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School of Social Work

Governance

The School of Social Work has a clear administrative structure and a complementary curriculum committee structure to carry out the operations of the School and manage our educational programs. The School's organizational chart and the curriculum development structure make clear the centrality of the School Committee of the Whole (SCW) in all School decisions.

Democratic governance is the hallmark of our School. With the exception of the School Faculty Status Committee (SFSC) that reports directly to the College Faculty Status Committee (CFSC), all faculty with administrative assignments and all subcommittees are directly or indirectly accountable to the School Committee and to the director. All decisions of moment are reviewed by the School Committee which is composed of all faculty and advisors, chaired by the director of the School of Social Work, and advised by our Community Advisory Board.

The composition of our School's committees also demonstrates our commitment to shared governance. All committees have the broadest appropriate representation of our constituencies: tenured faculty, non-tenured tenure-track faculty, and academic advisors. The membership of the committees and the reporting structure not only guarantees the opportunity for full participation by all constituencies, but also provides a clear avenue of renewal for curriculum and policy development. Our standing committees are described below. Ad hoc committees are formed as needed (e.g., faculty search committee).

School Committee of the Whole

The School Committee of the Whole acts on recommendations from its individual members, its subcommittees, the director of the School of Social Work, and the Community Advisory Board. All faculty and academic advisors are voting members. Membership includes:

  • Director (chair)
  • All tenure-track faculty
  • Director of Student Services
  • Director of Admissions and Recruitment
  • Coordinator of Field

School Faculty Status Committee

The School Faculty Status Committee reviews faculty performance, mentors faculty, and makes recommendations for tenure and promotion. Membership includes:

  • Director (chair)
  • Four elected tenured or tenure-track faculty

School of Social Work Appointment Salary Promotion and Tenure Policy
(updated November 20, 2019)

Curriculum Committee

The School's Curriculum Committee oversees the pedagogical content, methods, and quality of the Baccalaureate and Master's Programs, and continuing education programs offered by our School. It is responsible for insuring that all courses and their associated syllabi and course outlines adhere to School and CSWE policies. It reviews all curriculum changes including programmatic changes and new course proposals, and makes recommendations to the School Committee. It includes:

  • School Director (chair)
  • BSW Program Director
  • MSW Program Director
  • Chairperson of each of the five sequence committees
  • Both Academic Advisement Coordinators

School Concerns Committee

The Student Concerns Committee hears dispositional concerns, appeals and grievances and oversees the appeal and grievance procedures. Membership includes:

  • School Director (chair)
  • BSW Program Director
  • MSW Program Director
  • Director of Field Education
  • Both Academic Advisement Coordinators

Master's Admissions Committee

The Master's Admissions Committee reviews applications to the master's program and makes admissions decisions. It also reviews admissions policy and procedures and recommends changes to the School Committee. Membership includes:

  • School Director
  • Director of master's program
  • One tenure-track faculty
  • Director of Student Services
  • Director of Field Education

Five Sequence Committees

The sequence committees are the first line of oversight and innovation in the five foundational components of our social work education programs: policy, human behavior in the social environment, practice, research, and field. The committees monitor the content, teaching strategies, and texts used in sequence courses, and have primary responsibility for ensuring that courses are differentiated and jointly constitute an educational progression across both baccalaureate and master's programs. The sequence committees forward recommendations to the Curriculum Committee. Membership includes:

  • All faculty who teach in that sequence for that academic year (one serves as chair)
  • Any other faculty interested

Community Advisory Board

The Community Advisory Board serves in an advisory and advocacy capacity to our School. The members are nominated by the faculty for two-year terms on a rotating basis. Members represent a cross section of social work and community interests. Additionally a masters and a bachelors level student sit on the board. The board meets two times a year, at the end of each semester. The board also meets at the request of our School to provide input on projected innovations or current issues as they arise.

School Administration

The following faculty members serve in major administrative positions in our School.

Director of the School

The director is responsible for the overall maintenance and development of the School. This person is responsible for short and long-term planning, for resource development, and for external affairs. This person is the fiscal officer of the School and works closely with the baccalaureate director, the master's director, the Field director, and the two Academic Advisement coordinators.

Director of BSW Student Services

The Director of BSW Student Services is responsible for the maintenance and further development of the baccalaureate program in compliance with CSWE accreditation standards. This person has primary responsibility for the reaffirmation of the Program. This person works closely with the director of the School, the director of Field Education, the BSW Academic Advisement coordinator, and the Chair of each of the five sequence committees. This person chairs the Bachelor's Admissions Committee, co-chairs the Curriculum Committee with the master's program director. This person is responsible for resolving baccalaureate students' educational concerns.

Director of MSW Student Services

The Director of MSW Student Services is responsible for the development and maintenance of the master's program and for insuring compliance with the CSWE accreditation standards. This person has primary responsibility for the continuing development of the Program and for writing the accreditation documents. This person works closely with the director of the School, the director of Field Education, the MSW Academic Advisement coordinator, and the Chair of each of the five sequence committees. This person represents our School as a graduate coordinator in the Graduate School. This person is responsible for resolving master's students' educational concerns.

Director of Admissions and Recruitment

The position of director of Admissions and Recruiting for the School of Social Work involves recruitment for both the undergraduate and graduate programs and facilitating the admission process for both programs. The director of Admissions and Recruiting makes presentations and holds interviews at colleges and universities, agencies, and conferences to familiarize potential applicants with the School's academic programs. This position also responds to student inquiries, keeps the BSW and MSW inquiries database, and administers the admissions process from inquiry through admission or denial of admission. In addition, this position conducts initial screening of admissions applications, chairs the BSW and MSW admissions committees, and maintains admission files.

Director of Field Education

The director of Field Education is responsible for the development and maintenance of the field curriculum for both the baccalaureate and the master's programs. In this capacity, this person recruits, develops, assigns, and oversees agency field placements. This person works closely with the director of the School, the two program directors, the two Academic Advisement Coordinators, and faculty teaching the field curriculum. This person is responsible for resolving students' concerns related to field education.