Assessment of Masters in Social Work Advanced Generalist Curriculums Across the Nation
Location
Hager-Lubbers Exhibition Hall
Description
PURPOSE: The School of Social Work (SSW) at Grand Valley State University (GVSU) is committed to providing the highest quality Masters in Social Work (MSW) Advanced Generalist (AG) curriculum for social work students. While the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) requires certain competencies be met for every MSW program, programs vary widely in how these are achieved. This project was enacted to assess how each AG program meets these competencies in order to equip GVSU faculty with an additional resource as they make informed curriculum changes to the MSW program. PROCEDURES: A graduate assistant compiled the course descriptions and credit requirements of fifty-two comparable Advanced Generalist programs around the nation. Program and course descriptions were then evaluated based on key phrases and emphases to create typologies for each core competency and curricular areas, in order to identify overall themes of AG programs. OUTCOME: GVSU’s curriculum was compared to the various typologies, identifying where GVSU’s SSW aligned and differed from the majority of programs. These observations were communicated to faculty overseeing each aspect of the SSW curriculum as a resource for making informed curriculum changes. This evidence-informed approach incorporated data beyond our SSW to thoughtfully evaluate and potentially improve our curriculum. IMPACT: As GVSU seeks to maintain the highest quality education for social work students, the information collected aided faculty in identifying effective ways to adjust curriculum and increase GVSU as a competitive choice for MSW students.
Assessment of Masters in Social Work Advanced Generalist Curriculums Across the Nation
Hager-Lubbers Exhibition Hall
PURPOSE: The School of Social Work (SSW) at Grand Valley State University (GVSU) is committed to providing the highest quality Masters in Social Work (MSW) Advanced Generalist (AG) curriculum for social work students. While the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) requires certain competencies be met for every MSW program, programs vary widely in how these are achieved. This project was enacted to assess how each AG program meets these competencies in order to equip GVSU faculty with an additional resource as they make informed curriculum changes to the MSW program. PROCEDURES: A graduate assistant compiled the course descriptions and credit requirements of fifty-two comparable Advanced Generalist programs around the nation. Program and course descriptions were then evaluated based on key phrases and emphases to create typologies for each core competency and curricular areas, in order to identify overall themes of AG programs. OUTCOME: GVSU’s curriculum was compared to the various typologies, identifying where GVSU’s SSW aligned and differed from the majority of programs. These observations were communicated to faculty overseeing each aspect of the SSW curriculum as a resource for making informed curriculum changes. This evidence-informed approach incorporated data beyond our SSW to thoughtfully evaluate and potentially improve our curriculum. IMPACT: As GVSU seeks to maintain the highest quality education for social work students, the information collected aided faculty in identifying effective ways to adjust curriculum and increase GVSU as a competitive choice for MSW students.