Bachelor of Arts in Social Work

The purpose of the social work profession is to enhance the well-being of individuals, families, and communities. The Bachelor of Arts in Social Work (BASW) program prepares students for positions as generalist practice social workers and for graduate education in social work. As generalist practitioners, students apply the knowledge, values, and skills of the social work profession to empower individuals and communities to overcome life challenges. Social work incorporates a holistic, strength-based approach to helping individuals, families, and communities. The BASW degree provides the foundation for entry-level social work careers in areas such as child welfare, community mental health, developmental disabilities, drug and alcohol, criminal justice, aging, community organizations, and other social service settings.

The social work major is based in a liberal arts education that promotes scientific inquiry and critical thinking. The BASW program provides an evidence-based approach to social work education that identifies best practices in social work. Students are taught the purpose, history, values, and ethics of the social work profession. Subject matter also includes communication and assessment skills, problem-solving approaches, human diversity, research, social welfare and policy, and intervention skills with individuals, families, and communities.  Students in the BASW program are encouraged to take either or both of PSYU 101 Introduction to Psychology and SOCU 101 Introduction to Sociology as general electives. As a professional program, the BASW program requires 400 hours of field education experience. Field education includes placement in a BASW program-approved field site in the student’s geographic area.  The BASW program is professionally accredited by the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE).

All applicants should note that licensing and field placement agencies may have regulations denying field placement and/or future licensure to anyone who has been convicted of a felony, especially convictions involving a record for child abuse or neglect. Please contact the licensing board in the state in which you plan to seek licensure, for clarification on how a prior conviction may affect your career goals and licensing. This clarification should be done before the application for admission to this program is submitted.

All courses taken in the major program must be passed with a letter grade of "C" or higher.

Program Mission Statement

The mission of the BASW program is to provide baccalaureate students with a strong generalist foundation in the knowledge and skills necessary for professional entry-level social work practice.

UMass Global Department of Social Work Anti-Racist Statement and Commitment to ADEI Practices

The social work department at UMass Global recognizes that most institutions, including higher education institutions, are inherently racist. At the core of social work is the commitment to social justice and transformation in all practice settings. We recognize that regardless of one’s positionality, we are all at a different point in the journey of becoming anti-racist and aware of how we exercise power and privilege. The social work department faculty, staff, and students emphatically believe the advocacy of racial justice and anti-racism (intersecting with many other systems of oppression) are critical to social work and are embedded in our CSWE accreditation standards, our NASW Code of Ethics, the NASW technology standards and the Grand Challenges for Social Work. As a collective social work department, we denounce white supremacy, systemic and anti-Black racism, oppression, and bigotry of any form. We actively disavow all racism, xenophobia, homophobia, sexism, transphobia, Islamophobia, anti-Semitism, ageism, classism, ableism, and hate speech or actions that attempt to silence, threaten, and marginalize individuals and groups. As a learning community, we strive to identify, challenge, and evaluate behaviors, policies, and practices through self-reflection and group discussions.

We are committed to create and sustain change through the following action plan:

1. Commit to decolonization of course curriculum;
2. Recruit and retain a diverse representation of students, staff, and faculty;
3. Adhere to equitable practices in assessment and evaluation throughout the department, coursework, and practicum experiences;
4. Include voices with intersectional identities when discussing department initiatives or policies;
5. Encourage and appreciate expressions of different ideas, opinions, and beliefs, so that conversations and interactions that could potentially be divisive turn instead into opportunities for intellectual and personal growth and enrichment; and
6. Intervene when students, faculty, staff, or administration exhibit racist, sexist, homophobic, discriminatory, or colonized language and/or actions.

Educational Competencies (Program Learning Outcomes):

• Competency 1: Demonstrate Ethical and Professional Behavior.
• Competency 2: Advance Human Rights and Social, Racial, Economic, and Environmental Justice.
• Competency 3: Engage Anti-Racism, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (ADEI) in Practice.
• Competency 4: Engage in Practice-Informed Research and Research-Informed Practice.
• Competency 5: Engage in Policy Practice.
• Competency 6: Engage with Individuals, Families, Groups, Organizations, and Communities.
• Competency 7: Assess Individuals, Families, Groups, Organizations, and Communities.
• Competency 8: Intervene with Individuals, Families, Groups, Organizations, and Communities.
• Competency 9: Evaluate Practice with Individuals, Families, Groups, Organizations, and Communities.

