Department of Social Work and Criminal Justice

Mission

The primary program's mission is to prepare students for beginning practice in the profession of social work. The primary goal of the Bachelor of Arts, Social Work program at Northwest Nazarene University is to prepare students for generalist social work practice in a variety of settings, both domestic and international. Students are required to complete a minimum of 38 credits of core social work courses and 18 credits of support courses included in the 124 credits needed to graduate. In addition, students will complete a minimum of 520 hours of supervised field experience in the community in settings such as child welfare, corrections, developmental disability services, health care, mental health, schools, and other agencies.

Faculty

Maja Ledgerwood, Nikki Bodenstab-Lee, Dean Matlock, Lawanna Pierce, Scott Slater, Janet Stellway, LeAnn Stensgaard (Social Work and Criminal Justice Department Chair and Social Work Program Director), John Stennett (MSW Program Director).

Northwest Nazarene University's social work program is nationally accredited at the undergraduate and graduate level by the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE).

Student Learning Outcomes

To nurture in students a Christlike worldview which embraces the values and ethics of the profession, including personal integrity, global diversity, a just society, and spiritual enrichment
To cultivate in students a passion for alleviating discrimination, poverty, oppression, and all other forms of injustice for at-risk populations
To prepare students for advanced social work practice through the presentation of a comprehensive curriculum [1] for working with individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities
To provide students with a high-quality education and field experience in a creative learning environment that promotes the development and application of the Council on Social Work Education core competencies at the generalist levels (www.cswe.org)

Admission to Methods Courses: To qualify for entrance into upper-division courses applicable for completion of a degree within the Department of Social Work, students must complete the following requirements:

Be officially admitted to Northwest Nazarene University.
Have a minimum cumulative grade point average of 2.5.
Declare a major in Social Work.
Complete SOWK1720 and SOWK2110.
Be enrolled in or have taken SOWK2850 and SOWK2851.
Make application to take methods courses.
Be interviewed by the Department of Social Work faculty.
Be accepted by the Department of Social Work faculty to take methods courses.

The student will be placed on probationary status if a minimum cumulative grade point average of 2.5 is not maintained.

Please note: Academic credit is not given for life or work experiences.

Degrees and Certificates

Courses

CRIM1500: Introduction to Criminal Justice

Credits 3

This course is an overview of the criminal justice system in the United States and covers four major content areas: the nature of crime and laws; policing and law enforcement; courts and adjudication; and corrections.

CRIM2250: Law Enforcement and Community Policing

Credits 3

This course examines the history and roles of police in American society, including the philosophy, policy, structure and methods of law enforcement at the local, state and federal levels. In addition, characteristics of effective police work, as well as contemporary issues facing law enforcement officers and agencies today will be scrutinized. Students will closely examine the two extremely important aspects of addressing crime through the building of partnerships with communities and developing critical thinking/problem solving skills of how to best address the issues and fear in communities where they serve.

CRIM2960: Criminal Justice Practicum

Credits 1

This course will prepare students for field experiences and internships in criminal justice settings. All criminal justice students seeking field experiences or internships must satisfactorily complete this course prior to registering for CRIM4960.

CRIM3094: Special Topics in Criminal Justice

Credits 1 3

This course is designed to address specific criminal justice topics as designated by the instructor of record and approved by the department chair.

CRIM3150: Corrections

Credits 3

This course provides an overview of the field of corrections, including its history and the goals, methods, and institutions that characterize it today. Topics include clients and officers, programs and facilities, life in and after incarceration, community corrections, and issues of punishment and reform, including innovation in policy, programs, and techniques.

CRIM3200: Juvenile Justice

Credits 3

A study of the forms, causes, and consequences of juvenile delinquency. Intervention for offenders, preventive measures, and the legal and treatment system for dealing with juveniles will also be studied. The course is designed to expose students to textual/theoretical material and knowledgeable professionals from agencies in the community.

CRIM3350: Criminal Law

Credits 3

This course provides an introduction to criminal law, including an historical overview and a survey of general legal principles. It covers basic elements of common and statutory law, and discusses specific categories of offenses and defenses used against prosecution for them.

CRIM3400: Written and Interpersonal Communication for Law Enforcement

Credits 3

This course prepares the student to communicate effectively in both written and verbal forms. In order to achieve this, the Written and Interpersonal Communication for Law Enforcement course examines best practices in investigative reporting, written reports and memos. In addition, interpersonal verbal and non-verbal communication will be looked at within criminal justice settings, including interactions with victims, suspects, incarcerated persons, government officials, staff, and civilians.

