Registration Letter & FYI

March 17, 2008

Dear Students:

This letter is in reference to your Summer 2008 and Fall 2008 registration. Please read this letter and the FYI thoroughly.

Registration for graduate social work students begins the week of March 31^st for both summer and fall semesters. Registration instructions and course schedules are available on the school’s website – they are not enclosed in this mailing. To access OASIS registration instructions and schedules from the Fordham Graduate School of Social Service website, go to www.fordham.edu/gss, click on Student Resources, then Registration Instructions. You will also see Class Schedules – Lincoln Center Foundation and Advanced, Westchester Foundation and Advanced, and Summer for each campus. These will be posted during the week of March 17^th. If you want to pick up copies of the Registration Instructions or the schedules, go to Room 726-C at Lincoln Center or Room 104 in Gerard Hall at Tarrytown.

Your Advising and Registration worksheet is enclosed. It is important for several reasons. In the upper left hand corner it states your Earned Hours. These are for courses completed to date. You haven’t yet earned credit for courses you are currently taking, and if you are in field placement you do not earn all credits until your end of year grade is posted. To the right of earned hours is your degree (MSW or Non for non-matriculated students). Your earned hours and your degree determine when you can start to register (see below). Also listed are the courses you have completed to date and the credits earned. Current courses are listed with 0 credits earned. Please note that if you have credits transferred in from another university, the courses themselves will not be listed on this form, but are reflected in your earned hours. On the right hand side of the worksheet you will see a print out of a year. Ignore it – it was computer generated when you began the program and will be adjusted in your last semester when you file a degree card. You will also see major and concentration. This is important only if you are in your advanced/final field placement and the concentration is incorrect. CLN = clinical,

ADM = Administration, RES = Research, ADC = Client Centered Management. If your concentration is incorrect, and you are in your final year, please contact me.

If you have any difficulty registering, Lincoln Center students can contact me at (212) 636-6605 or egan@fordham.edu or Polly Kaplan at (212) 636-7352 or pokaplan@fordham.edu, and Westchester students can contact Dean Edwards (914) 332-6007 or jedwards@fordham.edu, Phyllis Gillians at (914) 332-6006 or gillians@fordham.edu, or Aida Lau at (914) 332-6028 or alau@fordham.edu. It is important that you register during the week of registration as we begin to add and cancel sections the week of April 7^th. It is possible to add and drop courses on OASIS for summer session through May 9^th and for the fall semester through August 29^th.

To avoid system overload, registration is staggered based on your earned credits:

Monday, March 31^st MSW students who have earned 12 credits & above

Tuesday, April 1^st MSW students who have earned 0-11 credits

Wednesday, April 2^nd All non-matriculated students

After April 3^rd All students

Registration Holds: If you have a tuition balance you are on Bursar Hold and therefore will be blocked from registering. You will also be blocked if you are not in full compliance with the immunization requirement. You are on an Admissions Hold if you have not submitted your final official undergraduate transcript to the Office of Admissions. You will be notified of holds when you log into OASIS. Please do not wait until registration to find out. Enrollment Services can be reached at (212) 636-6700, the University Health Center is (718) 817-4160, and the Office of Admissions is (212) 636-6600. If you cannot resolve the holds by March 31^st but have every intention of continuing in the program, please call me so we can discuss the situation.

Summer Session and Financial Aid: The Graduate School of Social Service limits students to only one summer school course. If you take only 3 credits in a semester you are not eligible for a loan. You are, however, loan eligible if you are taking a 3 credit course and continuing in your 14 hour/week internship (therefore being half-time). If this presents a problem for you, please call me at (212) 636-6605.

2008 - 09 Tuition: The tuition for the next academic year is $715/credit. Summer tuition is still $685/credit. You will receive a bill - early May for Summer Session and mid July for Fall. You can check your financial status on OASIS.

Tuition Assistance/Remission: If you will be in field placement in the upcoming academic year and have not yet applied for tuition assistance, do so as soon as possible. The information and forms are available on the 7^th floor at Lincoln Center and Gerard Hall Room 104 at Tarrytown. You will be notified by mail during the summer of the amount of your award.

