Social Work

• Mission Statement

  The following Program mission statement is consistent with the Educational Policy and Accreditation Standards (EPAS) mandated by the Council on Social Work Education. It is also in line with that of the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences and Weber State University.
  
  The WSU Social Work Program: prepares undergraduate students in beginning generalist social work practice with diverse people and systems in a wide variety of settings and contexts, with special focus on the unique needs of individuals, families, and communities in northern Utah and the broader intermountain region.  Emphasis is placed upon the development of skills, ethics, and knowledge required of bachelors-level practitioners.  Additionally, the Program emphasizes an underlying value of service to individuals, families, groups, communities, organizations, and institutions.  Graduates of the Social Work Program are charged with commitment to the development of human well-being and to the alleviation of poverty and oppression.
  
  Specifically, it is the mission of the WSU Social Work Program to:

  • Prepare students for generalist entry-level social work practice;
  • Prepare students for graduate social work education;
  • Prepare students to take the Social Service Worker Licensing Examination;
  • Provide a liberal interdisciplinary learning experience to help students in their understanding of and adjustment to living in a democratic society; and
  • Provide continuing educational opportunities for the baccalaureate and para-professional social work practitioners.

   

  The mission of the WSU Social Work Program is consistent with that of the University and with the purpose of social work education as defined in CSWE’s 2008 Educational Policy and Accreditation Standards (EPAS).  The Program has been designed to provide students with a professional generalist foundation, built on a liberal arts education, that reflects social work’s purpose, knowledge, skills, values, and ethics.  Graduates of the Social Work Program are charged with a commitment toward the future development of human well-being and to the alleviation of poverty and oppression.

• Student Learning Outcomes
  • Certificate (Not Applicable)

     

  • Associate Degree (Not Applicable)

     

  • Bachelor Degree

    
    In 2008, the Council on Social Work Education implemented a new Educational Policy and Accreditation Standards (EPAS) statement that shifted from an emphasis on educational outcome objectives to a focus on a set of core competencies.  Recognizing the wisdom in this change, and in an effort to be compliant with CSWE accreditation expectations, the Social Work faculty at Weber State University has adopted these core competencies, along with the expected resulting practice behaviors that serve to operationalize the curriculum, as a framework for Program assessment.

    Graduates of the WSU Social Work Program (with the completion of a Bachelor of Arts or Science in Social Work) will demonstrate the ability to:

    EP2.1.1: Identify as a professional social worker and conduct oneself accordingly. 

    Social workers:

    • Practice Behavior 2.1.1a: advocate for client access to the services of social work;
    • Practice Behavior 2.1.1b: practice personal reflection and self-correction to assure continual professional development;
    • Practice Behavior 2.1.1c: attend to professional roles and boundaries;
    • Practice Behavior 2.1.1d: demonstrate professional demeanor in behavior, appearance, and communication;
    • Practice Behavior 2.1.1e: engage in career-long learning: and
    • Practice Behavior 2.1.1f: use supervision and consultation.

     

    EP2.1.2: Apply social work ethical principles to guide professional practice. 

    Social workers:

    • Practice Behavior 2.1.2a: recognize and manage personal values in a way that allows professional values to guide practice;
    • Practice Behavior 2.1.2b: make ethical decision by applying standards of the National Association of Social Workers/International Association of Schools of Social Work Ethics in Social Work Statement of Principles;
    • Practice Behavior 2.1.2c: tolerate ambiguity in resolving ethical conflicts; and
    • Practice Behavior 2.1.2d: apply strategies of ethical reasoning to arrive at principled decisions.

     

    EP2.1.3: Apply critical thinking to inform & communicate professional judgments.  

    Social workers:

    • Practice Behavior 2.1.3a: distinguish, appraise, and integrate multiple sources of knowledge, including research-based knowledge, and practice wisdom;
    • Practice Behavior 2.1.3b: analyze models of assessment, prevention, intervention, and evaluation; and
    • Practice Behavior 2.1.3c: demonstrate effective oral and written communication in working with individuals, families, groups, organizations, communities, and colleagues.

     

    EP2.1.4: Engage diversity and difference in practice. 