Ethical and Professional Standards

Students are expected to meet all program standards and abide by the ethical standards of the profession and the University of Massachusetts Global​ Student Code of Conduct. Since the BASW program involves preparing people to work in the helping profession, the program faculty assumes the responsibility for reasonably assuring that individuals who complete the program are not only academically competent but are aware of and are capable of functioning within the established ethical and professional standards of the profession. A student in the BASW program must adhere to the NASW Code of Ethics and should understand that he/she is being trained in a program which is not only academic, but also professional in nature.

The university has both the right and obligation to evaluate continually, and, if necessary, to suspend or terminate the student’s participation in the practicum and/or BASW program at any point for ethical violations and/or personal unsuitability for the profession. This philosophy is consistent with that of other professional graduate programs which are engaged in explicitly or implicitly certifying that their graduates are competent to engage in the practice of professional social work.

It is understood, therefore, that students will be required to follow the NASW Code of Ethics to continue in the program. Compendia of the prevailing ethical standards are available from the National Association of Social Workers. A full listing of NASW code of ethics can be found here: https://www.socialworkers.org/About/Ethics/Code-of-Ethics/Code-of-Ethics-English. In addition, the Social Work department has adopted a set of professional dispositions that represent expected conduct standards for social work students, consistent with the NASW Code of Ethics. The dispositions are examples of the kind of conduct expected of students in the Social Work programs, but are not intended to be exhaustive. The professional dispositions can be found on the MyUMassGlobal website.

Faculty will assess each student’s status in meeting the NASW ethical standards and the professional dispositions on a continuing basis, and students experiencing difficulties will be advised as to appropriate means of remediating such difficulties by the faculty or Dean’s Office.

Professional Conduct

The professional conduct policy applies both to current students and graduated students. University of Massachusetts Global is committed to providing an accessible educational experience for all learners. If a student requires accommodations for a disability to fully participate in the professional conduct process below, please contact the BASW Program Director at basw@umassglobal.edu or the Office of Accessible Education (OAE) at oae@umassglobal.edu or at (949) 341-9976 to request disability accommodations. Advance notice is necessary to arrange for some accessibility needs.

For current BASW students, the professional conduct procedures are as follows:

1.   Step One Meeting: When a program faculty member observes or becomes aware of behavior that brings into question a student’s ability to maintain the NASW Code of Ethics and/or professional dispositions, the faculty member shall meet with the student to discuss the behavior and to advise as to appropriate means of remediating such behavioral concerns. A second faculty member may also attend. A staff member will attend the meeting silently for the purpose of documenting the meeting's proceedings. The meeting shall be held in Zoom or on a similar virtual conference platform. Subject to written approval from the student, the meeting shall be recorded with the URL for the recording provided to the student, the presiding faculty, and the Program Director. Students are expected to be in a quiet and private area during professional conduct meetings with faculty. Students must have their webcam working and turned on for the duration of the meeting. Students are expected to make arrangements to attend conduct meetings at the date and time scheduled, during business hours.

With advance written approval from the Program Director/designee, the student may choose to have a silent observer attend the meeting. This does not include attorneys. The presence of attorneys at the meeting is not permitted as the meeting is not meant to function as a court of law. The silent observer may not participate directly in the meeting. Failure to comply with these rules may result in the removal of the silent observer or the termination of the meeting. One five-minute recess may be requested during the course of the meeting if the student wishes to consult with the silent observer.

During the meeting, the faculty member(s) will identify the behaviors of concern, discuss the behavioral concerns with the student, solicit the student’s response to the behavioral concerns in question, and advise the student as to appropriate means of remediating the behavioral concerns. The staff member will document the meeting's proceedings. After the meeting, the Program or Field Director/or designee will provide a written summary of the meeting to the student, including the identified behaviors of concern, the advisement provided by faculty, the student's response during the meeting, and any additional advisement for remediating the behavioral concerns warranted by the meeting's proceedings.

