Social Work, B.S.

Faculty: D.Butler, C. George, J. Hedgpeth, N. Sun, A. Winters. 

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 Social Work Program prepares students for professional social work practice, leadership, and service in an urban setting. The Bachelor of Science in Social Work degree program promotes social and economic justice, the application of cultural competence, scholarly inquiry, and lifelong learning.

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 promoted 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. Identify as a professional social worker
2. Demonstrate a Proactive Commitment to Learning
3. Utilize Resources and Feedback with Efficacy
4. Communicate Effectively with respect and cultural competence.
5. Apply Problem Solving and Critical Thinking Skills
6. Demonstrate Self-Awareness and Ethical Conduct
7. Manage a Healthy & Balanced Lifestyle effectively Managing Stress

Program Goals

(1) Administer a social work educational program of the highest quality promoting a culture of collaboration, efficiency, effectiveness, and autonomy as a model within the university context and a competent collaborator in the community. (2) Create and maintain an environment of learning, development, diversity, justice, and opportunity for faculty, staff, and students. (3) Build and maintain quality curriculum consistent with accreditation by the Council on Social Work Education. (4) Evaluate the extent to which the program, implicit curriculum, and explicit curriculum objectives have been met.

Student Learning Outcomes

(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 an 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.

The Baccalaureate Social Work Program is the only public program in Nashville, Tennessee that prepares students for entry-level professional practice. It also prepares students for acquiring registration, certification, and licensure in social work.

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 exploration of student’s knowledge of the profession of social work, the 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 a 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.