AUSSW Community Messenger

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Aurora University School of Social Work
Volume 1, Number 5 – Fall 2008

Contents:

Director’s Report: The Growth and Success of the School of Social Work Programs
by Dr. Fred McKenzie, Director of the School of Social Work and Dean of the College of Professional StudiesMcKenzie

We are well into another academic year in the School of Social Work (SSW) at Aurora University. Despite these difficult economic times, the SSW has seen solid growth in all three programs.

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      • The fall enrollment in the B.S.W. program has grown from 25 new juniors in the fall of 2007 to 65 this fall (2008). This is a dramatic increase, due in part to the introduction of the new addictions specialization.
      • The fall enrollment in the M.S.W. program on the Aurora campus increased from 140 in 2007 to more than 165 in the fall of 2008.
      • The M.S.W. satellite program on the George Williams College campus in Williams Bay, Wisconsin, experienced solid growth as well, increasing from 28 in 2007 to 30 in the fall of 2008

In October, a Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) site team visited Aurora University to assess the SSW for another cycle of accreditation. The site team spent three days on both the Aurora and George Williams College campuses, meeting with faculty, staff, students, field instructors and alumni. I am happy to report that the site team gave a glowing report to the SSW faculty and staff as well as Dr. Rebecca L. Sherrick, President of Aurora University, and Dr. Andrew Manion, Provost, in their exit interviews.

Among our strengths, they cited the faculty, administration and students as key to our success. We will wait to receive the official word from CSWE early next year, but are proud and confident regarding the outcome. I want to thank all of those involved in the process. Being reaccredited in such a positive manner is an exciting statement about our viable programs.

The SSW is working collaboratively with the Dunham School of Business to develop a combined M.B.A.-M.S.W. degree. The M.B.A.-M.S.W. dual-degree would be designed especially for those professionals interested in administrative work in the not-for-profit leadership arena. Tentative plans are to launch this dual-degree in the fall of 2009. More information about this exciting professional program will be coming.

The SSW has also formed a committee to develop a Doctorate in Clinical Social Work. This degree would be offered on the George Williams College campus in Williams Bay, Wisconsin, in a weekend format similar to the existing M.S.W. satellite program. Look for details on this program in the coming months. The SSW is a vibrant and thriving professional program here at AU! This issue of the “Community Messenger” will focus on some of the other most current initiatives in the SSW.

CastilloSSW Addictions Specialization 
by Robert Castillo, Assistant Professor and Addictions Training Director

The Addictions Program was fully accredited by the Illinois Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Professional Certification Association (IAODAPCA) this past August. The SSW is accredited at the advanced level, which will allow for future training and post certification opportunities down the road.

B.S.W. and M.S.W. graduates, upon successful completion of an addiction-based internship and the required coursework, will be eligible to take the Certified Alcohol and other Drug Counselor (CADC) exam. Students will be in the unique position to quickly position themselves with dual credentials (LSW, CADC). In today’s job market, this is a significant advantage for AU graduates.

The May 2009 CEU event will celebrate our progress with the addictions specialization. We are planning a symposium-type event featuring many important topics related to addictions and social work. Mark Sanders, a well-known international presenter, will be the keynote speaker. Some of the expert professors in the SSW will present topics as well.

Topics currently planned include: addictions and the family system; working with the adolescent addict; therapeutic use of humor in treatment; harm reduction: what is it?; gambling addiction with women; motivational interviewing; and getting your clients to change.

The first group of addiction specialization students are currently fulfilling their internship requirements. I have conducted many of the site visits and the feedback has been very positive. The placement organizations are pleased with the communication they receive from the school and the students’ preparation.

Many thanks go to our current faculty who have taught these courses (Brenda Barnwell, Assistant Professor of Social Work, and Don Phelps, Associate Professor of Social Work) as well as our adjunct faculty (Ron Ahlberg, Don Malec and Ginnie Seaman).

bachSSW Gerontology Specialization Update
by Dr. Julie Bach, Assistant Professor and Chair, Gerontology Specialization

Many schools of social work incorporate gerontology content into their first year M.S.W. social work classes. While the SSW at Aurora University has a gerontology specialization in the M.S.W. program, many students choose other specializations. Therefore, including information about older adults into the students’ first-year social work courses remains an important task. Having faculty with expertise in different areas allows them to “guest lecture” in several classes assisting in the introduction of many subjects, including gerontology.

