Weber State University   

Social Work

Results of Assessment

2002-2003 (submitted 09/05/03)

This report has the following sections:

Evaluation Measures

Meeting Program Objectives

Impact of Assessment on Curriculum Planning and Program Design

Evaluation Measures

The Social Work Program at Weber State University uses a combination of six different evaluation measures to assess the degree to which 19 educational outcomes are being met. These evaluation mechanisms include:

1) indirect assessment measures conducted in the classroom such as assignments, papers, and exams;

2) senior capstone paper;

3) the Baccalaureate Educational Assessment Program (BEAP);

4) survey of graduating students;

5) field practicum evaluation; and

6) graduate school admissions.

In addition to these, the Program gathers input from students through student advising, town meetings with the Department chair, and student-faculty interaction in student clubs and committees. These sources of student feedback are used to inform program planning and development along with the six formally established Program assessment tools.

In general, indirect measures are collected and maintained by individual instructors for individual course educational outcomes. As a global measure of the accomplishment of WSU program objectives, it is noted that students must complete each required course, including prerequisites, with a grade of C or better. Cumulative data from the BEAP Exit survey (N=93) indicate that WSU students graduate with an average overall GPA of 3.20 and an average GPA in required social work courses of 3.29.

Each student is required to write a major capstone paper in Social Work 4990, Senior Seminar. This paper provides the students with the opportunity to pull together the curriculum and further develop their conceptualization of social work as a profession. The paper is completed in three parts:

1) student’s conceptual understanding of social work as a profession;

2) field agency analysis; and

3) evaluation of outcome and effectiveness of intervention models used with clients across a micro, family, mezzo, organizational, or macro setting.

Many individual assignments from course work in our program (i.e., indirect measures noted above) are ultimately incorporated into the senior capstone paper. Sample qualitative data from capstone papers relevant to each educational outcome are available from the department (please e-mail the contact person noted below).

The BEAP instrument provides overall scores for social work knowledge, skills, and values as well as pre- and post-test indicators of confidentiality, self-determination, and social justice. A summary of these data for WSU students along with comparisons with national data can be obtained by e-mailing the contact person. In addition to this information, the BEAP provides separate assessments of individual learning that correspond to many of the WSU educational outcomes.

During the latter half of their final semester, graduating seniors complete a graduate survey which gives students’ subjective assessment of their professional preparation in the WSU Social Work Program and assesses the degree to which the Program has prepared students in 12 key curriculum areas. Several individual items on the graduate survey correspond to the Program’s educational outcomes. These data are discussed by faculty in relation to specific educational outcomes.

The field practicum evaluation consists of two measures. The first is a survey in which the field placement site, supervisor, and experience are evaluated by each individual student. At the completion of their field work, students assess the degree to which the field experience has enabled them to integrate knowledge acquired in the classroom setting and expand knowledge beyond the scope of the micro, mezzo, and macro practice setting. All 308 students who completed the field practicum evaluation between winter semester 1995 and summer semester 2000 indicated that cases, groups, and projects assigned to them during their field experience were relevant to learning needs and called for a level of skill appropriate to the student’s professional development. Furthermore, field supervisors were rated as either very good or exceptional in the following areas at the proportion indicated: facilitated the process of integration into the agency (91.3%); encouraged/supported decision making (84.4%); encouraged critical assessment (93.8%); facilitated learning of specific practice skills (83.8%); encouraged identification with professional values (87.5%); provided clear and consistent expectations (87.1%); encouraged/engaged in mutual assessment of learning needs (87.5%); was aware of academic content and helped integrate the field experience (87.5%); provided clear feedback (87.5%); and was accessible to answer questions (87.6%).

The second field evaluation form is completed by each student’s field supervisor and assesses the degree to which the individual student has fulfilled the Program objectives in the course of the field practicum experience. To date, these data have been used only to assess individual performance and have not been systematically analyzed. However, a review of field evaluations from randomly selected student files indicates that WSU students consistently perform at or above expectation in the field setting on each of the 19 educational outcomes. This review is consistent with anecdotal reports from both field supervisors and the Program’s field director.

Graduate admissions data indicate that, over the past several years, the WSU Social Work Program has been very successful preparing students to compete for admission to graduate study. During this period, students from our program have been accepted into a number of MSW programs in various parts of the country. Of 398 graduates from fall 1996 through spring 2003, 111 students have been accepted to MSW programs, representing 28% of graduates during this period.