CRIM3550: Criminology

Credits 3

This course is designed to introduce students to criminology as a field of study. Students will be introduced to theories that attempt to explain criminal behavior from social, economic, biological, personality and individual perspectives. It includes study of the types of crime, the classes and nature of offenders, and methods for treating offenders and preventing crime.

CRIM4010: Capstone

Credits 1

This course provides students with a context for reflection and self-analysis regarding their educational experience at NNU. The approach in this course to self-analysis and critical reflection is two-fold: 1) students will reflect on their comprehensive educational experience through the lens of the four university outcomes, and 2) students will think about and discuss the integration of their learning with their future, post-university lives. (See HUMN4010, PSYC4010, SPAN4010)

CRIM4250: Criminal Court Systems

Credits 3

This course provides a description and analysis of the structure, functions, and procedures of the criminal court system in the United States, including the roles of the prosecutor, defender, judge, jury, and court administrator. The history of the system and issues facing the criminal courts today are examined.

CRIM4360: Criminal Procedure

Credits 3

This course emphasizes the procedural protections established in the Bill of Rights and enforced by the courts through the procedural exclusion of evidence or the procedural dismissal of cases. In the course, students study the Fourth Amendment (Search and seizure), the Fifth Amendment (Rights against self-incrimination and double jeopardy), the Sixth Amendment (Rights to grand jury indictment, notice of charges, speedy and public trial, trial by impartial jury, confrontation of witnesses, compulsory process of favorable witnesses, and assistance of counsel), the Eighth Amendment (Rights against excessive bail and cruel and unusual punishment), and the Fourteenth Amendment (Application of Bill of Rights to the states).

CRIM4960: Internship in Criminal Justice

Credits 3 15

This course requires 45 hours per credit in an approved setting of intensive experience-based learning. Course is designed to give students in-depth, work-setting knowledge of an aspect of the field of criminal justice. Students assume career-related duties as deemed appropriate by their site-supervisor and approved by their major advisor. May be repeated for a maximum of 15 credits.

CRIM4970: Senior Research in Criminal Justice

Credits 1 4

The student will either develop and complete an empirical research project and a written report suitable for submission to a professional journal or assist a faculty member in independent professional research. May be repeated for a maximum of 6 credits.

SOWK1720: Social Justice and Modern Society

Credits 3

This course is an introduction to the recurrent needs of citizens and how society is organized to respond to these needs with an emphasis on small towns and rural communities. The course is organized around the major themes of poverty, socioeconomic class differences, and other major differences among people that interact with poverty and classism. The course includes a review of the history and current nature of social welfare services.

SOWK2110: Introduction to Social Work and Social Welfare

Credits 3

This course is an introduction to the profession of social work and the role of social work in the social welfare system. This course serves as an orientation to the nature of social work practice, the issues that confront social workers, and the types of client systems served by social workers with an emphasis on small towns and rural communities. The course is organized around the major themes of poverty, socioeconomic class differences, and includes a review of the history and current nature of social welfare services. This course will include a service learning component.

SOWK2850: Human Behavior in the Social Environment I: Theoretical Approaches Throughout the Lifespan

Credits 3

This is the first of two courses in human behavior in the social environment which will focus on a cell to society approach, paying special attention to small towns and rural communities. This course will review the processes for biological, psychological, intellectual, emotional, and life-course development. An ecosystems framework will be employed to give special attention to diversity issues such as ethnicity, social class and discrimination as factors affecting human development.

SOWK2851: Human Behavior in the Social Environment II: Issues of Diversity

Credits 3

The second of two courses in human behavior in the social environment, this course will continue the examination of human behavior as it relates to the life-course development. An ecosystems framework will be employed to give special attention to diversity issues such as ethnicity, social class, and discrimination as factors affecting human development. This course will include a service learning component. Fulfills a General Education Cultural Competency (CC) requirement.

SOWK2970: Urban Field Experience

Credits 1

This course is a several-day urban immersion experience, including coordinated readings. The foci for this course will be to look at services for the homeless and programs for the development of housing stock for low income people in one major urban area. May be repeated for a maximum of two credits. Fulfills a General Education Cultural Competency (CC) requirement.