    Social workers:

    • Practice Behavior 2.1.4a:  recognize the extent to which a culture’s structures and values may oppress;
    • Practice Behavior 2.1.4b:  gain sufficient self-awareness to eliminate the influence of personal biases and values in working with diverse groups;
    • Practice Behavior 2.1.4c:  recognize and communicate their understanding of the importance of difference in shaping life experiences; and
    • Practice Behavior 2.1.4d:  view themselves as learners and engage those with whom they work as informants.

    
    EP2.1.5: Advance human rights and social and economic justice.

    Social workers:

    • Practice Behavior 2.1.5a:  understand the forms and mechanisms of oppression and discrimination;
    • Practice Behavior 2.1.5b:  advocate for human rights and social and economic justice; and
    • Practice Behavior 2.1.5c:  engage in practices that advance social and economic justice.

    
    EP2.1.6: Engage in research-informed practice and practice-informed research. 

    Social workers:

    • Practice Behavior 2.1.6a:  use practice experience to inform scientific inquiry; and
    • Practice Behavior 2.1.6b:  use research evidence to inform practice.

     

    EP2.1.7: Apply knowledge of human behavior and the social environment.

    Social workers:

    • Practice Behavior 2.1.7a:  utilize conceptual frameworks to guide the processes of assessment, intervention, and evaluation; and
    • Practice Behavior 2.1.7b:  critique and apply knowledge to understand person and environment.

    
    EP2.1.8: Engage in policy practice to advance social and economic well-being and to deliver effective social work services.

    Social workers:

    • Practice Behavior 2.1.8a:  analyze, formulate, and advocate for policies that advance social well-being; and
    • Practice Behavior 2.1.8b:  collaborate with colleagues and clients for effective policy action.

    
    EP2.1.9: Respond to contexts that shape practice.

    Social workers:

    • Practice Behavior 2.1.9a: continuously discover, appraise, and attend to changing locales, populations, scientific and technological developments, and emerging societal trends to provide relevant services; and
    • Practice Behavior 2.1.9b:  provide leadership in promoting sustainable changes in service delivery and practice to improve the quality of social services.

    
    EP2.1.10: Engage, assess, intervene, and evaluate with individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities. 

    Social workers:

    • Practice Behavior 2.1.10a (engagement):  substantively and effectively prepare for action with individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities;
    • Practice Behavior 2.1.10b (engagement):  use empathy and other interpersonal skills;
    • Practice Behavior 2.1.10c (engagement):  develop mutually agreed-on focus of work and desired outcomes.
    • Practice Behavior 2.1.10d (assessment):  collect, organize, and interpret client data;
    • Practice Behavior 2.1.10e (assessment):  assess client strengths and limitations;
    • Practice Behavior 2.1.10f (assessment):  develop mutually agreed-on intervention goals and objectives;
    • Practice Behavior 2.1.10g (assessment):  select appropriate intervention strategies;
    • Practice Behavior 2.1.10h (intervention):  initiate actions to achieve organizational goals;
    • Practice Behavior 2.1.10i (intervention):  implement prevention interventions that enhance client capacities;
    • Practice Behavior 2.1.10j (intervention):  help clients resolve problems;
    • Practice Behavior 2.1.10k; (intervention):  negotiate, mediate, and advocate for clients;
    • Practice Behavior 2.1.10l (intervention):  facilitate transitions and endings; and
    • Practice Behavior 2.1.10m (evaluation):  critically analyze, monitor, and evaluate interventions.

   

• Curriculum Grid

• Program and Contact Information

  Social Work is a self-regulating profession with sanction from public, private and voluntary entities. Through all its roles, functions, and multiple settings, social work is based upon knowledge, skills, and competence and is guided by professional values and ethics. With its central focus on the transactions between people and their environments, social work uses research and theory from social, behavioral, and biological sciences as well as from social work practice itself, developing a unique perspective on the human condition.
   

