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Introduction
This new programme from the UWI, Open Campus builds on a 50-year legacy of the University offering top-level and innovative training to social work practitioners across the Caribbean region. This brand-new online option is designed to allow participants to foster and demonstrate understanding of core theories and practices in social work through new ways of thinking and learning.
The programme reflects fundamental themes necessary for region-building and development, including: advocacy for human rights and social justice for the advancement of communities, groups or individuals in order to release human potential for self-empowerment.
This undergraduate programme is designed with three exit points, where persons registered for the BSc. in Social Work (90 credits) may apply to graduate with either a Diploma (45 credits) or a Certificate (30 credits). Similarly, a student who completes the Diploma or Certificate options in Social Work with the Open Campus may be given credits for previous studies undertaken; in order to pursue the BSc in Social Work.
Who is this programme for?
| • | Mature learners already working in the field(s) and interested in pursuing a tertiary education in social work. |
| • | Individuals with a certificate or an associate degree in social work, psychology, nursing, and children and youth studies. |
| • | Individuals with degrees in another discipline seeking a career change to social work. |
Programme Structure
All courses in the programme will be offered online or blended. In the context of the UWI Open Campus, a fully online programme includes the following:
| • | Most materials provided by the Open Campus for the study of the course are made available online through the Open Campus’ learning management system, The Learning Exchange; |
| • | Most teaching-learning activities (with the exception of fieldwork in thepracticum) are conducted in The Learning Exchange; |
| • | Most assessment-related activities are conducted in The Learning Exchange; |
| • | In instances where students are required to engage in course-related activity off-line in the real-world environment, all output from such activity, in whatever format, must be submitted through The Learning Exchange. |
Studying online is intended to facilitate active, interactive learning. Thus, students registered for courses will be organised into groups. Each group will have a facilitator (tutor) and the delivery of the entire course will be managed by the course coordinator. Both the course coordinator and the group facilitator will be specialists in the field of study. The teaching and learning process online will be monitored, in order to ensure that it is being conducted in a manner that allows for meaningful learning on the part of the students. Learners and academic staff must have access to a computer with reliable Internet access. Online orientation to the technology as well as the underlying philosophy of the programme will be conducted before the start of the programme.
Assessment Overview
|
Assessments |
Weighting (%) |
|
Assignment 1 |
25% |
|
Assignment 2 |
25% |
|
Assignment 3 |
40% |
|
Participation |
10% |
|
|
Total=100% |
Assessment of Practicum
The BSc. in Social Work has three practicums at levels I, II, and III. For the Certificate, students will be required to complete the practicum at Level 1. For the Diploma in Social Work, students will be required to complete practicums at levels I and II. Each practicum will be 100% work-based assessment. Students will be assessed within their placement by an assigned supervisor(s). Table 1B below gives the weighting of each work-based assessment.
Table 1B: Practicum Assessment for the Diploma and BSc. in Social Work
|
Work-based Assessment |
Weighting (%) |
|
1 (Assignment or observation) |
10% |
|
2 (Assignment or observation) |
40% |
|
3 (Assignment or observation) |
50% |
|
|
Total=100% |
When will the programme start?
Students may start this programme in August of the Academic Year.
Entry Requirements
The programme is intended to cater to a wide range of people who work with young children and their families in a variety of settings across the region. In this regard, the programme is targeted at both experienced professionals and beginners to childhood and family studies. New entrants must meet the University’s normal matriculation requirements in order to be accepted into the programme. They must satisfy the requirements in either (a) or (b) or (c) or (d) below:
(a) As entrants with CXC-CSEC and GCE qualifications having:
• An acceptable pass in CXC-CSEC Mathematics or its equivalent; AND
• An acceptable pass in CXC-CSEC English A; AND
• One of the following minimum qualifications:
- Either five subjects (at least two GCE A Level or CAPE) and the remainder acceptable passes in CXC-CSEC or GCE O’ Level; OR
- Four subjects (at least three GCE A Level or CAPE) and the fourth an acceptable pass in the CXC-CSEC or GCE O’ Level
- Grade requirements for CXC/CSEC subjects are General Proficiency, Grades I or II pre-1998 and Grades I, II, or III from June 1998.
(b) Holders of five (5) CXC-CSEC or GCE O-Level passes or equivalent, not necessarily obtained at the same sitting.
(c) Entrants with a Certificate from UWI or another approved Caribbean tertiary level institution, having attained a B+ average or a minimum GPA of 2.5.
(d) Persons over the age of 21, who have been out of school for at least five years, on the basis, of their overall academic and professional attainments.
English Language Proficiency Examination
The English Language Proficiency Test (ELPT) is used to assess whether persons applying to pursue
undergraduate degree programmes at the UWI Open Campus possess a satisfactory level of writing
and reading proficiency in English for university academic purposes. For detailed information on the
ELPT, see English Language Proficiency Test.
Academic Preparation
Introduction to the Learning Exchange
Programme Delivery Department (PDD) Orientation
IYMS1001 Improving your Math Skills (if applicable)
ECON0001 Remedial Mathematics (if applicable)
Course of Study
This is a cross-disciplinary course. It is designed to provide a firm base for Communication courses and for courses in English for Special Purposes linked with specific disciplines. It helps students to achieve the level of competence in written language that is required of the university student in undergraduate programmes. Course content includes Language in the Caribbean, Summarizing, the Formal Essay and Methods of Organising Information.
This course is designed to develop an awareness of the main process of cultural development in Caribbean societies, highlighting the factors, the problematic and the creative output that have fed the emergence of Caribbean identities. It also develops a perception of the Caribbean as wider than island nations or linguistic blocs and stimulates students’ interest in, and commitment to Caribbean civilization and to further their self-determination.
Exempted if completed ASc. In Social Work
This course will introduce students to classical social theory through an understanding of the work of writers such as Auguste Comte, Max Weber, Karl Marx and George H. Mead. The main focus of this studying is to understand the central ideas of these writers and to reflect on the usefulness of their theory in contemporary Caribbean societies. This reflection will support students’ further investigations of the explanations given for issues on the front line of Caribbean societies’ development agendas. At the same time, students will learn about the central ideas and perspectives of writers such as Edward Kamau Brathwaite, M.G. Smith and George Beckford. The combination of classical and Caribbean schools of social inquiry will set the tone for a synthesizing of perspectives on race, class, gender, ethnicity and the family in society. This process will assist students with developing their theoretical base in social theory, as well as independent thought on happenings in Caribbean society.
Sem 1 - Assoc S/Work
Must have Math as part of matriculation requirement or do IYMS
Exempted if completed any of the following: ASc. In Social Work, Diploma in Social Services, Certificate in Social Work (Trinidad)
Shared with Undergraduate programme: BSc Social Work
Students in the final year must complete all their Year 1 (level one and two) and Year 2 (Level one) courses before undertaking the practicum
