2023 - 2024 Undergraduate Catalog
Department of Social Work, and Urban Studies
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 Return to: College of Public Service and Urban Affairs
Delores Butler, LAPSW, Interim Department Chair
310 Jane E. Elliott Hall
615-963-7243
Donna Dopwell, Ph.D.
Interim Director of Social Work
310 Jane E. Elliott Hall
615-963-5992
Kimberly L. Triplett, Ph.D.
Urban Studies Program Coordinator
Avon Williams Campus
4th Floor, Suite F-400
615-963-7025
Social Work Program
Faculty: D. Butler, D. Dopwell, C. George, S. Hughes, G. Jones Jr.
Rationale: Tennessee State University has a service-mix area that includes all ethnicities, races and socioeconomic groups.
The Nashville metropolitan area, including a small rural population requires a variety of social service agencies to serve this population. Additionally, Tennessee State University’s student body and faculty originate from the United States and more than fifty countries. The Social Work Program is needed to provide leadership and to produce a reservoir of Social Work professionals who can serve diverse populations in Nashville, Middle Tennessee, the State of Tennessee, and the nation.
Mission: The Tennessee State University Social Work Program is dedicated to the enhancement of human well-being, diversity, and social justice through developing and improving systems of social service, especially for the vulnerable and oppressed, by delivering undergraduate and graduate education in advanced generalist social work practice from a public, land grant HBCU in Middle Tennessee.
Core Values:
The program provides leadership training for social service professionals in Metro Nashville and the surrounding region. The Core Values of the Tennessee State University Social Work program are consistent with the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) Code of Ethics core values. These values are actively prompted and modeled within the social work department and expected to be demonstrated by our faculty staff students, honored alumni, and advisory board. The core values include Service, Social justice, Dignity and worth of the person, importance of human relationships, integrity, and Competence.
Professional Expectations:
The Tennessee State University Social Work program also maintains a list of professional expectations. These guidelines are modeled by faculty and staff and expected of students. They are also used to identify challenges and support positive resolutions in student progress through the program and individual development through advising and, if necessary, disciplinary action. The professional expectations can be found in each syllabus and the field and student handbooks. The professional expectations require that students:
1. Demonstrate Ethical and Professional Behavior
2. Engage Diversity and Difference in Practice
3. Advance Human Rights and Social, Economic, and Environmental Justice
4. Engage in Practice-Informed Research and Research-Informed Practice
5. Engage in Policy Practice
6. Engage with Individuals, Families, Groups, Organizations, and Communities
7. Assess Individuals, Families, Groups, Organizations, and Communities
8. Apply Knowledge of Human Behavior and the Social Environment, Person-In-Environment, and Other Multidisciplinary Theoretical Frameworks in the Analysis of Assessment Data from Clients and Constituencies
9. Evaluate Practice with Individuals, Families, Groups, Organizations, and Communities
Program Goals:
To prepare a diverse student population for generalist social work practice based on professional values and ethics to serve client systems of various sizes and types.
To promote the development of social policies and services to reduce the impact of poverty, oppression and discrimination.
To guide students in acquiring analytical and critical thinking skills that will encourage active participation in the development, evaluation, and improvement of social work knowledge and skills through research aimed at advancing social work practice.
To promote the development of a multiple theoretical orientation applicable across system sizes.
To provide an understanding of diversity and cultural humility with an emphasis on social/economic/environmental justice, empowerment, and improving the well-being of all people.
To socialize students to the profession of social work and the organizational environment through evidence-based practice.
Student Learning Outcomes:
1. Demonstrate Ethical and Professional Behavior
a. Make ethical decisions by applying the standards of the NASW Code of Ethics
b. Use reflection and self-regulation to manage personal values and maintain professionalism.
