School of Social Work

BSW Academic Standards and Requirements

To maintain the high standards required of those who wish to enter the field of social work, the School has developed academic policies and standards to guide the students in their professional and academic growth. Students should read these carefully and become familiar with them.

Students must maintain at least a C- grade in every required course in the major.

Students' grade point averages in required courses in the major are evaluated at two points prior to senior field work to ascertain whether students have mastered the foundation material and are ready to go on to more advanced work in the major.

The first cluster of required Social Work courses are SWK100 and SWK200 in which the student must receive a cumulative grade point average of B- (2.7) prior to proceeding to SWK301. The student must receive a B- in SWK301 in order to move to SWK302. The student must achieve a cumulative grade point average of B- in five Social Work courses prior to being considered for a field work agency assignment. These five courses are: SWK100, SWK200, SWK270, SWK301 and SWK302. Transfer students must have maintained a B- average in these same five courses or in those courses for which they have received transfer credit. Students who fail to achieve a B- average at these points have the opportunity to retake one course from the cluster in order to achieve the necessary average.

Students usually complete both course work and field work at the same time. Should course work not be completed, a student may still go into field work provided that she/he have no more than five (5) courses left after field work is completed. Students need to have completed all required courses in the major by the time that they complete fieldwork, including SWK360, Human Behavior and the Social Environment; SWK380, Research Methods and SWK410, Social Policy: Theory and Action.

The student's faculty advisor shall refer to the Baccalaureate Program Coordinator any student whom she/he determines has failed to meet these academic requirements. The Baccalaureate Program Coordinator may refer the student to the School's Student Progression Committee for a review and recommendation. The Chairperson of the School of Social Work, who serves as chair of the Student Progression Committee, will notify the student of the Committee's recommendation and of the student's right to appeal the decision to the Director of the School of Social Work. A further appeal may be made to the Dean of the Schools of Human Services; the Vice President, Academic Affairs and, ultimately, to the President of the College.

We strongly recommend that students who are having difficulties maintaining these standards make use of supportive services offered by the College Learning Center, the Writing Center or the Math Lab.