Gatekeeping in BSW Programs

Social work educators and degree program administrators face difficult issues concerning law, student rights, and social justice in their role as gatekeepers of the social work profession. How, and why, should baccalaureate social work programs afford or restrict access to the profession? When do gatekeeping strategies mask educators' reluctance to tackle some of the more thorny issues that have plagued higher education in general, for example, academe's often limited success in addressing a variety of student special needs? Balancing the interests of a diverse student population, a baccalaureate program, and the profession--to say nothing of the clients--challenges gatekeepers' creativity to the utmost.

This all-in-one resource, written by social work educators with special interests and expertise in gatekeeping, provides the knowledge and tools that faculty and administrators need to carry out their duties conscientiously and appropriately. Gatekeeping in BSW Programs covers the history of gatekeeping and its major issues, legal matters in the field, and strategies and processes of gatekeeping; it also includes useful appendixes of materials and tools, such as sample questions for student admissions and various sample academic policies.

Patty Gibbs is a professor in the department of social work and the director of of the BSW Program at East Tennessee State University. She is a past chair of the National Task Group on BSW Gatekeeping Standards.

Eleanor H. Blakely was an associate professor and director of the MSW Program in the Division of Social Work at West Virginia University. She died in 2006.