Things to Remember when Registering:

Field Instruction - If you will be starting a field placement in the fall, you must register for it, indicating the course number and the numbers of hours a week you will be doing field work and which campus you will be attending Integrative Seminar. This must coincide with what you put on your planning forms. You will find the field instruction call numbers on the top of each schedule.

Administration Majors – Your advanced seminar is offered in the Fall semester only. SWGS 6607, Practice with Task Groups must be taken in concurrence with Administration I.

Client Centered Management Majors – The requirements for this major are any section of SWGS 6620 Client Centered Mgt I and SWGS 6413 Clinical Practice I (Fall) and SWGS 6621 Client Centered Mgt II and SWGS 6414 Clinical Practice II (Spring).

Advanced Clinical Assessment & Diagnosis: SWGS 6430 is a requirement for Clinical majors. A one semester course, it will be offered in both the Fall and Spring semesters at Lincoln Center and Westchester. If Client Centered Practice and Management, Administration, or Research majors take this course it counts as an elective. It is important to note that if you choose to work as a clinical social worker after you

graduate, this is one of the course requirements to apply to be a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in New York State.

Employed Experienced Social Work Practitioners (EESSP) – Those of you who are ready to enroll in SWGS 6907 Field Practicum Laboratory in the upcoming academic year, please wait to register for it. It is taken in the year prior to your field placement and in concurrence with Generalist Social Work Practice with Individuals, Families and Groups I and II. I will mail you a letter by early June with the course call numbers and dates it will meet during the year. This is a required three credit course that meets fifteen times over the academic year. You will be charged for 3 credits in the fall and 0 in the spring. The lab will be offered on Wednesday evenings (6:00 – 7:40) at Lincoln Center and Westchester and Saturday afternoons (1:30 – 3:20) at Lincoln Center. Please still register for your other courses during the regular registration week.

SWGS 6007 Social Policy Analysis Advocacy and Practice: Note that this course is identified on the schedules with fields of practice as well as some generic sections. You will only see the fields of practice on the schedules you will print out. They are not differentiated on OASIS. It is your choice which one to take. While you must be in field placement or have completed field placement when you take this course, your placement does not necessarily have to be in the same setting as the field of practice you choose for the course. All sections will be taught with the same outline - focusing on a particular field of practice may be more appealing to some of you. SWGS 6006 Social Welfare Policy and Services is a prerequisite. If you have chosen a specialization in your advanced year in Children and their Families, Substance Abuse, or Social Work and the Law you can still choose any policy course. This does not change or add to the specialization requirements. However, those of you who choose a specialization in Older People and their Families or Global Service must take SWGS 6007 in that field of practice (please refer to the specialization forms you received from the Department of Field Instruction). There will also be other options for this course at both campuses in the spring semester.

Fordham/Molloy students – Students who take courses at Molloy College in Rockville Centre on Long Island cannot register for those courses on OASIS. You will receive a separate mailing about the courses offered at Molloy on Monday (foundation) and Wednesday (advanced clinical) evenings in early April. (Please note this is a change in evenings from previous years). If you are also taking courses at Lincoln Center, register for those during registration week. If you are not currently in the Fordham/Molloy program but have questions about taking courses there, please contact me.

Please be sure to read all of the material thoroughly and call us only after you have reread everything! Also, note that TBAs will be filled in as new faculty and adjuncts are hired and that professor changes may occur during the summer. OASIS and the website will be updated accordingly.

Sincerely,

Susan Bair Egan, PhD

Assistant Dean

egan@fordham.edu

FYI

· Fordham Westchester With the selling of the Marymount campus in Tarrytown, Fordham’s graduate programs are moving to a new state-of-the-art facility at 400 Westchester Avenue in West Harrison, NY. The move will take place in August and classes will begin there in September. Dean Jane Edwards will keep the Westchester students updated through the Student Congress delegates and through meetings in April to which all students are invited. Look for sign-up sheets on the bulletin board.

· Licensing Exam Review - One day reviews for the Masters Level Licensing Exam (LMSW in New York and LSW in New Jersey) are scheduled in May. At Lincoln Center they will be on Saturday, May 3^rd and Tuesday May 6^th from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. At Tarrytown they will be on May 5^th and May 21^st from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Please sign up at your campus (7^th floor at Lincoln Center and the ground-floor bulletin board at Tarrytown) if you plan to attend. This is for students graduating in 2008. Application forms to apply for the license are available from the State’s website – www.op.nysed.gov. New Jersey residents can call (973) 504-6495 for an application. If you are interested in licensing in other states go to the Association of Social Work Boards website at www.aswb.org.

