Human Services Degree Program Review

Transcription

1 Human Services Degree Program Review Submitted by Barbara Presson, Program Coordinator Academic year Other faculty: Jock McClellan, Janet Ragno, Lisa Oransoff Program Description This program is geared for students seeking careers in the human services: special education, mental health, social services, or child development. The program provides both academic and applied educational experiences for students interested in the opportunities and satisfaction of helping others and can be used for entry-level positions in the human services field or to transfer to a BSW/BA degree program. Students intending to transfer are highly encouraged to follow the directed courses identified below. The Human Services Degree directly and indirectly supports the Quinebaug Valley Community College goals as outlined below. Continuously review our systems, facilities, and processes to improve our delivery of services Provide the skills and knowledge for career and personal goal achievement. This preparation for the future will include problem solving, decision making, teamwork, and technological skills. Aggressively market our services to all our constituents, to improve visibility within our region Enhance support services from point of entry to leaving the College to help our students maximize their potential Optimize our information processing capabilities to better understand and meet our students educational needs Develop additional partnerships with local and appropriate educational institutions, business, government, and other agencies to better serve our customers Actively pursue alternate funding to accomplish our goals and remain fiscally viable.

2 Goals and Objectives In addition to General Education Outcomes, learners who complete the Human Services degree will: Relate an understanding of human development and behavior in the social environment Demonstrate knowledge of key theories directing human services intervention including systems/ecological, psychoanalytical, cognitive, behavioral, and person-centered Integrate understanding of the history of human services and current trends Define the typical social conditions leading to human services interventions such as addictions, aging, crime, disability, family relations, mental illness/retardation, and poverty Understand gender/culture/race/religious/sexual orientation/age and other prejudices and their impact on human behavior and potential Recognize the significance of culture on human behavior Demonstrate knowledge of access to community resources as well as funding considerations Demonstrate knowledge of access to community resources as well as funding considerations Exemplify competence as skilled entry level providers in the field of human services Show an understanding of and commitment to ethical practice and the values of human services professionals Indicate knowledge about and commitment to systems change and the rights of people to receive services Advocate against all forms of discrimination and prejudice Demonstrate a commitment to life long learning for themselves and those whom they serve Information and Data Budget Category Year Year Full-time Faculty 1 1 Part-time Faculty 2 2 Operating Budget* $ $ *Does not include salaries

3 Human Services Majors Student Status over last 5 fall semesters (in n): Human Services Student Type Distribution (n): New Transfer Continuing All FT PT/HT All FT PT/HT All FT PT/HT All FT PT/HT All n n n n n n n n n n n n FA FA FA FA FA ALL Enrollment data from the Frozen File, made available in September, 2006, indicates 87 Human Services majors at the time of this report. By comparison, Liberal Arts and Sciences is the largest program with 383 students followed by General Studies, with 347. Medical Assisting and Business Administration each has 110 students. Following Human Services are Fine Arts with 80 students, Computer Services and Computer Networking with a combined 75, Early Childhood Education with 70, Accounting with 55, Engineering Science with 29, Business Office Technology: Office Management with 22, and Fine Arts Graphic Design with 19. Other specialty programs such as Technological Studies, Business Office Technology: Information Processing and Aviation Maintenance have numbers ranging from two to six. Thus Human Services is the fifth (fourth counting the tied programs) largest program at the College. Human Services Student Type Distribution New Transfer Continuing All FT PT/HT FT PT/HT FT PT/HT FT PT/HT % % % % % % % % FA FA FA FA FA All

4 Human Services Students by Age New HR Students All n n n n n n n FA FA FA FA FA ALL Human Services Courses Enrollment Status over last 6 semesters Course HSE 101 HSE 108 HSE 213 HSE 281 HSE 282 spring 2004 not offered fall not offered 11 2* 1* spring 2005 not offered fall 2005 not offered** not offered spring fall *Tutorial **Insufficient enrollment; course dropped Program Completion The number of graduates of the Human Services program has been relatively consistent. Beginning with 2000 there were 6, 7, 6, 7, 4, 7, and 7 graduates respectively. Outcomes Student Enrollment: An assessment of the data above indicates that the Human Services Program and its courses comprise an important component of the College. It s difficult to assess the drop in numbers of majors from 91 to 73 between 2001 and However, while numbers in the program declined between 2001 and 2004, they have increased since. What is notable about the figures, moreover, is the substantial increase in full-time students since 2003,

