Social Work

Fall
This course is designed to introduce students to the field of social work and social welfare as an institution and a discipline. Students survey the social, political, economic and historical dimensions of poverty and welfare services in the United States. This course is intended to help students think critically, to develop an analytical approach to the value judgments made by social institutions and to broaden the understanding of human diversity and the human condition in the United States.

Spring
This course focuses on important introductory skills such as interviewing, report writing, and service documenting. These skills are explored and practiced in the classroom. Students will learn about attending behaviors, basic interviewing skills and reflection of feelings. Special attention will be given to applying these essential skills in order to work effectively with diverse client groups.

Spring
This course will cover basic medical and therapeutic terminology for the direct care professional. It is designed to introduce the student to medical and therapeutic terms, the origins and meanings so that students become comfortable with hearing, saying, and being knowledgeable of a word's meaning.

Spring
This course introduces students to the concepts, history, and development of social welfare, social welfare institutions, and social policy within the United States. The course is designed to prepare students to systematically analyze social problems and to gain understanding of the social welfare system in the U.S. The evolution, and current status, of the profession of social work is described as it interfaces with social welfare development, policies, and practices. The role of discrimination, oppression, and inequality in the establishment and implementation of social welfare policies and services is also explored. Social problems of ongoing concern including poverty, health care, and rural issues are highlighted and gaps in policies and programs especially as they link to social and economic justice, diversity, populations at risk, and social work ethics and values are assessed.

Fall
This course is designed to offer an introduction to values and ethics in the social sciences and helping professions, including topics related to moral reasoning, research in the social sciences, ethics theory, multicultural perspectives, intellectual property/legal perspectives, and ethical decision making models. Students will be challenged to develop their own ethical identity and judgment, and to reflect on personal values through course readings, class participation, and case study assessments; with the goal of becoming ethical thinkers and informed decision­ makers.