Assessment Report for
Academic Departments/Program
Program:
Level:
Name:
Date:
Social Work
Undergraduate
Maggie Jackson, Ph.D., Chairperson
October 15, 2002
What are the main learning outcomes that you expect for students in your
program?
1. Students are expected to master knowledge and skills required for entry-level
social workers.
2. Students should be able to provide social work interventions to vulnerable
populations in the way that empowers them and that maximizes their dignity.
3. Students are expected to be able to assess outcomes of their social work
interventions.
How do you assess whether these outcomes are being achieved? What methods or
instruments do you use for assessing these outcomes?
Direct Measures
1. During the final two semesters prior to the graduation, students are placed in a
community-based social service agency and receive supervision of a field
instructor who is a practicing social worker with MSW. With the help of the
student’s faculty field liaison, the field instructor evaluates the student’s
performance based on the practice objectives established at the beginning of each
semester. If students receive a passing grade in both of the two semesters,
objectives 1 and 2 have been achieved. The department expects at least 95
percent of the seniors successfully complete two semesters of field practicum.
2. The department monitors the graduating students’ passing of the State Board
examination for social workers (Licensed Social Worker). The department
expects that at least 95 percent of the graduates pass the licensure examination
within 2 takes, to conclude that the objectives 1 through 3.
Indirect Measures
1. The department administers a survey of alumni every three years, soliciting their
assessment of the level of adequacy of their social work knowledge and skills in
their social work practice. Findings of the survey indirectly assess the
achievement of objectives 1 through 3.
2. The department distributes a survey to employers of our students every three
years, soliciting their feedback on the level of preparedness among our graduates.
Findings of the survey indirectly assess the achievement of objectives 1 through
3.
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3. The department conducts a survey of graduating students each semester to
indicate the level of their preparedness for entry-level social work practice. Their
feedback indirectly indicates the achievement of objectives 1 through 3.
In terms of each of the outcomes, what have been the most important
results/findings of your assessments?
1. The vast majority of the students (99%) received a passing evaluation of their
field practicum for two semesters.
2. The department will track our graduates’ licensure examination results with a
modest fee, beginning 2002.
3. The overwhelming majority of alumni indicated that they were very or fairly well
prepared by the CSU Social Work program for their current position with little or
no difference between respondents.
4. Alumni and employers expressed that our graduated are not sufficiently prepared
to conduct research at their agencies.
5. Although the evaluation of the program’s graduates by their employers were
generally positive, the employers indicated some decline in the quality of
preparation of CSU graduates.
Are those results communicated on a regular basis within your program, and to any
external audiences/agencies that are relevant to your program? How are the results
communicated?
1. Internally, those results are communicated to the faculty at faculty meetings as
they become available. The faculty then determines what committees should
discuss them and recommend changes, if any, in the program. Their
recommendations are presented to the faculty for discussion and decisions.
2. External audiences that receive the results include the Field Education Advisory
Committee that consists of community-based agency social workers. The
Committee makes recommendations for changes in the program that are
communicated to the faculty for review and decision for changes.
Indicate any modifications/changes/improvements in your program that have
resulted from your assessments.
1. Based on these finding about insufficient preparation in research, the Curriculum
Committee made a recommendation to require students to complete a sequence of
social work research—SWK304 and SWK305, instead of one course in research.
SWK304 provides knowledge in social work research and ability to propose a
social work research project while SWK305 provides skills for data collection and
analysis. We will find if this curriculum change has provided better preparation
in field research when we conduct another alumni and employer surveys in 2003.
2. The most recent three graduate surveys indicated that the amount of supervision
received by students during the field practicum greatly varied. Based on this
finding, the field instructors’ orientation content was modified. In addition, the
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department decided to require all new field instructors to participate in the
orientation in the academic year 2001-2002. We will find if this measure has
increased the consistency in supervision through the analysis of graduate surveys
collected during the academic year 2001-2002.
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