Below please find answers to questions
asked by students at the recent town hall meeting.
1.
Is ETS certified by CSWE?
No. Though not qualified for
institutional accreditation because of our location outside of the United
States, ETS faculty and some students attend the annual Council on Social Work
Education (CSWE) conference and our curriculum at both BSW and MSW level
complies with the current CSWE standards. This can help when ETS graduates
apply for their individual degree to be recognized by CSWE if they choose to
attend an MSW or PhD program in North America. CSWE doesn’t certify
programs outside the United States. But the international degree review offered
by CSWE is accepted by many American schools of social work to demonstrate that
the degree earned abroad is equivalent to the degree a student would get in the
United States. Why would you want to do the degree review? Some American
NGOs require that their employees who work in social work or mental health have
a degree from an accredited university. Since ETS is not accredited by CSWE and
has not yet received MOE recognition, a degree review and approval letter can
be used in place of a degree from the United States. Also, if you decide to do
a social work PhD in the United States, you will likely have to prove that you
have a graduate social work degree which is equivalent so that you don’t need
to repeat the MSW. There is a separate international degree review process for
students who are pursuing graduate degrees in Europe after they finish at ETS.
2.
Who pays for the scholarships that students receive?
Usually no one. Most students have a
scholarship that is actually a “fee waiver” which reduces or eliminates their
tuition fees. Students who have a scholarship paid for a person are told who
that person is and is required to write a letter of thanks to the individual
donor. If you haven’t been told that you have a scholarship from a person and
haven’t been invited to attend the scholarship thank you lunch, then you have a
fee waiver and no one has paid for your school on your behalf.
3.
Why isn’t the library open 24 hours a day? Why can’t we stay and study
after the office and classrooms close?
Unfortunately we don’t have 24 hours
security to let students in and out of the building. Because of this we close
the library when the office closes and we don’t allow students to stay and
study after hours. During finals week, arrangements can be made to stay late
(or even all night) with prior permission from your professor and the office.
Students who stay late to study are responsible for the laptop they check out
until the office reopens. This is a privilege and is only granted when students
can demonstrate they will be responsible in the study space.
4.
Why don’t I get paid for my internship? Why am I required to do field
education work and not get paid, isn’t this slavery?
Social work students have, for years,
complained about the fact that internships are required as part of the social
work education and that social work interns are not paid. Some interns are
paid, and we are always looking for opportunities for students where they can
earn money while doing their field education internship. Internships help you
build skills and apply knowledge that you learn in class to the real world. But
we acknowledge that it’s not fair that some NGOs use interns in place of paid
employees as a way to save money. This is something that we all experienced as
MSW students and we also didn’t like the fact that we didn’t get paid (and were
required to pay to do an internship). That’s part of the reason that we don’t
require ETS students to enroll and pay for field education internship credit
units. But we also see that it still doesn’t feel right that students,
particularly highly skilled students, are not paid for their work. We will keep
working to find paid internship and work opportunities for students.
5.
When will the MOE finish their review and give ETS status?
We don’t know. There are many steps
involved in this process. In the Fall of 2012, Almathe suggested that we retain
an attorney to move the process forward. We did this and Almathe delivered the
letter to the MOE that term. Still, the process can take a long time and there
are more steps that we have to do before it is complete. We know that Madam Rea
waited years for her paperwork. As we get closer to April 2015 (the month when
students from the first cohort will begin to graduate) we will continue to keep
everyone updated and to take further steps to facilitate the process if needed.
6.
Why can’t BSW students take graduate classes? This doesn’t seem fair.
Graduate students have their own
classes in social work and social science which are separate because they have
their own curriculum and are at a more advanced level. You may take classes
with graduate students if the classes are professional development or language
(so, computer classes, resume writing, English, etc.). But graduate students
are taking classes that are too difficult or complex for you to attempt until
you’ve had more education.
7.
Do I have to write all papers in APA style? Do all term papers have to be
typed?
Yes. All homework, papers, essays, and
reports must be written in APA style and must be created on a computer.
8.
I heard that five students were kicked out for cheating. I’m afraid that I
could be accused of plagiarism.