Whether it is infusing gerontology or offering a specialization, a guiding document on gerontology for schools of social work is the Foundation Gerontological Social Work Competencies presented by the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE). The council developed the competencies to guide curriculum development in areas of values, assessment, intervention, aging services, programs and policies. The gerontology specialization at Aurora University encompasses and builds on these competencies.

As a review, the gerontology specialization consists of four classes and a field internship working with older adults. Two of the classes are taken in the fall semester and two classes in the spring semester. The first class in the specialization, “Social Work with Older Adults,” was offered initially as an elective and developed by Susan Ross, Professor of Social Work. This class continues to offer an overview of social work with older adults.

This semester a new class, SWK 5110: “Biology and Health of Aging,” was offered. This class includes an overview of normal physical changes of aging and discussion of specific diseases. The second half of the class examines how health is defined and how disability impacts older adults. Next semester, SWK 6100: “Geriatric Social Work Services (Assessment and Intervention)” will be offered again and the final gerontology course: SWK 6110: “Gerontology: Families and Groups” will complete the sequence of courses required for the specialization in gerontology.

Finally, it is exciting to report that agencies that work with older adults have expressed interest in having SSW students in the specialization complete their advanced field internship at the organizations.

BarnwellNew Child Welfare Specialization in the SSW
by Brenda Barnwell, Assistant Professor and Chair, Child Welfare Specialization

The child welfare specialization in the SSW is being developed during the 2008–2009 academic year. Course descriptions and objectives will focus on six primary areas. The courses to be offered during the 2009–2010 academic year will offer a broad perspective of child welfare.

The specialization will be granted upon completion of four of the six courses offered. The specialization will increase the skills of social workers within the M.S.W. program, allowing students to gain experience and knowledge to improve the social and psychological functioning of children and their families.

At this time, the topic areas include introduction to child welfare; child welfare and the juvenile and criminal justice system; expressive therapy; child welfare in educational settings; assessment and intervention for children experiencing trauma; and substance abuse and the impact on children and families.

DaughertyLeadership and Community Practice Concentration
by Dr. Robert Daugherty, Assistant Professor of Social Work

For the new leadership and community practice concentration, we are marketing to both graduate and undergraduate students. In doing so, I am making presentations to social work classes this semester and will continue doing so next semester. The leadership and community practice concentration is an exceptionally valuable course of study for students who have been in the social work field and who are, or will be, in supervisory and management positions.

The School of Social Work and the Dunham School of Business are in the initial stages of exploring a joint social work and business graduate degree program that would be offered in the near future. This would combine the management leadership core courses offered by the business school with the leadership and community practice courses offered by the School of Social Work. Coupled with a leadership and community practice-oriented field placement during a student’s second year, the student will develop a substantial leadership and management knowledge and skill base, and complete a very marketable joint M.S.W.-M.B.A. degree.

Further collaborative efforts by the School of Social Work and the Dunham School of Business have resulted in a joint business and social work May Term course in leadership and social policy that will feature a week-long trip to Washington, D.C. The May Term experience will offer students the opportunity to both explore leadership in social policy through reading and discussion, and meet with and discuss social policy issues with national leaders in the field.

FisherSchool Social Work Update
by Randy Fisher, School Social Work Coordinator

The total number of school social work candidates (110) increased slightly from last year (100). That number includes our second group of M.S.W. and post-M.S.W. students taking classes on the George Williams College campus. This year, there are more M.S.W. students than post-M.S.W. which was not the case last year. The Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) continues to forecast a great need for school social workers for the next three years, but at the same time, they note that in the recent past the university programs in Illinois have produced 1.7 candidates for every job. ISBE would like the universities to produce 2.0 candidates for every job.

Laura Hohn, an M.S.W. student at AU, was selected to receive the Geraldine Tosby Scholarship to attend the Illinois Association of School Social Workers 38th Annual Conference in Peoria, Illinois, in October. I was also part of the opening panel at the Wisconsin School Social Worker Conference in Green Lake, Wisconsin, last month. I spoke about the history of school social work both nationally and in Wisconsin.

Alison ArendtField Instruction Update
by Alison Arendt, Director of Field Instruction

The field instruction program continues to experience growth as new students enroll in our program and new social service agencies and schools become affiliated. Students are learning social work roles in hospital, school, hospice, youth programming, legislation, substance abuse treatment programs, mental health services, senior services and many more arenas. As the School of Social Work develops the new specializations in gerontology and addictions, as well as continues to promote the leadership and community practice concentration, the field program continues to develop new affiliations to meet field learning needs in these areas.

