Table of Contents
Introduction
The Dana College Social Work Program
Generalist Practice
The Social Work Program Objective
Areas of Responsibility
Criteria for Selecting Field Agencies
Criteria for Selecting Field Instructors
Policies and Procedures
Eligibility for Field Practicum
Procedures for Setting Up Field Practicum
Development of Learning Plan
Guidelines for Assignments
Research Assignments
Student Accountability to Agency
Working Out Time Requirement
Insurance Coverage
Travel Reimbursement
Relationship between Practicum and Concurrent Seminar
Evaluation of Practicum
Working Documents (Appendices)
Practicum Application
Agency-College Letter of Agreement
Practicum Contract
Learning Plan
Guidelines for Assignments
Evaluation of Student by Field Instructor
Student's Self-Evaluation
Evaluation of Practice
Appendices
Social Work Department
 
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THE DANA COLLEGE SOCIAL WORK PROGRAM

Dana College is a liberal arts college located in the hills overlooking the Missouri River, in Blair Nebraska about 20 miles north of Omaha. The Dana College Social Work Program has been educating social workers since the 1970s and has been accredited by the Council on Social Work Education since 1986. The program educates social workers for beginning generalist social work practice in both rural and urban settings. Its unique location, near the largest community in Nebraska and yet amidst several small communities and a short drive from significant Native American communities, creates a multitude of opportunities for student learning. Students are prepared to work in settings such as community centers, medical hospitals, nursing homes, group homes for children and adolescents, facilities for mentally and developmentally disabled people, family service agencies, state social service departments, and mental health treatment centers, all in either urban or rural settings.


One of the hallmarks of the social work program at Dana College is its small size and personal attention given to students. Students in such a learning community experience an intense and rewarding educational and mentoring experience. Graduates are ready to take on the tasks of the profession at an entry level. Dana College social work graduates are generally highly regarded and are currently contributing significantly to their communities both regionally and nationally.


The social work program is based upon the Educational Policy and Accreditation Standards (EPAS) of the Council on Social Work Education. The EPAS mandate content which needs to be included in accredited social work programs across the United States. (A copy of the EPAS is given to each field instructor during training sessions.)


The EPAS also articulate the premises underlying social work education, its purpose and structure, and the curriculum content which all accredited programs must provide. The baccalaureate curriculum must include a liberal arts perspective, which underlies the professional foundation. The professional foundation includes content on social work values and ethics, diversity, social and economic justice, populations at risk, human behavior and the social environment, social welfare policy and services, social work practice, research and field practicum. Students from the Dana College Social Work Department should come to their practicum placements and enter the profession with a solid background in all of the above areas.
The social work curriculum is organized according to three categories: Dana College general education liberal arts required courses, social work liberal arts prerequisites, and required social work courses. There are also a number of social work elective courses available for students. The courses in the social work foundation curriculum are divided into four areas: the human behavior and the social environment, social welfare policy and services, social work practice, and social research. The practicum courses are the culmination of the program. Values and ethics are integrated into all courses, and other vital content (e.g., social and economic justice, populations-at-risk, and diversity) is part of virtually all courses as well. Content is integrated horizontally and vertically to ensure that courses are interrelated and build upon one another.


A master plan for course scheduling may be found in the working documents section of this manual. The following is a brief summary of the sequence of the social work curriculum. Students normally take the introductory social work course, social work liberal arts prerequisites, and some general education liberal arts requirements in the first year. During the second year they take the first two courses in the human behavior and the social environment sequence, as well as a social work prerequisite, Introduction to Political Economy (Soc. 261), Cultural Diversity (SW 236), the volunteer experience course (SW 215), African American Experience (SW 343) (may be taken the third year) or Native American Studies (SW 276), and general education liberal arts requirements.


Students normally apply for formal admission to the Social Work Department in the spring of their second year. After admission to the program, the third year is an intensive immersion in the professional foundation courses: HBSE I and II (SW 333 and 334) and Cultural Diversity (SW 236) have been taken in the second year, and students are ready for the research sequence (SW 337 and 339), the practice sequence (SW 355, 356, and 357), the HBSW III course (SW 335), and Social Welfare Policy and Services (SW 301).


The fall of the senior year includes the first practicum (SW 440) and the Integrative Seminar (SW 445), which includes intensive self-assessment and work on professional skills, as well as final general education liberal arts requirements. Students take the second practicum (SW 441) and the Field Seminar (SW 490) in the spring semester of their senior year.

 

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