School of Social Work: Generalist Course Exemption Policy

This policy document explains when and how MSW students may request exemption from selected Generalist year courses based on equivalent prior coursework. It outlines eligibility requirements, required documentation, review procedures, deadlines, and course objectives used to evaluate exemption requests.

Unit Policy

Title

School of Social Work: Generalist Course Exemption Policy

Introduction

Purpose

This policy document explains when and how MSW students may request exemption from selected Generalist year courses based on equivalent prior coursework. It outlines eligibility requirements, required documentation, review procedures, deadlines, and course objectives used to evaluate exemption requests.

Scope

This policy applies to MSW students who believe they have already completed coursework equivalent to one or more eligible Generalist MSW courses.

Policy and Procedure

On rare occasions, students enter the MSW program having already taken courses identical to those offered in the Generalist year of the MSW curriculum. To prevent students from repeating content mastered in other courses, the School of Social Work offers students an opportunity to exempt four Generalist courses: SOWO 500: Human Development in Context I - Infancy to Adolescence, SOWO 505: Human Development in Context II - Adulthood, SOWO 510: Foundations for Evidence-Based Practice and Program Evaluation, and SOWO 530: Social Welfare Systems and Policies. To be approved for course exemption, students need to have taken identical or very similar courses within the last five years, and grades earned for those courses must be equivalent to a grade of “B” or better. Students requesting exemption from SOWO 510 also need to take and pass a course exemption exam with a score of 80% or better in order to be considered exempt from the course. If approved for exemption from a Generalist course, students must substitute another 3-credit hour social work course in place of the Generalist course. Students interested in seeking an exemption should submit a Generalist Course Exemption Form and attach the supplemental documents listed below:

1. Generalist Course Exemption Form
2. Course Syllabus
3. Course objectives and description
4. Reading list
5. Course assignments
6. At least one example of work done for the course such as a paper or exam
7. Transcript with pertinent courses highlighted or circled
8. Narrative relating proposed course(s) to the specific learning objectives of the course for which the student seeks exemption. Narrative should explain how the proposed course(s) meet each individual learning objective.
9. Generalist Course Exemption Student Checklist

Please note: Students may use more than one course as their basis for an exemption. For example, a student may submit coursework from two previously taken Human Behavior courses as evidence for an exemption from SOWO 500. In that case, the student should submit documents 1-6 listed above for each previously taken course with one transcript and one narrative.

Materials should be submitted to the office of Academic and Student Affairs, SSW Suite 370, prior to the beginning of the semester in which the exemption will take place. For on-campus students, exemption materials for SOWO 500 are due by August 1, and materials to exempt SOWO 505, SOWO 510, and SOWO 530 are due by October 1. For online students, any exemption requests should be submitted at least two weeks prior to the start of the student’s first semester in the online MSW program. Incomplete requests and forms/documents received after these dates will not be reviewed.

Once the Generalist Course Exemption Form is received, the lead teacher of the course and the Associate Dean for MSW Education will review the course materials to determine if they are comparable to the Generalist course. In addition to a review of their course materials, students requesting exemption from SOWO 510 should also make arrangements to take the course exemption exam. Please note that an interview with the student may be requested by the lead teacher or the Associate Dean for MSW Education as a course exemption request is considered.

The request for exemption will be approved if the lead teacher and the Associate Dean consider the course to be comparable, and if students who are requesting exemption from SOWO 510 pass the course exemption exam. If the course work is determined to be substantially different from the Generalist course objectives or to be missing any of the Generalist course objectives, and for students requesting exemption from SOWO 510 if they do not pass the course exemption exam, the request for exemption will be denied and the student must enroll in the Generalist course. Decisions will be made within two weeks after receiving the materials, and students will be notified of the decision via email. The decision of the lead teacher and Associate Dean is final. Students who receive an exemption should register for another social work course at that time.

