1999 Distance Education Handbook - Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor of Social Welfare

Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor of Social Welfare

Course information
Aims
Entry requirements
Special requirements
Course structure
- The course
- Course plan
Initial enrolment
- First semester
- Second semester
Credits/exemptions
Further information
Completed applications
Details of subjects

Course information

Course code: 1806
Gippsland campus
HECS fees applicable
Attendance compulsory

This course has been introduced to provide a combination generalist/specialist degree incorporating specific vocational education. Students will graduate with a full welfare qualification, recognised by the Australian Institute for Welfare and Community Workers, plus a major and minor study in other disciplines.

Entry requirements

All applicants should satisfy Tertiary Entrance Requirements (TER) as outlined in the section on entry requirements in this book.
In addition to meeting standard entry requirements all applicants are required to complete a social welfare course administration form. If you did not receive this form with the distance education guide then it can be obtained from the Course Inquiries Centre, telephone 1800 671845 or from the School of Humanities and Social Sciences on (03) 5122 6339 or (03) 9902 6339. Applicants will be shortlisted on the basis of information contained in this form, for a more detailed selection process. Applicants are strongly advised that academic criteria are not the only ones for entry into the course. Other factors such as work and life experience, personal qualities and maturity, are taken into account.

Special requirements

Work load

All applicants should be willing to undertake a normal initial work load of at least twenty-four points a year by distance education. Distance education students should note that this may have implications regarding eligibility for Austudy or similar schemes. In later years of the course the normal work load will be thirty-two points per year, but there is scope to vary this under some circumstances.

Attendance

Students must be aware of the attendance requirements for certain social welfare subjects, and should take the cost of this into account before applying for entry to the course.
Students in the double degree must attend the Gippsland campus for two residential workshops during the course, involving one two-day workshop, and one four-day workshop. Students will also be required to undertake a sixteen-day placement in their second year and a sixty-day field education placement during the final year of the program. In addition, students will be required to belong to an area group in their own locality which will have three compulsory meetings in one subject.
Classes will be held in most subjects at each weekend school. Normally, this will include lectures and seminars or tutorials. Attendance at weekend school classes is recommended, but not compulsory for the completion of most subjects offered by the School of Humanities and Social Sciences.

PC requirement

Students should have access to a computer to successfully complete this course.

Course structure

The course

Students will undertake a sequence of study in Social Welfare, and choose major and minor studies from those available in the Bachelor of Arts degree program.
The course of study is normally a minimum of seven years part-time by distance education. In order to complete the Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor of Social Welfare double degree a student must:
(a) complete appropriate subjects within the course to gain at least 192 but not more than 216 points.
(b) complete the prescribed sequence in social welfare (eleven subjects = eighty-eight points), an arts major (fifty-two points) and an arts minor (twenty-eight points). An arts major sequence will comprise a first-level sequence and at least sixteen points at second level and twenty-four points at third level, and an arts minor sequence will comprise a first-level sequence and two subjects at second level.
(c) undertake additional prescribed studies in areas such as social research, Koorie studies and human behaviour to complete the minimum 192 points needed for the double degree.

Course plan

A course plan for the Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor of Social Welfare may look like the one depicted below:

	First semester	Second semester
Year 1	GSC1306 Introduction to understanding human behaviour; GSC1201 Sociological reflections on everyday life	GSC1307 Human Behaviour across the lifespan; GSC1202 Sociological issues
Year 2	GSC1303 Foundations of interpersonal practice: casework & groupwork; Arts sequence	GSC1305 Human services organisational practice; Arts sequence
Year 3	GSC1801 Introduction to Koorie society; Arts major	GSC1304 Communication and counselling skills; GSC1301 Social welfare issues;
Year 4	GSC2310 Social policy: untangling the threads; GSC1601 Basic statistics and computing for social sciences	Arts major; Arts minor
Year 5	GSC2303 Case management theory and practice; Arts major	GSC2304 Community development; Arts minor
Year 6	GSC3307 Human services management; GSC3306 Field education and practice	GSC3303 Insights into practice; GSC3306 Field education and practice cont'd;
Year 7	Arts major;	GSC3304 Paradigms of practice; Arts major;

Initial enrolment

Students entering the double degree program should normally enrol in four subjects in the first year, two in each semester. The following is the suggested first-year enrolment:

First semester

GSC1306 Introduction to understanding human behaviour
GSC1201 Sociological reflections on everyday life

Second semester

GSC1307 Human behaviour across the lifespan
GSC1202 Sociological issues

Credits/exemptions

Students with previously completed or partially completed tertiary studies should complete an application for credit transfer to apply for credits and exemptions. The onus is on the student to provide course records and details of course content and duration (including extracts from relevant handbooks). Students in this category are advised to complete a course plan prior to the commencement of study to ensure they will complete the major/s or minor they intend. Students may be granted up to a maximum of twelve 8 points of credits/exemptions. As a general rule, specific credits will not be granted for studies completed more than ten years prior to the date of enrolment in the current course.