· August Graduates – If your course and/or field work will be completed this summer, you will be a 8/09/08 graduate. Please take note of this new date. You should have already filed a Candidate for Degree Card but if not, pick one up in Room 726 at Lincoln Center or Room 102 in Gerard Hall at Tarrytown. August graduates are welcome to attend the May ceremony but will receive the actual diploma in August. April 4^th is the deadline for ordering your cap and gown if you are participating in the May ceremony.

· Field Instruction - All students who will be doing field placements in the 2008 - 2009 academic year should by now have received Field Work Planning forms. The forms for those of you going into your first placement are due in the Field Instruction Office by April 30^th. Those of you going into your advanced placement (this includes Employed Experienced Social Service Practitioners and Advanced Standing students) should by now have scheduled appointments with your coordinator. Work-study students do not need to schedule a coordinator appointment but need to have your work study forms (lilac) in by June 30^th. If you do not have these forms yet, please go to the Field Instruction Department at Lincoln Center or Tarrytown immediately.

· Non-Matriculated Students - If you are currently non-matriculated and are in the process of applying for matriculation, please do not register for the Fall semester now. You will be informed of the Fall registration process in your decision letter.

· Master’s in Public Health joint degree programs – We are continuing to work with New York Medical College in Valhalla, NY to develop joint MSW/MPH degree program and our collaboration with Mt. Sinai’s School of Public Health continues. This gives an opportunity for some advanced year students to take electives toward their MSW. Course offerings and times will be mailed during the summer. If you are interested in the MSW/MPH degree you can contact Dean Elaine Congress at congress@fordham.edu.

· Important Dates - Summer Session – Saturday classes begin May 10^th and weekday classes begin the following week. Exact dates are on the summer schedules.

Fall Semester The first day of classes in the Fall will be Tuesday 9/2, Wednesday 9/3, Thursday 9/4, Saturday 9/6, and Monday 9/8. Field Instruction begins on September 15^th for 28 hour/week students (Employed, Experienced Social Service Practitioners) and the week of September 22^nd for 14 and 21 hour/week students. The first Wednesday Lincoln Center Integrative Seminar will be 9/10 for foundation placement students and 9/17 for advanced placement students. The first Monday Westchester Integrative Seminars will be 9/8 for foundation students and 9/22 for advanced placement students. A complete academic calendar will be mailed in August (it will also be on the GSS website) and you will receive the calendar for the dates of all Integrative Seminars in that mailing.

· NASW – If you’re not already a member of your professional organization, the National Association of Social Workers, now is the time - join on-line at www.socialworkers.org. Joining while you are still a student ensures the transitional fee for two years after you graduate. It’s the best deal in town!

· Deans’ Blackboard - In our constant attempt to improve communication to students, Dean Egan at the Lincoln Center campus and Dean Edwards at the Westchester campus have created a “course” on Blackboard. In addition to information being on Monthly Calendars and the school’s website, we have been using this as a vehicle to communicate with students about announcements and events. A main benefit of being enrolled is that we can send group e-mails, something we cannot do on Fordham’s e-mail system. There is no fee for this. Even if you were enrolled this past academic year you need to re-enroll for Fall 2008. To register on OASIS use the following course #s:

Lincoln Center – Call # 13370 ZZGS 1000-001 Dean/Blackboard – Egan

Westchester - Call # 13371 ZZGS 1000-00A Dean/Blackboard – Edwards

After you’ve registered, log on to Blackboard from the Quicklinks on Fordham’s Homepage – www.fordham.edu. Your user name is your Fordham e-mail name and your password is your OASIS PIN. Once in, you can go to the Personal Information section and enter your preferred e-mail address. Check the site regularly for updates.

· Degree Audit This is an option on OASIS under Student Records. This will help you see if you are “on course” in your course work. It works if your concentration is correct. Your concentration was first entered when you applied for matriculation from what you indicated on your application. If it has changed, or if it is missing, please contact Dean Egan via e-mail – egan@fordham.edu.