Student Learning Outcomes

Graduates of the Hood College Social Work Program are able to:

1. Demonstrate Ethical and Professional Behavior
   • make ethical decisions by applying the standards of the National Association of Social Workers Code of Ethics, relevant laws and regulations, models for ethical decision-making, ethical conduct of research, and additional codes of ethics within the profession as appropriate to the context; The Nine Social Work Competencies2022 Educational Policy and Accreditation Standards 
   • demonstrate professional behavior; appearance; and oral, written, and electronic communication;
   • use technology ethically and appropriately to facilitate practice outcomes; and
   • use supervision and consultation to guide professional judgment and behavior.
2. Advance Human Rights and Social, Racial, Economic, and Environmental Justice
   • advocate for human rights at the individual, family, group, organizational, and community system levels
   • engage in practices that advance human rights to promote social, racial, economic, and environmental justice.
3. Engage Anti-Racism, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (ADEI) in Practice
   • demonstrate anti-racist and anti-oppressive social work practice at the individual, family, group, organizational, community, research, and policy levels; and
   • demonstrate cultural humility by applying critical reflection, self-awareness, and self-regulation to manage the influence of bias, power, privilege, and values in working with clients and constituencies, acknowledging them as experts of their own lived experiences.
4. Engage in Practice-Informed Research and Research-Informed Practice
   • apply research findings to inform and improve practice, policy, and programs; and
   • identify ethical, culturally informed, anti-racist, and anti-oppressive strategies that address inherent biases for use in quantitative and qualitative research methods to advance the purposes of social work.
5. Engage in Policy Practice
   • use social justice, anti-racist, and anti-oppressive lenses to assess how social welfare policies affect the delivery of and access to social services; and
   • apply critical thinking to analyze, formulate, and advocate for policies that advance human rights and social, racial, economic, and environmental justice
6. Engage with Individuals, Families, Groups, Organizations, and Communities
   • apply knowledge of human behavior and person-in-environment, as well as interprofessional conceptual frameworks, to engage with clients and constituencies; and
   • use empathy, reflection, and interpersonal skills to engage in culturally responsive practice with clients and constituencies.
7. Assess Individuals, Families, Groups, Organizations, and Communities
   • apply theories of human behavior and person-in-environment, as well as other culturally responsive and interprofessional conceptual frameworks, when assessing clients and constituencies; and
   • demonstrate respect for client self-determination during the assessment process by collaborating with clients and constituencies in developing a mutually agreed-upon plan.
8. Intervene with Individuals, Families, Groups, Organizations, and Communities
   • engage with clients and constituencies to critically choose and implement culturally responsive, evidence-informed interventions to achieve client and constituency goals; and
   • incorporate culturally responsive methods to negotiate, mediate, and advocate with and on behalf of clients and constituencies.
9. Evaluate Practice with Individuals, Families, Groups, Organizations, and Communities
   • select and use culturally responsive methods for evaluation of outcomes; and
   • critically analyze outcomes and apply evaluation findings to improve practice effectiveness with individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities.

(2022 Council of Social Work Education Educational Policy and Accreditation Standards)

Graduates earning a bachelor’s degree in sociology from Hood College:

1. Able to demonstrate an understanding of the sociological perspective of society and human behavior through:
   • Demonstrating an understanding of the meaning of important sociological concepts, and
   • Applying sociological thinking (concepts and principles) to understand aspects of the social world.
2. Able to articulate the role of theory in sociology through:
   • Understanding the history of sociological thought, and
   • Comparing and contrasting different theoretical orientations in sociology.
3. Can demonstrate an understanding of, and specific skills in, the design and conduct of social research through:
   • Demonstrating an understanding of the specific uses, strengths and limitations of different method of social research;
   • Designing and carrying out a social research project; and
   • Using the computer to compile, manipulate and analyze quantitative data.
4. Possess communication and analytical skills that can be directly applies to their future endeavors in education, employment and life through:
   • Writing in a clear and concise manner;
   • Making clear and concise oral presentations;
   • Using current technology to find, organize and communicate information; and
   • Critically evaluating information that comes in a variety of formats - published reports, peer-reviewed research, and general media