March 16, 2009
Dear Students:
This letter is in reference to your Summer 2009 and Fall 2009 registration. Please read this letter and the FYI thoroughly.
Registration for graduate social work students begins the week of March 30th for both summer and fall semesters. Course schedules are available on the school’s website. Go to www.fordham.edu/gss, click on Student Resources, then Class Schedules – Lincoln Center Foundation and Advanced for fall 2009, Westchester Foundation and Advanced for fall 2009, and Summer 2009 for each campus. These will be posted during the week of March 16th. If you want to pick up copies of the schedules, go to Room 726-C at Lincoln Center or Room 106A in Westchester.
You will not be able to register for the fall 2009 semester unless you have claimed your my.fordham AccessIT ID. If you have not yet done so, go to the Fordham homepage – www.fordham.edu and click on my.fordham from the Quicklinks drop down menu. Your AccessIT ID is your Fordham e-mail name. Click on first time users to create a password. Summer registration is still through OASIS (the old system that will cease to exist after summer session). When you click on the Student Tab in my.fordham you will see Registration Tools in the box in the upper left corner. Use Add or Drop Classes to register for fall. This new system is called Banner. In the middle you will see a link to OASIS to use for summer. You will have to log in with your 8 digit Fordham ID number (on the enclosed worksheet if you have forgotten it) and OASIS password.
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, or if you want to perform a degree audit on OASIS. CLN = clinical, ADM = Administration (soon to change to LMP – Leadership and Macro Practice), ADC = Client Centered Management, RES = Research, If your concentration is incorrect, and you are in your final year, please contact me – egan@fordham.edu.
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) 367-3100 or jedwards@fordham.edu, Phyllis Gillians at (914) 367-3102 or gillians@fordham.edu, or Aida Lau at (914) 367-3104 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 6th. It is possible to add and drop courses on OASIS for summer session through May 15th and on Banner through my.fordham through fall semester through August 28th.
To avoid system overload, registration is staggered based on your earned credits:
Monday, March 30th MSW students who have earned 12 credits & above
Tuesday, March 31st MSW students who have earned 0-11 credits
Wednesday, April 1st All non-matriculated students
After April 2nd 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 for summer. For fall, under the Registration Tools, Registration status will let you know about holds. 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 30th 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.
2009 - 10 Tuition: The tuition for the next academic year is $750/credit. Summer tuition is still $715/credit. You will receive a bill - early May for Summer Session and mid July for fall.
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 7th floor at Lincoln Center and Room 106A in Westchester. You will be notified by mail during the summer of the amount of your award.
Things to Remember when Registering:
Summer Session – Please note the dates of the summer courses on the summer schedule. Classes meet for eight weeks in 3 ½ hour time blocks. There will be one intensive course offered at Lincoln Center and two in Westchester. Note those dates and times on the schedules.
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 CRN (Course Record Number) on the top of each schedule.
Leadership and Macro Practice 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 Management, Leadership and Macro Practice, 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 registration information 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 from the GSS website. They are not differentiated on Banner. 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 Banner. You will receive a separate mailing about the courses offered at Molloy on Monday (foundation) and Wednesday (advanced clinical) evenings in early April. 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.
Professor assignments can change all summer long. Banner will be updated as changes are made and TBAs are hired. Please be sure to read all of the material thoroughly and call us only after you have reread everything!
Sincerely,
Susan Bair Egan, PhD
Assistant Dean
egan@fordham.edu
New Course Descriptions (all other course descriptions are on the GSS website under Course offerings
SWGS 6436 Trauma Treatment with Children and Adolescents: Common Concepts, Components and Skills (Clinical Elective)
This course will introduce students to the common concepts underlying evidence-based treatment for traumatized children and adolescents, using a case analysis format. Trauma is broadly defined, and includes children and adolescents exposed to traumatic events including, but not limited to natural disasters, war, abuse and neglect, medical trauma and witnessing interpersonal crime (e.g. domestic violence) and other traumatic events. The course will highlight the role of development, culture and empirical evidence in trauma-specific interventions with children, adolescents and their families. It will address the level of functioning of primary caregiving environments and assess the capacity of the community to facilitate restorative processes.
