Beyond the Classroom

Opportunities for Student Involvement

Opportunities are provided for social work majors to become involved in the Social Work Department in addition to required classes. Several are listed below:

The Student Social Work Organization
The Student Social Work Organization offers students an excellent chance to meet and become acquainted with other social work majors. It opens the door to a learning experience outside the classroom. It is also an opportunity to be informed and aware of issues pertaining to school, work, and community affairs that affect students. This organization also provides opportunities to become involved in such Social Work department committees as Student Issues  and Curriculum  Development. 

SSWO is on facebook (query Buffalo State Student Social Work Organization).

Kappa Omega Chapter of the Phi Alpha Honor Society
This is the Buffalo State College Chapter of the national social work honor society. It is comprised of students who are committed to the values and ethics of the profession and who display scholarly excellence and achievement within the department. [more...]

Active Minds
Active Minds is a local chapter of a national organization that works to increase college students' awareness of mental health issues, provide information and resources regarding mental health and mental illness, encourage students to seek help as soon as it is needed, and serve as liaison between students and the mental health community.

Through campuswide events, Active Minds aims to remove the stigma that surrounds mental health issues, and create a comfortable environment for an open conversation about mental health issues on campus.

Check out Active Minds on Facebook. 

National Association of Social Workers
Applications to become a student member of NASW are available in the Social Work Department Office, Classroom Building C 115. A $48 membership fee gives students the following benefits: membership at the national and state chapter level; subscriptions to NASW News and Social Work; discounts on other journals and publications; NASW JobLink, Inc.; and more.

Department Committees
Student representatives are elected to the following faculty committees:

Curriculum Committee
This committee is responsible for matters related to course offerings of the Social Work Department. The Curriculum Committee is responsible for reviewing the curriculum and proposing curriculum changes. Two students are elected to this committee from membership in the Student Social Work Organization.

Student Issues Committee
This committee is responsible for making recommendations regarding advisement needs to the faculty and department chair, developing activities and programs which relate to post-graduate concerns, and selecting the outstanding senior awards.