SOWK3250: Substance Abuse, Prevention, and Intervention

Credits 3

This course is an overview of the phenomenon of addictions in general and addictions to substances in particular. This course will focus on the role of alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs in American society, the abuse of these substances, and strategies and policies for prevention and intervention of abuse. The skills required to work with substance abusers will be considered. Special attention will be given to the role of macro policies, societal values, and the support systems required for effective intervention and prevention strategies.

SOWK3350: Child Welfare Services

Credits 3

This course is an exploration of the nature and range of child (up to age 18) welfare services offered in the United States with some comparative studies from international social work. Material covering social work intervention strategies, governmental child welfare policies, and societal values regarding these strategies and policies will be introduced.

SOWK3450: Social Work in Health Care

Credits 3

An overview of the need for and the nature of social work practice as it pertains to the increasing need of social work services in health care settings. This course includes a review of the multiple dimensions of aging and the implications of these for social work practices across the lifespan. Material covering social work intervention strategies, governmental policies and programs, and societal values regarding services will be considered.

SOWK3550: Social Work Methods I

Credits 3

This course is a presentation of the basic skills, values, and knowledge bases for social work practice. Emphasis will be placed on the systemic contexts for the profession, its clients, and the nation's social welfare policies while introducing the student to an array of beginning social work practices. The ecosystems perspective for social work practice with an emphasis on rural communities and small towns will be used to focus on the individual and family client systems.

SOWK3551: Social Work Methods II

Credits 3

Continuation of SOWK3550. Students will develop an understanding of social work intervention with a strengths-based model. The ecosystems perspective for social work practice with an emphasis on rural communities and small towns will be used to focus on the individual and family client systems as well as relational systems in organizations and communities.

SOWK3750: Social Welfare Policy

Credits 3

This course offers an investigation of the history, development, and current nature of welfare policies in the United States. Some comparative material with other developed countries will be added for the purposes of teaching and analysis. The dynamic interaction of organizations, rationale, and perspectives behind the policies and programs developed by federal, state, local, and private entities will be reviewed. Strategies for developing, implementing, and influencing the development of policies will be studied.

SOWK3960: Field Practice I

Credits 1

This course is an in-agency setting for observation of and engagement in social work practice under the supervision of a skilled practitioner. Students will log 60 hours. Attention will be given to identifying the knowledge, skills, and values bases of the social work profession. During this junior year practicum setting, each student shall practice using the change process approach (including assessment, goal setting, development of strategies, action plans, termination, and evaluation).

SOWK3961: Field Practice II

Credits 1

SOWK3962: Field Practice III

Credits 1

This course is an in-agency setting for observation of and engagement in social work practice under the supervision of a skilled practitioner. Students will log 40 hours. Attention will be given to identifying the knowledge, skills, and values bases of the social work profession. During this junior year practicum setting, each student shall practice using the change process approach (including assessment, goal setting, development of strategies, action plans, termination, and evaluation). This course is optional.

SOWK3970: Social Work Research and Statistics

Credits 3

This course is an introduction to research and statistics as tools for understanding and improving social work practice. This course will include a review of traditional scientific research methodologies and alternative perspectives, such as the feminist approach to research. Attention will be given to evaluating descriptive, exploratory, explanatory, and evaluative research (and supportive statistical tools) to improve one's professional practice and agency programs, specifically in rural and small-town communities.

SOWK4094: Special Topics in Social Work

Credits 1

This course is designed to cover current topics of interest in the field of social work. This course may be repeated for credit.

SOWK4960: Social Work Practicum I

Credits 3

This course is a senior-level social work internship in a social service agency. The student is assigned to work under the supervision of a licensed social worker. The placement is chosen to assure that the student attains necessary competencies for entry-level social work. Normally the internship experience is spread across two terms and involves 200 hours of on-location time for each semester.

SOWK4961: Social Work Practicum II

Credits 3

SOWK4962: Social Work Practicum III

Credits 3

SOWK4980: Seminar in Social Work I

Credits 1

This course is a senior-level seminar that runs concurrently with Social Work Practicum. This seminar is designed to help students integrate social work theory and social work practice. A small group format is used so that each student contributes to the learning of other students. The focus is for each student to be prepared for entry into generalist social work practice upon graduation.

SOWK4981: Seminar in Social Work II/Capstone

Credits 1

SOWK4982: Seminar in Social Work III

Credits 1