Academic Advisement

Because planning a course of study in which courses are taken in the required sequence is so important, students are strongly encouraged to talk with social work faculty members as soon as they consider a social work major. When students have decided upon a social work major, they need to tell the registrar’s office and the social work department immediately so that they can be assigned an advisor in the social work department. (Only full-time faculty serves as academic advisors.) .) In the fall of the first year, each first-year student is given a copy of the Social Work Student Handbook, which contains valuable information about social work courses, a four-year course of study, departmental policies and procedures, and the practicum courses. Transfer students may obtain copies of the Handbook when they first meet with their advisors.
Social work majors meet often with their advisors. Advisors meet with first-year students before classes begin to help to orient students to the college and the major. They assist students in assessing their aptitude and motivation for careers in social work. Students and advisors have special meetings each spring semester to plan their schedules for the following year, to review students’ learning goals, and to discuss ways in which students and faculty might work together to attain those goals. Students are encouraged to meet often with their advisors (and other faculty members as well) about their progress and any difficulties that they might be encountering. Mid-term grades are distributed through advisors, and we recommend that students use this time each semester as an additional opportunity to visit with their advisors.

Advancement interviews, held once each year, are an important part of advising procedures. Students obtain advancement worksheets from the Social Work office, use them to assess their progress toward mastering the department’s program objectives, and then schedule meetings with their advisors to discuss their progress. These meetings are important in several ways:

• They assist students in taking charge of their own learning.
• They provide an opportunity for in-depth discussions of your educational and career goals with your advisor.
• They offer a time when you and your advisor may look at any obstacles that might be hindering your growth.
• They affirm that each student is prepared to advance to the next year’s courses. Should it become clear that social work is not a good fit for the student, these interviews provide an avenue for the student to discuss alternative plans with the advisor.

Advisors also assist students with career planning and write letters of recommendation for graduate school and jobs. Get to know your advisor early – advisors are there to help you!

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