  The profession of social work is committed to the enhancement of human well-being and to the alleviation of poverty and oppression. The social work profession receives its directive from public and private auspices and is the primary profession in the provision of social services. Within its general scope of concern, professional social work is practiced in a wide variety of settings. It has four related purposes or outcomes:

  • The promotion, restoration, maintenance, and enhancement of the functioning of individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities by helping to accomplish tasks, prevent and alleviate distress, and use resources.
  • The planning, formulation, and implementation of social policies, services, resources, and programs needed to meet basic human needs and support the development of human capacities.
  • The pursuit of policies, services, resources, and programs through organizational or administrative advocacy and social or political action, to empower groups at risk and to promote social and economic justice. 
  • The development and testing of professional knowledge and skills related to these purposes.

   

  The Social Work Program at Weber State University has been accredited continuously by the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) since 1974.  In October, 2009 CSWE’s Commission on Accreditation voted to reaccredit the baccalaureate degree program at Weber State University for the full eight-year cycle ending in June 2017.

   

  Contact Information:
  Dr. Mark Bigler
  Weber State University
  1299 Edvalson Street, Dept. 1211
  Ogden, UT 84408-1211
  Lindquist, room 327
  (801) 626-6156

• Assessment Plan

  Beginning with the 2013-2014 academic year, the WSU Social Work Program replaced outcome objectives with the 10 Core Competencies and related practice behaviors discussed earlier in this report and no employs these as the framework for program evaluation.  Indirect evaluation methods include assessments in each course as outlined on individual syllabi and meeting with students as part of club activities or academic advisement.  Several direct measures are included in the Program’s assessment plan:
   

  • Senior capstone paper – The senior capstone paper is a major requirement for Social Work majors, giving students an opportunity to pull together the curriculum and further develop their conceptualization of social work as a profession.  Students produce this document over three semesters, beginning the first section in SW 3900 – Social Work Practice Methods and Ethics and submitting the completed document in SW 4861 – Social Work Field Experience II. 
  • The Social Work Educational Assessment Program (SWEAP – formerly the Baccalaureate Educational Assessment Program [BEAP]) – The Social Work Education Assessment Program (SWEAP) is a standardized measurement tool used in programs across the United States to assess the foundation social work curriculum.  The WSU Social Work Program uses baccalaureate versions of the SWEAP entrance survey, exit survey, and Foundation Curriculum Assessment Instrument (FCAI).  The FCAI is composed of 64 multiple-choice questions that are organized into the follow curricular areas:  practice, human behavior and the social environment, policy, research, ethics and values, diversity, and social and economic justice.  Composite section scores can be used to assess most of the Core Competencies (1-2, 4-8, 10).  Individual items provide separate assessments of individual competency for most practice behaviors.  Items in section D of the exit survey provide a subjective assessment of several Core Competencies (2, 4, 8, 10) and many of the related practice behaviors.  The correspondence of FCAI and exit survey scores to Core Competencies and practice behaviors is shown in the table below.  To provide a simpler, more global assessment of Core Competencies, outcome tables provided later in this report compare FCAI composite section scores for WSU graduates to national averages.
  • Field practicum evaluation form – The field practicum evaluation form was revised to allow assessment of the Core Competencies and practice behaviors.  Practicum supervisors complete this assessment online for each student at the completion of 200 hours and 400 hours in the field.  This new form was implemented during the spring 2014 semester.  Early experience with the online delivery of this assessment tool showed a need to include a hard copy option for the foreseeable future.  Beginning with the fall 2014 semester, paper forms will be available to field supervisors along with instructions for completing the evaluation online.  A copy of this form is included with this report in Appendix A.
  • Graduate school admissions – Graduate school admissions are tracked as an indication of student preparedness for graduate-level studies.
  • Exit surveys – Students complete a brief, online feedback questionnaire as they near the completion of their degree in SW 4990 – Senior Seminar.  This survey asks for student feedback based on three questions:  what are your plans after graduation?; what improvements need to made to the Program?; and, what would you say are the strengths of the Program?

  
  The table identifying evaluation tools employed to directly assess Core Competencies and related practice behaviors (i.e., senior capstone, SWEAP) can be found in the full report.

• Assessment Report Submissions
  2021-22
  2019-20
  2017
  2016 - Conducted Program Review
  2015

• Program Review
   

This information is part of the cyclical program review process. Details such as mission statements, learning outcomes, etc., are updated as part of the biennial assessment reporting process, an integral component of program review.