The faculty member may, at their discretion, proceed to conduct a Step One Meeting in the absence of a student who fails to appear despite having been provided advance notice of the meeting. The student will be considered to have waived their opportunity to participate in the meeting. After the meeting, the Program or Field Director/or designee will provide a written summary of the meeting to the student, including the identified behaviors of concern, the advisement provided by faculty, and the student's failure to attend the meeting.

The following conditions automatically require a Step One meeting if the student has not yet had a Step One meeting, or a Step Two meeting if the student has previously had a Step One meeting but not a Step Two meeting:

• Termination of a student's practicum placement by placement site personnel
• Failure of the student to secure a practicum placement after interviewing at three sites and applying for an interview at three other sites.

2.   Step Two Meeting: At any time after the Step One Meeting, if the Program Director and Field Director deem that a student’s ability to maintain the NASW Code of Ethics and/or professional dispositions remains in question and behavioral concerns remain unresolved, a second meeting shall be convened. This second meeting shall be attended by the Program Director or designee, Field Director or designee, and student. If the faculty member who met with the student in step 1 was the Program Director or Field Director, the Dean will appoint a different faculty member to substitute for the Program Director or Field Director in steps 2 and 3 of this process. A staff member will also attend the meeting silently for the purpose of documenting the meeting's proceedings. The meeting shall be held in Zoom or on a similar virtual conference platform. Subject to written approval from the student, the meeting shall be recorded with the URL for the recording provided to the student, Program Director/designee, and Field Director/designee. Students are expected to be in a quiet and private area during professional conduct meetings with faculty. Students must have their webcam working and turned on for the duration of the meeting.  Students are expected to make arrangements to attend conduct meetings at the date and time scheduled, during business hours.

With advance written approval from the Program Director/designee, the student may choose to have a silent observer attend the meeting. This does not include attorneys. The presence of attorneys at the meeting is not permitted as the meeting is not meant to function as a court of law. The silent observer may not participate directly in the meeting. Failure to comply with these rules may result in the removal of the silent observer or the termination of the meeting. One five-minute recess may be requested during the course of the meeting if the student wishes to consult with the silent observer.

During the meeting, the Program Director/designee and Field Director/designee will identify the behaviors of concern, discuss the behavioral concerns with the student, solicit the student’s response to the behavioral concerns in question, and advise the student as to appropriate means of remediating the behavioral concerns. The staff member will document the meeting's proceedings. After the meeting, the Program or Field Director/or designee will provide a written summary of the meeting to the student, including the identified behaviors of concern, the advisement provided by the Program Director/designee and Field Director/designee, the student's response, and any additional advisement for remediating the behavioral concerns warranted by the meeting's proceedings.

The Program Director/designee and Field Director/designee may, at their discretion, proceed to conduct a Step Two Meeting in the absence of a student who fails to appear despite having been provided advance notice of the meeting. The student will be considered to have waived their opportunity to participate in the meeting. After the meeting, the Program or Field Director/or designee will provide a written summary of the meeting to the student, including the identified behaviors of concern, the advisement provided by the Program Director/designee and Field Director/designee, and the student's failure to attend the meeting.

3.  Step Three: At any time after the Step Two Meeting, if the Program Director and Field Director deem that the student’s ability to maintain appropriate professional, ethical, and/or personal standards remains in question and the behavioral concerns remain unresolved, they may recommend to the Dean that the student be suspended or dismissed from the program. The Dean may suspend or dismiss the student from the program, with written notice provided to the student. The suspension or dismissal takes effect upon the Dean's issuance of the official letter of suspension or dismissal. A student dismissed from the program under the professional conduct policy is not eligible for readmission to the program.

A notice of suspension will specify (a) the earliest date at which the Dean will consider lifting the suspension; (b) the steps that the student must take in order for the Dean to consider lifting the suspension; and (c) the deadline by which the student must complete those steps and request that the suspension be lifted. If, by that deadline, the student has not submitted a request that in the Dean's assessment is sufficient to warrant lifting the suspension, the suspension will convert to dismissal from the program, with written notice provided to the student. That dismissal takes effect upon the Dean's issuance of the official letter of dismissal.