We understand that students are afraid
of accidently plagiarizing when they do homework. The students who were
recently suspended were all first year students who plagiarized more than one
time. You are all aware of this incident because the suspended students were
involved in group work projects in a social work class. You can be reassured
that the other students doing group work were not disciplined for plagiarism
that was done by other students.
Every term we offer a workshop in
plagiarism prevention. This is required for students who have been referred by
a professor but other students are invited to take this workshop as well. It’s
useful to learn how to cite and how to write so that you guard your own words
and prevent accidently using another person’s ideas or writing. Students
are not expelled or suspended the first time they plagiarize. But we will
require students to watch their writing to assure that such behavior doesn’t
become a habit; plagiarism is like lying. It is dishonest and is not an ethical
behavior. Social Workers need to have high ethics and be mindful of these kind
of issues.
9.
Some students were invited to speak at the University of Michigan. Why wasn’t I
invited? A student spoke at NYU and was hired to work at NYU. How come I wasn’t
hired? What’s the relationship of ETS to this university? What is the
relationship of ETS to other universities?
The students who were invited to speak
at Michigan were part of a PTSD intervention and the professor who created the
intervention was also speaking at the conference. We hope that all other
students will get involved in research; presenting your research at a
conference is fun and educational. The students who did an internship with an
NYU professor were able to do a paid social work internship during their time
working on the research project. They applied for this position when the
announcement was sent out by the office and hired directly by the research
coordinator from NYU, we were not part of the decision making process. We
understand that it’s disappointing when other classmates get paid internships,
but you don’t.
ETS doesn’t have a formal relationship
with Michigan, New York University, or any other American university. We aren’t
part of or operated by any other institution. Most of the professors at ETS are
doctoral students or professors at other universities (including Wayne State,
the University of Florida, SUNY, etc.) but at ETS these professors are
volunteers; the foreign university with which they are affiliated doesn’t
control or influence ETS or the teaching of these professors. We are grateful
to the support and encouragement ETS has received from abroad. Donations of
books, computers, and teaching materials have enabled us to provide educational
resources that wouldn’t have been possible otherwise. We are also grateful to
universities who have paid for the travel expenses or donated the time of their
faculty members and graduate students to teach in Haiti. Most recently, we have
Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan, to thank for this!
10.
Why do we have foreign students study here sometimes?
The cost of university in the United
States is very high. Tuition can cost $20,000 USD or more a year. Occasionally we
have students who come from the United States to study in Haiti for a term or
two. The student’s university usually only allows the student to transfer a
limited number of credit units from another university to their home school.
So, most foreign students don’t stay for more than a year, but going to school
in Haiti (and only paying $1800 a year) helps them save money. Some foreign
students also come to ETS because they are learning Creole or because they are
interested in Haiti.
11.
Can I change my major? What happens if I start in Psychology and want to change
to Political Science?
Yes. You can change your major at any
time. We expect that students will reassess their interests and change as they
learn and grow. If you wait too long you may have problems graduating on time
because you need to finish all the requirements for your social science major
before you can graduate. If you start in one area and switch to another you
should take this into consideration.
12.
What’s the educational background of the professors? Someone told me that
the professors only have a secondary school education.
All professors hold a graduate degree
from a recognized university program in their academic discipline. In general,
professors only teach in the areas in which they have formal graduate training.
So, for instance, a professor with a doctorate in Political Science would teach
classes in that discipline. However, this is some overlap within graduate
degree programs and professional training so that in some cases a professor
with sufficient graduate preparation in a field may be asked to teach a related
class that is listed in a different discipline. A good example of this is
Political Science; many doctoral programs in Political Science include advanced
coursework in macroeconomics and/or public policy. A professor with sufficient
background in these areas many be allowed to teach a related or cross-listed
course.
ETS offers the same quality of Social
Work education as that available in the United States and Canada. All Social
Work classes are taught by professors who hold a Masters in Social Work or an
equivalent higher degree (PhD or Masters in Social Care, Social Welfare or
Social Service Administration) from an accredited school of social work. Social
Work practice classes are taught only by professors who have an MSW and at
least two years of post-MSW practice experience.
