Volunteering allows students to practice what they learn in the classroom in a safe learning environment with community partners who agree to supervise the student in a volunteer experience. Students accomplish many of the Program Learning Objectives (PLOs) and Student Learning Objectives (SLOs) listed in the course syllabus through the volunteering experience. Volunteering has many benefits for both the agency and the student. For the benefit of both the student and the agency, volunteers are not paid. Students may volunteer at their workplace only with the instructor’s approval if the volunteering hours are in addition to their paid hours and if their activities and services are unpaid. During their junior and senior years in the program, BSW students are encouraged to find various types of volunteer placements so they can gain well-rounded experiences that demonstrate to prospective employers and graduation schools that they can work with diverse systems of all sizes. The student selects a human services agency that meets the needs of the course, secures a supervisor, and volunteers for the number of hours specified in the syllabus. The Volunteer Agreement or Placement Confirmation Form constitutes a contract between the students, the agency, and the DSU BSW Program. Therefore, students are expected to honor their agreement, be dependable and honest, abide by the NASW Code of Ethics (2017) and the policies of this Handbook, and complete the experience according to the terms outlined in the course syllabus and the terms agreed upon with the agency supervisor. Each student will be evaluated by the agency staff member/supervisor who has worked with the student using the forms required by DSU BSW Faculty and provided in the course syllabus and in this Handbook (see Appendix). Students and their agency supervisors must fully complete and sign the required paperwork/forms in order to earn course credit as indicated in the course syllabus.
Students must volunteer for the number of hours specified below in the following courses:
- SWO 101 Volunteer in the Community I
- SWO 102 Volunteering in the Community II
- SWO 201 Introduction to Social Work
- SWO 301 Child Welfare and Advocacy
- SWO 309: Aging in the Community
- SWO 320 Social Work Methods
- SWO 421 Social Work Methods II
- SWO 475 Field Instruction and SWO 481 Integrated Seminar
(See the Social Work Field Manual for updated Information)
