102-2-6. Program approval. (a) Definitions. The following terms shall be defined as follows:
(1) "Core faculty member" means an individual who is part of the program's teaching staff and who meets the following conditions:
(A) Is an individual whose education, training, and experience are consistent with the individual's role within the program and are consistent with the published description of the goals, philosophy, and educational purpose of the program;
(B) is an individual whose primary professional employment is at the institution in which the program is housed; and
(C) is an individual who is identified with the program and is centrally involved in program development, decision making, and student training as demonstrated by consistent inclusion of the individual's name in public and departmental documents.
(2) "In residence," when used to describe a student, means that the student is present at the physical location of the institution for the purpose of completing coursework during which the student and one or more core faculty members are in face-to-face contact.
(3) "Primary professional employment" means a minimum of 20 hours per week of instruction, research, any other service to the institution in the course of employment, and the related administrative work.
(b) To be recognized and approved by the board, an undergraduate or graduate social work program shall be accredited by the council on social work education or shall be in substantial compliance with all of the following standards:
(1) The program shall have a curriculum plan that has been or will be fully implemented during the current academic year.
(2) The program shall have graduated a class of students or shall graduate a class of students during the current academic year.
(3) The social work program shall meet the following conditions:
(A) Have autonomy with respect to an identified budget and an established governance and administrative structure;
(B) have responsibility for participation in personnel recruitment, retention, promotion, and tenure decisions;
(C) have support staff assigned to the program; and
(D) have other necessary resources and authority required for the achievement of specified program objectives.
(4) The program shall have a field education program that is clearly incorporated as an integral component of the curriculum and the social work degree requirements. The field education program shall engage the student in supervised social work practice and experiential opportunities that apply classroom learning in the field setting.
(5) The program shall have a clear plan for the organization, implementation, and evaluation of the class and field curricula.
(6) The program shall have social work faculty advisors who are sufficiently knowledgeable about the social work program and who are available to advise social work students.
(7) The program's written policies shall make explicit the criteria for evaluation of student academic and field performance.
(8) The program's written policies shall include procedures for the termination of student participation in the professional social work degree program, and each student shall be informed of these termination procedures.
(9) The social work program shall be contained within a college or university that is regionally accredited.
(10) No less than 50% of the required program coursework shall be completed "in residence" at one institution, and the field education program shall be completed at the same institution.
(c) In addition to the standards in subsection (b) of this regulation, each undergraduate social work program that is not accredited by the council on social work education shall meet all of the following standards:
(1) The program shall specify in the university or college course catalog that its primary educational objective is preparation for beginning professional social work practice.
(2) The program coursework shall be identified and described in the course catalog of the university or college.
(3) The program shall have a designated director whose educational credentials include either a baccalaureate or a graduate degree in social work and who holds a full-time appointment in the educational institution.
(4) Each program faculty member who teaches the content on social work practice and each program faculty member who coordinates the field education program shall fulfill these requirements:
(A) Hold a graduate degree in social work; and
(B) have had two or more years of professional social work practice experience.
(5) The core faculty shall be responsible for essential program functions, including the following duties:
(A) Regular design, modification, approval, implementation, and evaluation of the program curriculum and educational policies;
(B) systematic and continual evaluation of program results in view of the specified objectives of the program;
(C) teaching of social work practice courses and other social work courses;
(D) coordination of field education program experiences and provision of instruction for the field education program; and
(E) establishment and maintenance of program integrity and attainment of program visibility.
(6) The program director shall have primary responsibility for the coordination and educational leadership of the program and shall be provided with the time and financial resources needed to fulfill those responsibilities.
(7) The program shall have a minimum of two full-time, core faculty members whose primary assignment is to the program.
(8) The field education program provided as part of the program shall consist of a minimum of 400 clock hours successfully completed in the field setting. Except as provided by paragraph (b)(3)(ii) of K.A.R. 102-2-2a, each student participating in the field education program shall be directly supervised by an individual either licensed or academically eligible for licensure in social work in the jurisdiction in which the supervised field education program is completed.
(d) In addition to the standards of subsection (b) of this regulation, each graduate social work education program that is not accredited by the council on social work education shall meet all of the following standards:
(1) The program shall be an integral part of an educational institution that is institutionally accredited to award the master's or doctoral degree in social work.
(2) The program shall specify in the university or college course catalog that it prepares graduate students for advanced social work practice.
(3) The educational level for which accreditation has been received shall be specified in any program documents referring to accreditation.
(4) The program shall have a full-time dean or director as its chief executive officer.
(5) The graduate program shall offer, as its basic program design, two full-time academic years of professional education that leads to a graduate degree in social work. A minimum of one academic year of the program shall be in full-time status, as defined by the educational institution.
(6) Each program faculty member who teaches the content on social work practice and each program faculty member who coordinates the field education program shall fulfill these requirements:
(A) Hold a master's degree in social work;
(B) have had post-master's professional social work practice experience; and
(C) be qualified for licensure to practice social work in the state of Kansas.
(7) The program faculty shall have responsibility for curriculum design, modification, approval, and implementation and for systematic, continual evaluation of the program.
(8) The faculty shall be responsible for educational policy in matters of admission, advising, retention, and graduation of students.
(9) The faculty shall be responsible for continual and systematic guidance of students through the professional educational program.
(e) Upon request of the board, each school shall present documentation to the board that it has satisfactorily met the standards of subsection (b) and the standards of either subsection (c) or (d), as applicable. (Authorized by K.S.A. 2005 Supp. 74-7507 and K.S.A. 65-6306; implementing K.S.A. 65-6306; effective May 1, 1982; amended May 1, 1987; amended Oct. 24, 1997; amended Oct. 27, 2006.)
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