SWGS 6437 Social Work Practice with Hispanic/Latino(a)s (Clinical Elective)
The purpose of this course is to prepare social work students to understand culturally competent practice and socially just services to members of the Latino population in the US. These problems might include oppression, discrimination, adjustment, cultural shock, religion, immigration, language, survival, legal and working issues that social workers need to be aware of in order to increase the effectiveness of their practice. The course aims to provide students with an opportunity to deepen their clinical practice knowledge, skills and values with these populations.
SWGS 6438 Social Work Practice with LGBT Individuals (Clinical Elective)
This lifespan based course examines issues affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) individuals and the implications for social work practice. Based upon an understanding of the ways in which heterosexism and homophobia are embedded in the social milieu, students will identify strategies for serving these populations. Topics will include the nature of sexual orientation, LGBT identity formation, transgender identity, as well as family and relationship configurations. The course will focus on the mental and physical healthcare needs of LGBT people
SWGS 6040 Social Work from the Human Rights Perspective (Transverse Elective)
This course is an introduction to the human rights perspective and an exploration of its intersection with social work values, ethics, theory, and practice. The learner is challenged to examine how adopting the human rights perspective could alter social work’s service provision, administration, research, education, language, policy analysis, and advocacy.
FYI
· August Graduates – If your course and/or field work will be completed this summer, you will be a 8/09/09 graduate. You should have already filed a Candidate for Degree Card but if not, pick one up in Room 726 at Lincoln Center or Room 106A in Westchester. August graduates are welcome to attend the May ceremony but will receive the actual diploma in August. It will be mailed by the end of that month. April 3rd is the deadline for ordering your cap and gown if you are participating in the May 21st ceremony.
· Licensing Exam Review - Reviews for the Masters Level Licensing Exam (LMSW in New York and LSW in New Jersey) have been scheduled. At Lincoln Center they will be on Saturday, May 16th from 1 – 4 p.m. and Monday, June 1st from 6 – 9 p.m. both in Pope Auditorium. Sign up sheets will be near the 7th floor water fountain in April. In Westchester it will be on Saturday, June 6th from 1:30 – 4:30, room to be announced. A sign up sheet will be on the ground floor bulletin board outside the cafe. These are for students graduating in 2009. Application forms to apply for the license are available from the New York State website – www.op.nysed.gov/sw. 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.
· Field Instruction - All students who will be doing field placements in the 2009 - 2010 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 15th . 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 a coordinator. Work-study students do not need to schedule a coordinator appointment but need to have your work study forms (lilac) in by June 30th. If you do not have these forms yet, please go to the Field Instruction Department at Lincoln Center or Westchester 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 collaborative programs – We are continuing to work with the Master’s in Public Health program at New York Medical College in Valhalla, NY and with Mt. Sinai’s School of Public Health. 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 our MSW/MPH collaborations, can contact Dean Elaine Congress at congress@fordham.edu.
· Important Dates - Summer Session – Saturday classes begin May 16th 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 Monday, 8/31, Tuesday 9/1, Thursday 9/3, and Saturday 9/12 (note advanced year classes in Westchester are now on Tuesdays. Field Instruction begins on September 8th for 28 hour/week students (Employed, Experienced Social Service Practitioners) and the week of September 14th for 14 and 21 hour/week students. The first Wednesday Integrative Seminar will be 9/9 for foundation placement students and 9/16 for advanced placement students (note Integrative Seminars in Westchester are now on Wednesdays). A complete academic calendar is on the GSS website under Student Resources. You will receive the calendar for the dates of all Integrative Seminars in an August 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 (no fee, no homework). 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. Even if you were enrolled this past academic year you need to re-enroll for Fall 2009. To register on Banner use the following CRNs:
Lincoln Center – CRN 12735 ZZGS 1000-001 Dean/Blackboard – Egan
Westchester - CRN 12739 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. Check the site regularly for updates.
· Degree Audit This is an option on OASIS under Student Records and will be available all summer. 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. Because the student registration system is changing, you will not see your fall courses on OASIS. When the new audit system is implemented in Banner, you will be notified.