c. Demonstrate professional demeanor in behavior; appearance; and oral, written, and electronic communication
d. Use technology ethically and appropriately to facilitate practice outcomes
e. Use supervision and consultation to guide professional judgment and behavior
2. Engage Diversity and Difference in Practice
a. Apply and communicate understanding of the importance of diversity and difference in shaping life experiences in practice at the micro, mezzo and macro level
b. Present themselves as learners and engage client systems as experts of their own experiences
c. Apply self-awareness and self-regulation to manage the influence of personal biases and values in working with diverse clients and constituencies
3. Advance Human Rights and Social, Economic and Environmental Justice
a. Apply understanding of social and economic, and environmental justice to advocate for human rights at the individual and systems levels
b. Engage in practices that advance social, economic and environmental justice
4. Engage in Practice-Informed Research and Research-Informed Practice
a. Use practice experiences to inform scientific inquiry and research
b. Apply critical thinking to engage in analysis of quantitative and qualitative research methods and research findings
c. Use and translate research evidence to inform and improve practice, policy and service delivery
5. Engage in Policy Practice
a. Identify social policy at the local, state, and federal level that impacts well-being, service delivery, and access to social services
b. Assess how social welfare and economic policies impact the delivery of and access to social services
c. Apply critical thinking to analyze, formulate, and advocate for policies that advance human rights and social, economic, and environmental justice
6. Engage with Individuals, Families, Groups, Organizations, and Communities
a. Apply knowledge of human behavior and the social environment, person-in-environment and other multidisciplinary theoretical frameworks to engage with clients and constituencies
b. Use empathy, reflection, and interpersonal skills to effectively engage diverse clients and constituencies
7. Assess Individuals, Families, Groups, Organizations, and Communities
a. Collect and organize data, and apply critical thinking to interpret information from clients and constituencies
b. Apply knowledge of human behavior and the social environment, person-in- environment, and other multidisciplinary theoretical frameworks in the analysis of assessment data from clients and constituencies
c. Develop mutually agreed-on intervention goals and objectives based on the critical assessment of strengths, needs and challenges within clients and constituencies
d. Select appropriate intervention strategies based on the assessment, research knowledge, and values and preferences of clients and constituencies
8. Intervene with Individuals, Families, Groups, Organizations and Communities
a. Critically choose and implement interventions to achieve practice goals and enhance capacities of clients and constituencies
b. Apply knowledge of human behavior and the social environment, person-in- environment, and other multidisciplinary theoretical frameworks in interventions with clients and constituencies
c. Use inter-professional collaboration as appropriate to achieve beneficial practice outcomes
d. Negotiate, mediate, and advocate with and on behalf of clients and constituencies
e. Facilitate effective transitions and endings that advance mutually agreed-on goals
9. Evaluate practice with Individuals, Families, Groups, Organizations, and Communities
a. Select and use appropriate methods for evaluations of outcomes
b. Apply knowledge of human behavior and the social environment, person-in-environment, and other multidisciplinary theoretical frameworks in the evaluation of outcomes
c. Critically analyze, monitor, and evaluate intervention process and outcomes
d. Apply evaluation findings to improve practice effectiveness at the micro, mezzo and macro levels
Career Opportunities:
Career opportunities include employment at the professional entry-level in social work positions in public and private agencies in the following areas: human services, public health, mental health, mental retardation, corrections, social services in hospitals and nursing homes, senior citizen centers, state and county social services agencies, public housing, adult protective services, child protective services, school social work, planned parenthood centers, and as resident managers and probation and parole officers.
Accreditation:
The Social Work Program is accredited by the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE), the national accrediting agency to the profession. The Program has been accredited since 1974.
Admission and Exit Requirements:
Students who wish to gain admission to the Social Work Program must meet the university admission policy, complete the university general education requirements, submit an application to be reviewed by the advisor, and earn a cumulative grade point average of 2.3 (4.0 scale) on college-level coursework. After the review of the formal application, the faculty advisor conducts an interview. The interview serves as the primary tool for the exploration of student’s knowledge of the profession of social work, motivation for selecting social work as a major, prior work or volunteer experiences, and future career goals. The advisor then meets with the faculty to decide on the admission of the student. Without formal admission to the program, students are not considered to be Social Work majors. Students who do not meet the quality point average requirement or who have failed courses in the general education area may be asked to reapply for admission at a later date or may be admitted on a provisional basis. No academic credit is given for life experience or prior work experience. These procedures are all in addition to the procedures for upper-level admission outlined below.
Transfer Students and Transfer Credit:
Credits in Social Work earned at other higher education institutions are accepted toward the Social Work degree at Tennessee State University on the same basis as work taken at TSU, provided the courses are of the same content and quality.
Departmental Requirements for Bachelor of Science in Social Work: 120 Semester Hours
A student must complete a minimum of 120 semester hours to receive a degree. A minimum of 60 of the semester hours must be in courses on the 3000 and 4000 level. A minimum of 45 semester hours is required in social work courses, 15 related liberal arts semester courses, 42 semester hours of general education courses and 18 hours of other lower-division required courses.
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Return to: College of Public Service and Urban Affairs
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