Direct student input is also a valuable source of information about the functioning of the WSU Social Work Program and its effectiveness in meeting the Program’s educational objectives, above and beyond these more formal means of evaluation and assessment. Student input is collected through three specific means: 1) town meetings with the Department chair; 2) feedback in a student committees; and 3) meetings with a faculty advisor at least once a semester.

Student feedback about the program is overwhelmingly positive. In addition to general comments regarding faculty, curriculum, and overall experience, students have made a number of specific suggestions regarding program structure and requirements. Of particular note is a student generated initiative to replace the requirement for a minor field of study with an option to take several enrichment courses to supplement knowledge and skills obtained through the primary social work curriculum.

Meeting Program Objectives

As expected, the evaluation and assessment process has revealed a few areas in need of improvement. First, the overall evaluation and assessment plan for the Program is complex and cumbersome. As a result, assessing the Program’s educational outcomes consumes a great deal of time and resources and is intimidating to some members of the faculty. While Program evaluation is a process that theoretically involves all faculty members, the responsibility is typically relegated to one or two who often put in many extra hours reviewing and summarizing data. Second, WSU students score well below the national average in their assessment of gains in social work knowledge, skills, and values. However, these scores all fall within one standard deviation of the mean and do not appear to represent a significant deviation from scale norms. Third, findings from this process indicate that one of the weaker components of the curriculum is in the area of research. Compared to most other knowledge and skills, our students do not feel as confident in their ability to explain and evaluate studies and apply their knowledge of professional research to practice. Fourth, the ability to analyze policy and its effects on social work practice is another desired outcome where attention is warranted. Data indicate that WSU graduates do not feel as well prepared in this area as they do in others. Finally, students have noted through various means that the required curriculum does not allow them to enrich their social work training with elective courses within the Program.

Nevertheless, based on data collected by these various measures of outcome, faculty members in the WSU Social Work Program are confident that all stated objectives are being met. Despite less than ideal assessments of social work learning on the BEAP, based on data from this same instrument, WSU students appear to develop a strong identification with fundamental professional values over the course of their participation in the program. WSU students score higher at graduation in specific social work values (i.e., confidentiality, self-determination, and social justice) than the national average and show marked improvement in these areas from entrance to exit. In addition, the level of academic achievement demonstrated through indirect measures from courses that cover content areas encompassing all 19 educational outcomes (an average GPA in required social work course of 3.29) is one indication of the Program’s success in preparing students for professional practice. Senior capstone papers also lend evidence that the Program is meeting its educational objectives. It is clear from these documents that WSU graduates have developed the knowledge, skills, and values necessary for effective social work practice and leave the WSU Program with a deeply ingrained professional identity. Furthermore, quantitative data from the BEAP, the WSU graduate survey, and the field practicum evaluation also support the belief that the Program’s educational objectives are being met. Moreover, graduates of the WSU Social Work Program are well prepared for graduate study as evidenced by the large proportion of our students who are accepted each year into MSW programs. Finally, direct feedback from students in committee activity, town meetings, and faculty advisement is overwhelmingly positive and further attests to the high quality of social work education at Weber State.

Impact of Assessment on Curriculum Planning and Program Design

Program evaluation has had a direct impact on curriculum planning and program design in at least three specific areas. First, an effort is currently underway to consolidate educational objectives and simplify the assessment process. This has been discussed informally among faculty members and was addressed more directly in a recent faculty meeting where a formal curriculum review process was developed. Faculty members will develop a matrix of classes offered in the Program leading to a systematic discussion of how courses build upon one another and how each addresses CSWE foundational requirements.

Second, in an effort to improve instruction in the area of research, changes have been made regarding the required research and statistics courses. Effective fall semester 2001, social work majors were required to take social work research (SOCLWK 3700), rather than a similar course taught in the Department’s Gerontology. To give further rigor to training in this area, social work students were given broader options for completing the upper division statistics requirement. In addition to a course offered in Gerontology (GERON 3600), social work students can now choose to take statistics through Psychology or Sociology.

A third change in the Program’s curriculum that is being made as a result of assessment data is the creation of an option to the minor requirement. Based on student feedback that the required curriculum (major and minor courses) leaves little time for students to supplement their social work training with elective courses within the Program, a proposal was made and unanimously approved by the Social Work Program faculty to create a list of elective enrichment courses that could take the place of a minor. This suggestion has received strong support from students and a proposal is now being prepared to go before the college curriculum committee in the fall of 2003.

Finally, while a weakness has been noted in the area of social policy, no formal action has been taken as yet. However, discussion has occurred informally among faculty members and changes in this area to strengthen the curriculum are expected in the near future.

Mission Statement / Student Learning Outcomes / Curriculum Grid / Assessment  Plan / Contact Person