Are you accredited by CSWE? How can I know for sure?
Yes, the BSW and MSW programs are both accredited by CSWE. Check out CSWE’s website:
https://www.cswe.org/accreditation/about/directory/?pg=&mpp=96
How often do I have to come to your campus?
There is no requirement to ever come to our physical campus. All your courses can be taken from home/work, and your practicum can be done in your area.
How do I attend classes if I don't go to campus? (distance education)
Courses are offered in a combination of face to face and online formats.
Face to face courses for distance students are conducted using a software called Zoom, which is a live video-conferencing software. For these classes, students must log in during the time the class is going on (we call that synchronous). *To register for one of these, please look at the course schedule and find a section where the campus location says “Miscellaneous” if you do not have access to the Silver City or Deming campus.
How do I do my internship/field experience/practicum from a distance?
Students find a field placement agency in their home community, making sure that there is a qualified supervisor who has an MSW from a CSWE accredited university and a minimum of two years’ post-MSW practice experience.
Once a week, students participate in a seminar course that takes place using Zoom software. Students will log into the class while it is going on (synchronous).
Your Agency Supervisor works with you to set your internship schedule, to accomplish your learning contract tasks, and provides supervision, just as if you were in town with us.
What are your online classes like?
We use a Learning Management System called Canvas to deliver courses online. Online classes are what we call “asynchronous”, meaning that you don’t have to log in at a specific time of day. These courses are great because they offer a lot of flexibility, but they tend to be more work than a face to face class since your interaction is mostly written.
In online classes, students have a syllabus, and work is typically broken down into weekly modules. Students accomplish all activities for each module and submit assignments by their due dates, but they can accomplish their work at times convenient for them.
*The one caution is that students must be engaged several times per week to be successful – we have found a direct correlation between the students’ grades and the amount of time they spend in the online course.
What can I expect the program to cost?
The total cost of the program depends on how many credit hours a student plans on taking per semester, and on whether they are inside or outside of New Mexico.
The links below connects you to the current tuition rates, fees, and tuition calculator.
https://wnmu.edu/tuition-and-fees/
https://wnmu.edu/net-price-calculator/
*All social work courses in the BSW program also have an additional assessment & technology fee, assessed at $10 per credit hour – please be sure to add that to your estimate.
What are your fees?
Typically, fees run about $40 per credit hour, of which $10 is a social work specific fee. Those fees pay for the costs of this program, which requires a lot of outreach on our part and while that’s a lot of fun, it can be expensive. If you live in New Mexico, we’re likely to try to travel to your field placement. If not, we develop an intense relationship with you and your field instructor, which can take up resources (cost money).
Your website looks like residents of states that border NM get a better deal. Is that really true?
It is only true for Arizona residents, Colorado residents, El Paso residents, and undergraduate students.
What is the required GPA for admission?
A GPA of 2.5 is required for admission to the BSW program
Do you have electives?
The BSW program, has rolling admissions. There are several required BSW classes students can take before being admitted into the BSW program. Some upper level social work courses required admission as a prerequisite. Link to apply to the BSW program https://socialwork.wnmu.edu/bsw/
I live abroad. Can I still take your classes?
Absolutely. Though during the pre-practicum skills lab and field placements, students must attend a live class via videoconferencing once per week, which sometimes requires attending at odd hours for students in different time zones. All face to face (videoconferencing) classes are offered in evening hours in US Mountain Standard Time (Denver time zone).
Do you have summer classes? And how many weeks are classes?
We offer several summer courses. Some of our required upper level courses are offered in the fall and spring only, not in the summer. Students work with an Academic Advisor for course scheduling.
Most of our BSW courses are 16 weeks. We offer some 8 week block courses and summer courses are generally 10 weeks.
How long will the program take?
All bachelor degrees at WNMU require 120 credit hours. If a student takes 15 credit hours each fall and spring it will take 8 semesters (4 years) to earn a bachelor’s degree. Some students take courses during the summers or more than 15 credit hours a semester and can graduate sooner. Alternatively, many of our students choose to take fewer classes each semester as they also work and/or have family responsibilities.
How do I start?
Visit the WNMU Admissions and Recruitment website for helpful information about how to apply to WNMU
Where can I find the application to apply to the BSW Program?
Where can I find more information about the BSW Program?
How do I know what books I need?
The WNMU|ACCESS program makes required course texts and e-texts available to students when they register and rolls the cost of books into tuition and fees. Registering for classes is all you need to do in order to receive the required books and materials by the first day of the semester.
Students can opt out of the ACCESS Program by completing an opt-out form from Follett or by contacting the WNMU bookstore at 575-538-6381.