5 especially when correlated with the decline in age of new students. College-wide it appears that younger students are willing and able to accelerate their degree completion compared with the typical student of the past. There are probable implications for scheduling of classes as well as field placement options for these younger students. Program Completion: Graduation rates for the Human Services Program have been consistent, though small. It is likely that a younger cohort may move through the program in a more steady fashion with fewer breaks in their studies. It s also likely that more of those students will move directly from Quinebaug Valley Community College to baccalaureate programs, unlike their predecessors who have tended to need full time employment upon completion of their degrees. This may well suggest the need to streamline the program for transfer students. Outreach to the Community: Implicit in the field practicum component of the Human Services degree is continual communication with provider agencies and programs in the community. Despite this ongoing interaction, it has become increasingly difficult to place students in field sites since passage of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA) of 1996, particularly its provisions addressing the security and privacy of health data. Recent exploration of several new possibilities for field placements resulted in closed doors attributed to HIPA regulations. Several agencies that accepted QVCC students in the past will no longer do so, even those where bachelor and masters level students are continuing to be granted placements. Given the apparent resurgence of program enrollees, and an expressed interest by many young students in doing direct counseling (see comment in section on telephone survey below), this is a challenge that will need to be addressed. Other Information on Program Performance A telephone survey was conducted of Human Services majors and graduates to determine satisfaction with the program. The following questions were posed: Are you a graduate? If not, do you intend to complete the degree? Are you currently employed in a human services position? If a graduate of the program, have you pursued or are you pursuing (an) additional degree(s)? On a scale of 1 5, how would you rate the Human Services Program? Are there courses you took that you feel should be eliminated from the program requirements? Is there subject matter not offered in human services courses that you believe merits its own course? Do you have any other comments to make? Of 32 people, 18 were reached and responded to the questionnaire. All but three graduated from the program; those three have plans to do so. Seven have pursued/are pursuing either a Bachelor s degree or graduate study. All but six are working in the human services field. Employing agencies include several of the programs of United Services, two programs of Perception Programs, Natchaug Hospital, Child Services at the Mashantucket Nation, two agencies serving people with developmental disabilities, two agencies serving older adults, United Community and Family Services, local school systems, Prison Ministry, several area long-term care facilities for elders and people with disabilities, and the Connecticut Department of Children and Families.

6 The rating for the program was generally quite positive. The average rating was The mode was 5, with 12 people so responding; 5 people rated the program 4, and one 3. The last commented that his field practicum experience was a disappointment. He was given little or no supervision despite intervention from the program coordinator (that placement is no longer being used). Two people suggested a course related to developmental disabilities, and two a course related to gerontology. Three respondents recommended a course with a focus on addictions and recovery. No one suggested the deletion of any course. Four people opined that placements for the field practicum in more clinical (mental health/counseling) settings would be desirable, with two people suggesting more clinical courses. In the other comments section, satisfaction with the program was underscored. Almost all those interviewed expressed that they felt the course work, and especially the practicum experiences, gave them the knowledge and skills they needed to work in the field. One student, currently pursuing a Bachelor s degree said, St. Joseph s is a break compared to QV. I feel I was very well prepared. Three people offered negative evaluations of their experiences in courses delivered via Polycom, two of them alluding to the divisiveness among classmates that occurred during such classes. One graduate, laughingly remembering the semester she had three classes with the program coordinator, suggested enlarging the full time program staff. Still another said he felt he d gained a much stronger education than he could infer was experienced by colleagues at several agencies where he s worked. Finally, two respondents recommended that HSE 101 (Introduction to Human Services) be a prerequisite for HSE 108 (The Human Services Worker a practice skills course). They felt the experiences in the former course would have better prepared them for the content and requirements for the latter, which they had taken first. A summary of information from the telephone survey follows. Survey Participants: Program in Progress Graduated from Program Seeking/Completed additional degree Working in Field Ratings: (mean = 4.69) 1 Poor 2 Fair 3 Good 4 Very Good 5 Excellent Eliminate Course: Yes No 0 18