Looking to the 2009–2010 academic year, a greater number of bachelor-level field placements are needed. The B.S.W. program has increased in enrollment significantly. The Class of 2010 has 65 students at this time, each needing a field placement for the 2009–2010 academic year. If your agency has the ability to offer additional field placements, appropriate for a beginning social work student, please consider helping us meet this growing need.

Upcoming Events in the Field Instruction Program

Field Fair
Monday, January 26, 2008 
1:30–5:00 p.m. 
University Banquet Hall at Aurora University

Field Instructors’ Seminar (free CEU event)  
Friday, March 20, 2009
University Banquet Hall at Aurora University

Please contact me with any questions, or new field placement developments! 
Alison Arendt, Director of Field Instruction
630-844-5423
aarendt@aurora.edu

ConsidineB.S.W. and M.S.W. Program Updates
by Dr. Donette Shore Considine, Associate Director and B.S.W. Program Director

B.S.W. admissions for the fall 2008 semester were nearly the largest in the program’s history. Admissions nearly doubled from 2007 to 2008, with an entering junior class of 65 students. The majority are transfer students from community colleges. In pausing to reflect on why there is a large increase, it is likely a combination of several factors — excellent recruiting by the university admission staff and faculty in the School of Social Work and an increase in student interest in the addictions specialization. In addition, many of the new students are entering the B.S.W. program with the goal of following through to completion of their M.S.W.
In the past, the B.S.W. program was limited to fall entrance. This year the program will accept transfer students for spring admission. Students admitted for the spring semester will begin taking required social work courses.

The M.S.W. program is also accepting applications for the spring semester. This will be the third year that the program on the Aurora campus will admit students for the spring. For the first time; however, students may apply for spring admission to the M.S.W. program on the GWC campus. Students who begin the M.S.W. program in the spring are able to get a head start on required courses as well as ease into the graduate program.

With the distinction of the two concentrations (clinical and leadership and community practice), as well as the variety of specializations (addictions, gerontology, school social work and M.B.A. leadership certificate), the M.S.W. program is very strong. Enrollment in the M.S.W. program is approximately 300 students, with an additional 100 in the B.S.W. program! Even though the size of the SSW is growing, our commitment to being student-centered is still at the core of the school.

ZastrowGWC M.S.W. Satellite Program
by Dr. Chuck Zastrow, Assistant Director of the M.S.W. Program at GWC

The M.S.W. program at GWC is going very well! The total number of M.S.W. students at GWC continues to expand — with approximately 65 students in this program. It appears some of our best recruiters for the program are past and current students who believe they are receiving a high quality M.S.W. education. 

The GWC M.S.W. program has recently partnered with David Frost, Assistant Professor of Business at GWC and the M.B.A. program to allow M.S.W. students to take some M.B.A. courses as part of their M.S.W. curriculum. M.S.W. students will be allowed next semester (spring 2009) to enroll in MBA 6810, “Leadership in Non-Profit Organizations.” This course is one of five leadership courses in the M.B.A. program. Students taking this course plus two others, one of which must be MBA 6030 “Leadership & Organizational Behavior,” will receive a Certificate in Leadership from the Dunham School of Business, along with their M.S.W. degree. 

ConsidineSchool of Social Work Happenings: Professional Activity and Service in the School of Social Work
by Dr. Donette Shore Considine, Associate Director and B.S.W. Program Director

Henry Kronner, Assistant Director of Social Work, had the distinction of presenting a paper at the Council on Social Work Education’s Annual Program Meeting in Philadelphia in October, 2008. Dr. Kronner and Dr. Jill Murray’s (former SSW faculty member) paper was a result of their research study titled, “Mentoring in Social Work Education: Experiences and Perceptions of Faculty and Administrators.”

Charles Zastrow, Assistant Director of the M.S.W. Program at GWC, recently chaired an accreditation site visit to the social work program at Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C. Gallaudet University is the nationally funded university for the deaf and hard of hearing.

Robert Daugherty, Assistant Professor of Social Work, is conducting a needs assessment with the Mental Health & Mental Retardation Services, Inc. agency to determine the mental health needs of Hispanic and Latino people in Aurora, Illinois.

Dr. Donette Shore Considine, Associate Director and B.S.W. Program Director, and Dr. Christina Bruhn are consulting with the Kane County Mental Health Council to conduct a needs assessment of existing services and gaps in mental health services in Kane County.

As part of an ongoing collaborative relationship with Suicide Prevention Services in Batavia, Illinois, two M.S.W. students, C. Heffernan and K. Johns, (from Dr. Shore Considine’s “Practice and Program Evaluation” course) are conducting an outcome evaluation study for the agency.

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