Apr 11, 2023

DAVIS: FHSU Master of Social Work Program earns initial accreditation

Posted Apr 11, 2023 10:15 AM
Davis
Davis

By Dr. TIM DAVIS
Fort Hays State University

Several years ago, in response to the urgent need for professional social work clinicians in rural Kansas, the Department of Social Work at Fort Hays State University decided to offer a master’s degree program. On March 13, 2023, the Council on Social Work Education granted initial accreditation to the FHSU Master of Social Work (MSW) program. This decision is retroactively effective to the date that Candidacy status was granted when the program launched in 2020.

As a comprehensive public university, FHSU has a responsibility to contribute to the quality of life and economic prosperity in our service area. One pervasive and, unfortunately,growing area of need that adversely impacts the quality of life in our rural communities is the lack of access to critical social services. The need for clinical social workers in Kansas is expected to rise at a rate of 11%. Unfortunately, only 5% of the state’s clinical social workers practice in the western half of Kansas.  

FHSU is leading the charge to address this critical rural workforce shortage. From an initial graduating class of 27 in 2021 to our projected graduating class in 2024 of 56 students, the program has steadily grown every year.

The Clinical MSW program we created at Fort Hays State University is unique on several levels. First, it takes advantage of the flexibility and outreach aspects of online education while maintaining a strong hands-on clinical training emphasis. The program also features several innovative strategies to educate and train practitioners, utilizing the advantages of delivering coursework online while infusing robust face-to-face clinical training experiences. As the first university in Kansas to offer online MSW, our innovative approach to training clinicians broke new ground.

Since the program coursework is completed entirely online, it is accessible from wherever students might live. Thus, the program makes it easier for students in rural areas to stay with their families, keep their current jobs, and remain in their home communities as they progress through the program. 

When designing the program, we also took extra steps to meet with agencies across Kansas to ensure we fully understood their needs and considered their perspectives. The program has been designed to ensure both the personal and professional growth of our students and that they develop the highest quality clinical skills.

Another key contributor to the success and continued growth of our social work programs is the investment the university has made in essential agency partnerships. Department of Social Work faculty and staff work closely with agencies that traditionally struggle to recruit and retain qualified practitioners by offering guaranteed admission to applicants sponsored by our agency partners. This ensures that the agency will be able to grow its own clinicians while the social worker provides services to clients as they progress to the completion of their academic program.

We are immensely grateful for the enthusiastic support we received from our elected representatives, including U.S. Senators Jerry Moran and Roger Marshall, for their support in launching the program. We are also thankful for the work of representative Barbara Wasinger, who championed legislation that ensured that our students who earned their degrees online would remain eligible for licensure as the accreditation process was in process.

We are also thankful for the generous guidance and support we’ve received from the agency and community college professionals in our service area who helped us shape and focus our program to best meet the needs of the people and communities we all serve. Today, more and more non-traditional agencies are discovering the value a compassionate and multi-skilled social work professional can add to the quality of services delivered in settings that range from the military, law, law enforcement, and special treatment settings like veterans centers and drug and alcohol abuse clinics. 

With full program accreditation confirmed, the pipeline of FHSU-trained clinicians is about to expand with a new student cohort group forming this spring. To learn more about the master’s in social work program at Fort Hays State University, go to fhsu.edu/socialwork. 

Dr. Tom Davis is department chair and professor with the FHSU Department of Social Work.