Evaluation of Student Progress
The faculty at the SSW is committed to supporting all admitted students in their timely completion of the program. Students are provided regular evaluation of progress through their feedback from individual instructors, academic advisors, and field instructors.
Individual instructors provide feedback through academic assignments and individual meetings as needed. The academic advisor is available to discuss with students any areas in which they may be experiencing challenges and/or need additional support (this can include academic coursework as well as field) and should be the primary contact for all academic matters. Students also receive regular formal evaluations from their field instructors, who act as their primary supervisors in their field internships. The purpose of the field evaluation is to highlight areas of mastery, as well as areas for continued learning as students, continue to develop their social work practice skills at the micro, mezzo, and macro levels.
Student Success Meetings
We recognize that there are many situations that can interfere with a student’s academic experience while in the MSW program. The student success meeting process allows us to work in partnership with students to find solutions to these situations. The student success meeting can be used as a part of the disciplinary review process, but it is also an educational support mechanism to problem solve a variety of situations the student may encounter during the program. Student success meetings are typically initiated by the SSW but may also be requested by the student.
Situations that may warrant a student success meeting include (but are not limited to):
- A student receives a grade below a B in a required MSW course.
- There are concerns regarding academic progress or professional behavior that do not require an academic review.
- Social, financial, or other outside factors are creating barriers to academic success for a student.
- A student wishes to discuss an alternate degree plan and/or leave of absence with their advisor.
In a student success meeting, the student will meet with their advisor and, if needed, additional faculty (such as a course instructor, field instructor/director, and/or program director), to discuss reasons for the student success meeting and resources and supports that will help the student succeed in the future. This may involve discussion of reasons for a student’s inability to meet benchmarks in course work, professional behavior, field, or other areas of the program. The advisor, student, and other faculty involved will jointly determine a plan of action and then document this in the student’s Degree Works. Additional documentation may also be saved to the student’s file.
The student success meeting is intended as a supportive and/or intermediary step to help assist students who are struggling or demonstrate difficulty meeting academic or professional benchmarks. Students who continue to have difficulty meeting the academic or professional standards of the program may be referred to an academic review.