Aarynlee Fritz
“I wanted to be part of a profession that involved helping people. That is literally how the social work profession is described. Since I graduated from King in the spring of 2021, I knew that I wanted to continue at King. I also knew that it was a brand-new program, which I liked. The professors are very understanding and helpful. I have loved my journey so far, and I am excited to see how my last year goes!”
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King University’s fully-online Master of Social Work (MSW) program is designed to accommodate working adults. Building on the strong foundation of our long-standing, highly successful, and nationally recognized (CSWE-accredited) Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) program, King University is proud to share with you the current status of this proposed MSW program.
Inspiration and Mission
The inspiration behind the planning and development of our MSW program is found within King University’s mission:
“We prepare students in our Christian academic community to excel as thoughtful, resourceful, and responsible citizens with a passion for serving God, the Church, and the world. We accomplish this through excellent teaching, high expectations, worthwhile example, and fidelity to our Presbyterian heritage.”
King University and the Social Work programs are committed to meeting the needs of our students as well as the clients and communities of the Appalachian Highland region and beyond. The mission of our new MSW program aligns both with the King University mission as well as the National Association of Social Workers Code of Ethics:
“We prepare thoughtful, resourceful, and responsible advanced level social work practitioners for far-reaching service and leadership. This mission is achieved through a commitment to the values and ethics of the Social Work profession, and a focus on service and justice for vulnerable and oppressed populations in the context of a Christian academic community.”
Demand
In the 2019-20 Academic Supply and Occupational Demand in Tennessee Annual Report, the Tennessee Higher Education Commission (THEC) listed Master’s prepared social workers as one of the “top 25 high demand occupations with the greatest number of annual openings.” The report noted that the occupational demand for social workers in the state is far greater than the current academic supply. These THEC employment projection findings mirror the national and regional (Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and Kentucky) data.
Overview
The MSW degree will be offered in two enrollment options:
- Foundational
- Advanced Standing
Foundational
- For candidates who have a bachelor’s degree in a discipline other than social work.
- Full-time students may be able to graduate in as little as 22 months.
Advanced Standing
- For candidates with an undergraduate social work degree from a Council on Social Work Education (CSWE)-accredited program.
- An alum of the King University BSW program is eligible for this option.
- Full-time students can to graduate in as little as 12 months.
Licensure and accreditation-related matters dictate the timing of Foundational and Advanced Standing student enrollment. Our current plan is to enroll the Advanced Standing students in summer 2022.
Leadership
The MSW program’s founding coordinator is Dr. Clifford Rosenbohm. Dr. Rosenbohm is well-respected in the Social Work academic community and has served significant leadership roles in the discipline including as Director of Field Instruction, Department Chair, MSW Program Director, and Director of a School of Social Work. He has also worked extensively on the accreditation side of social work education and currently serves as a Commissioner on the executive committee of the Commission on Accreditation, CSWE. Additionally, he serves on Social Work Professional Accreditation Council of the Council of Christian Colleges & Universities (CCCU).
Dr. Rosenbohm is leading King’s national search to bring well-qualified, Christ-centered, and student-focused faculty to the program for both leadership and teaching roles.
Handbook
Learn more about the King University Master of Social Work program by reading the handbook, CLICK HERE
Accreditation
The Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) is the accrediting body governing social work education in the United States. All 50 states and the District of Columbia require that a social worker sitting for a licensing exam be a graduate of a CSWE-accredited program.
Achieving accreditation through CSWE involves a 3-year incremental candidacy process that concludes with an Initial Accreditation (full accreditation) decision. King is currently in Year 2 of this 3-year incremental process.
King University’s MSW program has achieved Candidacy status with the Council on Social Work Education’s Commission on Accreditation (COA). Candidacy status for a Master of Social Work program by the Council on Social Work Education’s Commission on Accreditation indicates that it has met the accreditation standards for Benchmark I.
Commissioners from COA visited King in the fall of 2022 and confirmed the MSW program progress met the accreditation standards for Benchmark II.
Commissioners from COA will visit King again in the fall of 2023 to review King’s MSW program progress in meeting all accreditation standards. A final decision on accreditation for the MSW will likely be announced in the spring of 2024
Once accreditation is achieved, King students admitted to the program during the academic year Candidacy was granted, as well as students who enroll for following cohorts, will be recognized upon degree completion as having graduated from a program with CSWE accreditation.
Assessment of Student Learning outcomes – Form AS4(M)
Social Work Licensure