Generalist Course Objectives

SOWO 500: Human Development in Context I - Infancy to Adolescence

1. Use an anti-oppressive lens to deconstruct major theoretical frameworks that explain child and adolescent development in the context of family, community, and culture. Major theoretical frameworks analyzed and evaluated include bio-psychosocial, risk and resilience, person-in-environment, systems, and life course.
2. Describe the development of individuals from conception to adolescence and explore how biopsychosocial factors and social injustices impact developmental trajectories.
3. Describe the impact of family systems (e.g., structure, functioning, and processes) on child development from conception to adolescence.
4. Using critical theories, describe how bio-psychosocial factors and social injustice shapes child developmental trajectories from conception to adolescence. Explain the impact of gender, sexual orientation, culture/heritage, spirituality, race/ethnicity, and socioeconomic status on child and adolescent developmental trajectories
5. Explain the impact of family, community, sociocultural, and socioeconomic context on child and adolescent development.
6. Recognize and describe major developmental and mental health disorders and the comorbidity among these disorders that occur during childhood and adolescence.
7. Articulate key ethical issues for social workers related to child and adolescent health and mental health (e.g., access to treatment based on diagnosis, health disparities).

SOWO 505: Human Development in Context II – Adulthood

1. Use an anti-oppressive lens to analyze major theoretical frameworks (biopsychosocial, risk and resilience, person-in-environment, systems, and life course theories) explaining adult development.
2. Describe the ongoing development of individuals from emerging adulthood through end of life, and explore how bio-psychosocial, historical, cultural, and systemic factors impact developmental trajectories.
3. Apply a critical theory lens to the analysis of developmental trajectories, including the impacts of race/ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, culture, disability, spirituality, and socioeconomic status.
4. Explain the impact of family (of origin and/or of choice), community, social, cultural, and economic contexts on adult development.
5. Recognize and describe major developmental, health, and mental health diagnoses and comorbidities occurring during adulthood.
6. Articulate key ethical and practice issues related to adult development, health, and mental health (e.g., access to and quality of care, health disparities, systemic oppression).

SOWO 510: Foundations for Evidence-Based Practice and Program Evaluation

1. Knowledge of evidence-based practice models.
2. Understanding common cognitive biases and flaws in thinking and how the use of the scientific method can increase objectivity in program evaluation.
3. Skills in accessing prior research through the empirical literature and other public databases and critically evaluating the strengths and limitations of prior studies.
4. Skill in applying the findings of social intervention research to social work practice and policy
5. Skills to design a program evaluation proposal including translating practice issues into testable research questions and hypotheses, selecting a suitable study design, choosing sampling and measurement strategies, identifying the appropriate quantitative or qualitative analysis, and proposing implications for practice
6. Ability to apply knowledge of social work ethics and values to the design of program evaluations.
7. Knowledge of how oppression and privilege based on race, disability, ethnicity, class, sexual orientation, gender identity and other intersectional identities influence research and program evaluation.
8. Knowledge on how to design evaluations that are ethical, culturally informed, community-engaged, anti-racist, and anti-oppressive.

SOWO 530: Social Welfare Systems and Policies

1. Describe the historical, political, and ideological contexts that have shaped the US social welfare system and its component policies.
2. Discuss the evolution of the social work profession in historical context.
3. Articulate ways in which, historically and presently, social welfare policies and institutions reflect and reinforce societal narratives and hierarchies, with particular attention to race, class, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, and ability.
4. Understand mutual aid, historically and presently, as grassroots actions taken by groups who have been dismissed or actively harmed by mainstream social welfare systems.
5. Describe the overarching structure and primary components of the present-day US social welfare system, comparing these to alternative frameworks in other countries.
6. Assess eligibility for major social welfare safety net programs, including poverty and income supports, health care, housing, and nutrition.
7. Rigorously evaluate existing research on contemporary social welfare policies, applying rational and critical analysis frameworks.
8. Propose equity-and-justice-oriented policy changes that reflect (a) understanding of the policy development process, (b) knowledge of leverage points for social work action and advocacy, and (c) alignment with social work’s Code of Ethics.

Contact Information

Primary Contact

Name: Andrea Murray-Lichtman, Associate Dean for MSW Education

Email: ajmurray@email.unc.edu