BSW Program

BSW Program Goals reflect the knowledge, values, and skills that are expected for entry-level generalist social work practice. The BSW program provides a wide range of educational opportunities that enable students to become generalist social work practitioners who:

• Goal 1: have a broad knowledge base and skills that are grounded in systems theory and operate within a person-in-environment framework that is requisite to practice with diverse client systems of various levels and sizes;
• Goal 2: practice and behave in a manner that is consistent with the principles, values, and ethics of the profession of social work;
• Goal 3: demonstrate a commitment to social and economic justice and full inclusion of diverse segments of the U.S. and global society with a special emphasis on empowering and improving the quality of life of groups traditionally excluded from full participation;
• Goal 4: participate in lifelong learning, professional development and the professional community of social work; effectively utilize professional supervision and consultation;
• Goal 5: enhance the quality of human service delivery by engaging in multiple methods of inquiry, analysis, evaluation and critical thinking skills; and
• Goal 6: demonstrate the ability to perform the following generalist social work roles: broker, mediator, advocate, counselor, research, and community change agent.

The Bachelor of Arts in the Social Work (BSW) curriculum provides a professional social work foundation transferable to different settings, population groups, and problem areas. The Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) is the national accrediting body that oversees all accredited BSW programs in the United States.

The undergraduate generalist social work practice model has two central features. It is problem-solving centered, rather than methods driven, and it uses the ecological or person-in-environment perspective for assessment and intervention. This perspective demands that the practitioner view both the individual social functioning and the transactions between the individual and environment. The undergraduate program is informed by bio-psycho-socio-behavioral and ecosystems knowledge, requires students to be theoretically and methodologically open, involves intervention at all system levels, and takes into account context of practice. The objectives of the BSW curriculum as defined at Colorado State University are as follows:

• 1. Human behavior in the social environment
  Students will demonstrate theoretical knowledge supported by empirical evidence for understanding behavior across the life span of multiple client systems and their interactions.
• 2. Research
  Students will demonstrate the knowledge, values and skills to be critical consumers of research for effective practice and to possess basic skills to evaluate their practice.
• 3. Practice
  Students will demonstrate the ability to apply the knowledge, values, and skills of generalist social work practice that is necessary for initial professional social work practice with systems of all sizes and across client populations. Students are prepared to demonstrate mastery of the six foundation social work roles: advocate, broker, community change agent, counselor, mediator, and researcher.
• 4. Social welfare policy
  Students will demonstrate knowledge necessary to understand the development of social services and the skills to analyze, formulate, and influence social policy.
• 5. Populations at risk and social and economic justice
  Students will demonstrate the knowledge, values, and skills necessary for understanding forms and mechanisms of oppression and discrimination and apply strategies of advocacy and social change that advance social and economical justice.
• 6. Diversity
  Students will demonstrate knowledge and values to understand and appreciate human differences both as a source of strength and a basis for discrimination; students will practice without discrimination and with respect, knowledge, and skills related to clients’ age, class, color, culture, disability, ethnicity, family structure, gender, marital status, national origin, race, religion, sex, and sexual orientation.
• 7. Values/eithcs
  Students will demonstrate the ability to practice according to the value base of the profession and its ethical standards and principles.
• 8. Critical Thinking
  Students will apply critical thinking skills within the context of professional social work practice.
• 9. Communication skills
  Students will demonstrate the ability to use communication skills differentially across client populations, colleagues, and communities.
• 10. Supervision and consultation
  Students will demonstrate the ability to effectively use supervision and consultation appropriate to social work practice.
• 11. Organizational Change
  Students will demonstrate the ability to function within the structure of agency, organization, and service delivery systems and seek necessary organizational change.
• 12. Field
  Students will demonstrate the ability to integrate field experiences that offer the opportunity to engage in supervised practice, begin to apply knowledge, values, and skills necessary for effective social work practice, use supervision and consultation appropriate to social work practice with systems of all sizes, function within the structure of organizations and service delivery systems and seek necessary organizational change. Students will demonstrate mastery of the six foundation social work roles: advocate, broker, community change agent, counselor, mediator, and researcher.
• 13. Professionalization
  Students will demonstrate the ability to understand and interpret both the history of the profession and professional socialization and the social welfare system as part of the context for their practice.

The six foundation generalist social work practice roles mastered by students in the BSW curriculum are defined below. Carrying out these roles requires paying constant attention and adherence to the ethical standards stated in the NASW Code of Ethics; sensitivity to human differences and cultural competence; social and economic justice especially as it applies to vulnerable populations; and research affirmed practice. Content on human diversity is infused throughout the curriculum and a result of participation in the Geriatric Social Initiative funded by the Hartford Foundation, content on aging has been strengthened.

• Advocate: In the advocate role, the social worker champions the rights of others with the goal of empowering the client system being served. A social worker in the role of advocate speaks on behalf of clients when others will not listen or when clients are unable to do so. Social workers have a particular responsibility to advocate on behalf of those disempowered by society.
• Broker: In the role of broker a social worker is a professional agent responsible for identifying, locating, and linking client systems to needed resources in a timely fashion. Once the client’s needs are assessed and potential services identified, the broker assists the client in choosing the most appropriate service option and assists in negotiating the terms of service delivery. In the role of broker the social worker is also concerned with the quality, quantity, and accessibility of services.
• Community change agent: A community change agent participates as part of a group or organization seeking to improve or restructure some aspect of community service provision. A change agent, working with others, uses a problem-solving model to identify the problem, solicit community input, and plan for change. A community change agent acts in a coordinated manner to achieve planned change at multiple levels that helps to shift the focus of institutional resources to meet identified goals.
• Counselor: The role of the professional counselor focuses on improving social functioning. In the role of counselor, the social worker helps client systems articulate their needs, clarify their problems, explore resolution strategies, and applies intervention strategies to develop and expand the capacities of client systems to deal with their problems more effectively. A key function of this role is to empower people by affirming their personal strengths and their capacities to deal with their problems more effectively.
• Mediator: When dispute resolution is needed in order to accomplish goals, the professional social worker will carry out the role of mediator. In the mediator role, the social worker intervenes in disputes between parties to help them find compromises, reconcile differences, and reach mutually satisfying agreements. The mediator takes a neutral stance among the involved parties.
• Researcher: In the researcher role, a social worker evaluates practice interventions and with others evaluates program outcomes. The researcher seeks to critically analyze the literature on relevant topics of interest and uses this information to inform practice. A researcher extends and disseminates knowledge, and seeks to enhance the effectiveness of social work practice.

[1] The degree offered at Colorado State University is a B.A. (Bachelor of Arts) in Social Work. The more common designation for an undergraduate social work degree is B.S.W. (Bachelor of Social Work). Throughout this website the more common designation is used.