it also serves as our main policy and procedures manual. The Handbook is distributed widely to program constituents. Therefore, Section V presents and details the Advancement process.

The minimum standard to remain in good standing in the social work program is a 2.0 G.P.A. and a 2.5 social work G.P.A.. Please note that you must earn a 2.5 G.P.A. average for Advancement. You must earn a "C" in all the required courses. If you earn a grade of "C-" or less, you must repeat the course. Unless you have a compelling reason for the poor performance, you will not be allowed to continue in the Methods sequence after Advancement if you have a "C-" or less in a practice or HBSE course.

You are expected to create a portfolio of your work after attaining 'advanced status'. You will maintain all your required social work course assignments and tests (if given back) in a 4-5 inch binder. The portfolio is an integral part of our assessment process. But more importantly, it is a learning tool that allows you to chart your own learning and development over time. Section VI explains the portfolio more fully.

You are expected to behave in accordance with professional standards. This means following the NASW Code of Ethics discussed in Section II, learned about in Introduction to Social Work, and applied in the Social Work practice methods courses. You can be dismissed from the social work program if you exhibit a pattern of unprofessional behavior. Section IX discusses this policy more fully.

A Word or Two on Grading

The social work program follows all the university's academic policies, most of which are found in the 2005-2007 Catalog. In particular, the program uses the SUNY Fredonia grading system found in the 2005-2007 Catalog on pages 198-199. Students are expected to honor all university policies related to student responsibilities especially the academic integrity policies found on pages 212-213.

In individual courses, every instructor has different expectations when it comes to grading assignments. The same instructor may have different expectations for each of his/her courses. Please make sure you understand their expectations and talk with them when you find yourself not understanding his/her expectations and/or course material. Some general guidelines regarding grading embraced by the social work program:

If you find yourself in any trouble, talk with your course instructor to find ways for improvement. Please also talk with your advisor.

Advising

When you declare social work as your major, you are assigned a social work faculty member as an advisor. Advising in the SUNY Fredonia program goes beyond handing out midterm grades and helping with course scheduling. Your advisor is here to help you in all areas of your academic and professional life. Please seek him or her out when you are experiencing trouble in a course before the problem becomes overwhelming. If you are experiencing personal issues/difficulties, social work faculty cannot engage with you as a problem-solver in a client-worker relationship. But, your advisor can assist you in seeking the appropriate help. We are here to help.

Curriculum and Program Assessment

Our objectives are evaluated on a regular, on-going basis. You and your work are part of this assessment. You may be asking your self why me/us? The immediate answer seems simple. Our mission is to educate you to become professional social workers, and we need to develop ways to objectively measure whether we have done this. But the answer is also more complex. Assessment is a means through which we can find our strengths and weaknesses. It provides us with information to make changes in our curriculum and program planning. It helps us rethink our courses and assignments to make them more relevant to you. Objective measures challenge our assumptions and observations. The process stops us from being complacent.

How you, as a group, perform in individual courses helps us measure our objectives. When we assess your portfolios, we will be looking to see evidence of each of these objectives both in terms of actual exercises as well as continuing growth. We will also use aggregate G.P.A. and course grading, Field Practicum evaluations, exit surveys, alumni surveys, and periodic focus groups to help us assess the program.

As you can see, we will want your feedback when you are an alum too! It is the responsibility of all of us to make sure that social work education, locally and nationally, remains strong, relevant and responsive. During the self-study process, we will ask and expect your participation. Thank you ahead of time for your help and please ask questions and offer constructive criticism about this process.

                                               
H.  Social Work Checksheet

                                                                                                                Semester/                                               Credit

                                                                                                                Year                      Grade                      Hours   

1)  College Core Curriculum                                                              Use College’s form in advising folder to keep track

2)  Required Prerequisite courses

SOC 116 Introduction to Sociology                                    _________           _________           _________

PSY 129 Introduction to Psychology                                _________           _________           _________

SOC 200 Sociology Statistics (or other                           

                                Statistics, see below)                                           _________           _________           _________

BIOL 110 Human Biology                                                                      _________           _________           _________

SOC 218 Introduction to Social Work                            _________           _________           _________

SOC 272 Exploring Community SWK                            _________           _________           _________

3)  Required Core Social Work Courses

SOCW 249: Social Welfare Institutions                          _________           _________           _________

POLI 382:  Social Welfare Systems/Policy                    _________           _________           _________

SOC 300:  Research Methods                                           _________           _________           _________

SOCW 325: Social Work Practice Methods I                                _________           _________           _________

SOCW 340: HBSE I                                                           _________           _________           _________

SOCW 341: HBSE II                                                          _________           _________           _________

SOCW 370: Social Work Practice Methods II               _________           _________           _________

SOCW 390: Social Work Practice Methods III             _________           _________           _________

SOCW 400: Social Work Practice Methods IV             _________           _________           _________

SOCW 480: Field Practicum I                                           _________           _________           _________

SOCW 485: Field Practicum I with Seminar                  _________           _________           _________

SOCW 490: Field Practicum II                                         _________           _________           _________

SOCW 495: Field Practicum II with Seminar                _________           _________           _________

4)  6 cr. hrs. of Diversity Course Work (try to tie to CCC)

                Course 1                ________________________                        _________           _________           _________

                Course 2                ________________________                        _________           _________           _________

5)  Approved Electives:

Elective 1              ________________________        _________           _________           _________

Elective 2              ________________________        _________           _________           _________

Advisor’s initials and date choices were approved ______________________

6)  Other Electives/Requirements for a Minor or Concentration

                                Total Credit Hours ___________

Statistics courses: Recommend SOC 200 but will accept BUAD 200, EDU 200, MATH 200, POLI 200, PSY 200

Physical Education Reminder:  Within the 120 hours needed to graduate, students can only count

 4 credit hours of physical education.