7 Add Course: Developmental Disabilities Gerontology Addiction/Recovery Clinical Course Clinical Placements* *Field Placement opportunity rather than course offering PROGRAM APPRAISAL Strengths: The Human Services program serves students in transition to employment very well. They are finding work, most often in the towns surrounding the college, though some graduates have moved out of state. Overwhelmingly graduates believe they were well-served by the program, arriving at their jobs well-prepared and knowledgeable. Those reached who continued their studies universally indicated they felt they had learned what they needed in order to succeed in their next levels of education. Highest praise was for the field practicum experiences, which many said helped consolidate their previous learning and make it real. Several students remarked on the accompanying seminars, where hearing directly from others in the field enhanced their own learning. Weaknesses: At 61 credits, the Human Services Program is already weighty. Given the generalist perspective which is the core of the program, it s difficult to justify much specialization. Combined with the numbers of students taking courses any given semester, the program could risk being stretched too thin if it adds significant content. Yet there are areas where employment opportunities are growing for which there is no direct course content. There is projected growth in the field in criminal justice/corrections, services to those with developmental disabilities, addiction services, and services to aging adults. These areas will need to be examined carefully. Also of concern is the apparently growing reluctance of agencies to accept associate level students for field practicum placements. While in general new practicum opportunities are being developed regularly, those offering more direct client counseling are more difficult to establish. Addressing this problem needs priority attention. Opportunities: More and more students are beginning their studies with computer skills envied by this writer! Three credits in the program are currently used for computer literacy as delivered in CSA 105 (Introduction to Software Applications). It would seem a good move to eliminate the course requirement, with advice to ill-prepared students to pursue competency on their own. While this introduces a hidden requirement, one can argue that taking a computer literacy course has become the equivalent of taking developmental English courses necessary only in the breach, and in this case, probably much more frequently a problem only for the now non-traditional mature adults. For students planning to transfer to four year institutions, substitutions for the second practicum experience began to be offered several semesters ago. HSE 181 and HSE 182 transfer only as electives, and those seeking degrees in social work are required to take field experiences for their Bachelor s degrees. Thus an opportunity is at hand, if CSA 105 is deleted as a requirement, to adjust the curriculum to obviate the necessity to provide course waivers on a regular basis for the practicum experiences.

8 The possibility exists to develop direct transfer agreements with social work programs at nearby institutions, especially Eastern Connecticut State University where the majority of our students seek admission. Such agreements would allow transfer students to bypass courses required of those who will be moving directly into the workforce. It may be possible to develop one or more certificates for these latter students, with course requirements tailored to specific fields of practice such as elder services, addictions, and developmental disability services. Courses to support such certificates exist in the system and could be adopted with common course numbering. The recently approved certificate in Criminal Justice is a good template for such certificates. Labor market data demonstrate a growing demand for human services workers nationally as well as in our community. The need is for workers with preparation for entry-level positions through those with master s degree skills and knowledge. This demand is projected to continue into the foreseeable future. It also appears clear that students from QVCC are finding employment and those who chose transfer are making easy transitions to bachelor s degree programs and then beyond. Thus the necessity exists to continue providing the kind of educational experience offered through the College s Human Services Program. Threats: The aforementioned impact of HIPPA on student placements presents a predicament. Students want experience with direct counseling. How to meet their expressed wishes in an increasingly guarded environment is a difficult conundrum. It is hoped the committee that reviews this study can offer some guidance. Candidly, the certificate program in criminal justice, along with the new early childhood education program is threats to the Human Services Program s numbers. Certainly there were significant numbers of students planning educational careers in the Human Services Program in the past. It would appear, however, that there is room in the tent for both programs as well as the certificate. In fact, with the latter, students may well opt to complete the Human Services degree after completing the certificate courses. This was a design component of the certificate. Action Plan Student responses to the telephone survey developed to support this self-study, statistics about program numbers and course enrollment, and internal analysis suggest a multi-faceted approach to enhancing the effectiveness of the Human Services Program. In no particular order, and in consultation with the committee empanelled to review this document, the following issues merit consideration. Revise the program s curriculum to meet the disparate needs of employment-seeking and transferring students Explore enhanced transfer options, most specifically with Eastern Connecticut State University, but with other institutions as well Develop strategies for improved opportunities for field placements for program students Consider introduction of courses related to the fields of addiction, aging, and developmental disabilities to the program, perhaps as directed electives

9 Consider introduction of certificate programs in the above concentrations Examine course scheduling options to make selections available to students desiring to complete their degrees in a shorter time-frame Develop marketing strategies through meetings with area employers to provide continuing education to those already working in local agencies as well as those lacking the entry-level skills needed for such employment Continue outreach to students at area high schools to maintain healthy enrollment in the program