4.   Step Four: A student who is dismissed or suspended from the program may, within 30 calendar days of receipt of the dismissal or suspension notification, petition the Dean’s ruling to a professional review committee. The petition process is documentation-based and does not include a synchronous hearing. To file a petition, the student must submit to the Dean a written petition with supporting documentation appended.  The Dean will forward the written petition and supporting documentation to the professional review committee. After review, the professional review committee will issue a final ruling within 30 calendar days of Dean's receipt of the student's petition. The committee’s ruling is not subject to appeal.

For graduated students, for whom information is discovered after the time of their degree completion regarding alleged ethical or professional violations that occurred during the time, they were enrolled in the BASW program, the professional conduct procedures are as follows

1.   When the Program Director and Field Director learn that a graduated student may have committed ethical or professional violations during the time they were enrolled in the program, they may investigate the allegations.

2.  After reviewing their findings, the Program Director and Field Director may choose to convene a Professional Conduct Meeting. This meeting shall be attended by the Program Director, Field Director, and graduated student. A staff member will also attend the meeting silently for the purpose of documenting the meeting's proceedings. The meeting shall be held in Zoom or on a similar virtual conference platform. Subject to written approval from the student, the meeting shall be recorded and the URL for the recording provided to the student, Program Director, and Field Director. Students are expected to be in a quiet and private area during professional conduct meetings with faculty. Students must have their webcam working and turned on for the duration of the meeting.

With advance written approval from the Program Director/designee, the graduated student may choose to have a silent observer attend the meeting. This does not include attorneys. The presence of attorneys at the meeting is not permitted as the meeting is not meant to function as a court of law. The silent observer may not participate directly in the meeting. Failure to comply with these rules may result in the removal of the silent observer or the termination of the meeting. One five-minute recess may be requested during the course of the meeting if the student wishes to consult with the silent observer.

During the meeting, the Program Director and Field Director will identify the behaviors of concern, discuss the behavioral concerns with the graduated student, and solicit the student’s response to the behavioral concerns in question. The staff member will document the meeting's proceedings. After the meeting, the Program or Field Director/or designee will provide a written summary of the meeting to the graduated student, including the identified behaviors of concern and the graduated student's response.

The Program Director and Field Director may, at their discretion, proceed to conduct a Professional Conduct Meeting in the absence of a graduated student who fails to appear despite having been provided advance notice of the meeting. After the meeting, the Program Director will provide a written summary of the meeting to the graduated student, including the identified behaviors of concern and the graduated student's failure to attend the meeting.

3.  Based on their investigation and on the proceedings of the Professional Conduct Meeting, if the Program Director and Field Director deem that the graduated student committed egregious violation(s) of ethical or professional conduct during the time that they were enrolled in the program, and that such violation(s) would have merited a recommendation to the Dean of suspension or dismissal from the program if the violation(s) had been discovered when the graduated student was enrolled in the program, the Program Director and Field Director may recommend to the Dean that the graduated student's degree be revoked. The Dean may issue the graduated student a letter of intent to revoke the graduated student's degree.

4.  A graduated student receiving a Dean's letter of intent to revoke the student's degree may submit a written appeal to the Dean with supporting documentation, within 30 calendar days of transmission of the Dean's letter of intent. This appeal process is documentation-based and does not include a synchronous hearing. After review of the student's written appeal and supporting documentation, the Dean may or may not decide to revoke the graduated student's degree, with written notice of either outcome provided to the student.

5.  A graduated student whose degree is revoked may, within 30 calendar days of transmission of the notification of degree revocation, petition the Dean’s ruling to a professional review committee. The petition process is documentation-based and does not include a synchronous hearing. To file a petition, the graduated student must submit to the Dean a written petition with supporting documentation appended. The Dean will forward the written petition and supporting documentation to the professional review committee. After review, the professional review committee will issue a final ruling within 30 calendar days of Dean's receipt of the graduated student's petition. The committee’s ruling is not subject to appeal.

6.  If a graduated student's degree is revoked, and if, at the time of degree conferral, the student had been a resident of a state that licenses social workers at the baccalaureate level, the program will inform the applicable state governing body.

States Where the BASW Program is Not Available

The BASW Program is available nationally. However, due to regulatory reasons, University of Massachusetts Global cannot provide field placements or BASW degrees in certain states. Students should consult with their Advisor if they have plans to move from one state to another.