This course is designed to prepare social work students with the Diagnostic Statistical Manual used routinely in the mental health field. It incorporates social work practice skills of assessment while developing diagnostic skills needed in a clinical setting.The use of the DSM and learning material further develops one’s practice skills in an ethical, culturally humble manner including race, culture, sexual identity and medical disorders while identifying psychiatric disorders that clients present when seeking assistance.The learning material includes required textbooks, scholarly literature, case studies and videos representing symptoms aligned with the DSM criteria to promote student obtaining working knowledge for use in clinical practice applicable in the mental health field.
Graduates of the UNE SSWO will demonstrate knowledge, skills, and leadership in the following:
Students will demonstrate their acquired knowledge and professional social work practice skills in aligning presenting symptoms to diagnostic criteria within the DSM. (EPAS 1 & 7)
Each course week features at least one, sometimes two, full-class discussions. These discussions are most often based on video vignettes of clients representing a specific disorder and will allow students to collaboratively assess for varying diagnoses pertaining to the demonstrated disorders.
Beginning in Week 2 each week features one small-group discussion. These provide a chance to engage with similar video vignettes to those in full-class discussions but in a more immersive way.
Each week, the group will select somebody to view the case video and to elaborate upon. The lead member will review a video case presentation and write or post a video to the group presenting this case to your peers. The lead is to add additional information that is not present in the video but may promote peer understanding of the case. You have permission to embellish here with demographic information that will support the selected diagnosis. For example, provide a time frame when the symptoms first presented if not present in the video. Add details to a significant event, or who was the primary caretaker if this type of information is not present in the video but needed to determine a diagnosis. The purpose here is to lessen time spent on asking these types of questions and allowing for a greater focus upon the criteria to select a diagnosis.
The members will also watch the case video and read the lead members presentation (or watch their video presentation). The members will address the diagnosis selected and support it from the readings(text/DSM) or critically discuss a differential diagnosis you have selected with support as well.
Five weeks feature an individual journal assignment. The focus of these activities is to reflect on culture, diversity, and our biases. Each week will feature a vignette of a situation dealing with race and culture. Students will reflect on the implications of those topics and personal biases on their social work practice.
Weeks 4 and 7 each contain a 20-question quiz. Taking quizzes like this can help practice for the Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW) Exam. You can find some test-taking preparation resources in your Brightspace Course.
The School of Social Work uses the following grading system for all courses with the exception of field education courses. Students are expected to maintain a “B” (3.0) average over the course of their study. Students with less than a GPA of 3.0 will be placed on academic probation. Students must have an overall GPA of 3.0 in order to receive their Master’s Degree.
Your grade in this course will be determined by the following criteria:
Assignment | Point Value | Total Points |
---|---|---|
Acknowledgement of Academic Engagement | 1 point | 1 |
Introduce Yourself Discussion | 0.5 | 0.5 |
Full-Class Discussions | 3 points each x 14 Forums | 42 |
Small-Group Discussions | 4.5 points x 7 Forums | 31.5 |
Journals | 3 points each x 5 Journal Submissions | 15 |
Quizzes | 5 points x 2 Quizzes | 10 |
Total: | 100 |
Grade | Points Grade | Point Average (GPA) |
A | 94 – 100% | 4.00 |
A- | 90 – 93% | 3.75 |
B+ | 87 – 89% | 3.50 |
B | 84 – 86% | 3.00 |
B- | 80 – 83% | 2.75 |
C+ | 77 – 79% | 2.50 |
C | 74 – 76% | 2.00 |
C- | 70 – 73% | 1.75 |
D | 64 – 69% | 1.00 |
F | 00 – 63% | 0.00 |
Course weeks run from 12:00 AM ET on Wednesday through 11:59 PM ET on Tuesday, with the exception of Week 8, which ends on Sunday at 11:59 PM ET. Unless otherwise specified, all discussion comments and assignments are due the last day of the week. Initial responses to discussion prompts are due by the end of Saturday unless otherwise noted.
ALL TIMES ARE IN THE EASTERN STANDARD TIME ZONE, NO EXCEPTIONS.
Your Student Support Specialist is a resource for you. Please don't hesitate to contact them for assistance, including, but not limited to course planning, current problems or issues in a course, technology concerns, or personal emergencies.
Questions? Visit the Student Support Social Work page
ITS Contact: Toll Free Help Desk 24 hours/7 days per week at 1-877-518-4673
Any student who would like to request, or ask any questions regarding, academic adjustments or accommodations must contact the Student Access Center at (207) 221-4438 or pcstudentaccess@une.edu. Student Access Center staff will evaluate the student's documentation and determine eligibility of accommodation(s) through the Student Access Center registration procedure.
Please review the essential academic and technical standards of the University of New England School Social Work (SSW): https://online.une.edu/social-work/academic-and-technical-standards-une-online-ssw/
Please review the technical requirements for UNE Online Graduate Programs: Technical Requirements
Student and faculty participation in this course will be governed by standards in the NASW Code of Ethics relating to confidentiality in sharing information from their placement sites and practice experiences. Students should be aware that personal information they choose to share in class, class assignments or conversations with faculty does not have the status of privileged information.
Online students are required to submit a graded assignment/discussion prior to Sunday evening at 11:59 pm ET of the first week of the term. If a student does not submit a posting to the graded assignment/discussion prior to Sunday evening at 11:59 pm ET, the student will be automatically dropped from the course for non-participation. Review the full attendance policy.
Assignments: Late assignments will be accepted up to 3 days late; however, there is a 10% grade reduction (from the total points) for the late submission. After three days the assignment will not be accepted.
Discussion posts: If the initial post is submitted late, but still within the discussion board week, there will be a 10% grade reduction from the total discussion grade (e.g., a 3 point discussion will be reduced by 0.3 points). Any posts submitted after the end of the Discussion Board week will not be graded.
Please make every effort ahead of time to contact your instructor and your student support specialist if you are not able to meet an assignment deadline. Arrangements for extenuating circumstances may be considered by faculty.
The policies contained within this document apply to all students in the College of Graduate and Professional Studies. It is each student's responsibility to know the contents of this handbook.
Please contact your student support specialist if you are considering dropping or withdrawing from a course. The last day to drop for 100% tuition refund is the 2nd day of the course. Financial Aid charges may still apply. Students using Financial Aid should contact the Financial Aid Office prior to withdrawing from a course.
The University of New England values academic integrity in all aspects of the educational experience. Academic dishonesty in any form undermines this standard and devalues the original contributions of others. It is the responsibility of all members of the University community to actively uphold the integrity of the academy; failure to act, for any reason, is not acceptable. For information about plagiarism and academic misconduct, please visit UNE Plagiarism Policies.
Academic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to the following:
Charges of academic dishonesty will be reviewed by the Program Director. Penalties for students found responsible for violations may depend upon the seriousness and circumstances of the violation, the degree of premeditation involved, and/or the student’s previous record of violations. Appeal of a decision may be made to the Dean whose decision will be final. Student appeals will take place through the grievance process outlined in the student handbook.