Best Universities, a college rankings and educational resource website, listed 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock as eighth on its list of 2024 rankings for the . This comprehensive list highlights institutions that offer affordable yet high-quality social work programs that can be completed entirely online, providing students with the flexibility they need to pursue a career in social work.

鈥淎s the oldest and largest School of Social Work in the state of Arkansas, we offer strong, affordable degree programs with a faculty with a strong record of practice experience,鈥� said Dr. Kim Jones, co-director of the School of Social Work. 鈥淣ot only does the school utilize innovative technology through face-to-face, hybrid, and online classes to deliver the course content, our students are treated in a supportive manner by dedicated faculty that maintain close connections with their students. Additionally, all our students are placed in internships in agencies with professional social workers throughout the state.鈥�

The School of Social Work, which is accredited by the Council on Social Work Education, has online programs for the Bachelor of Social Work and Master of Social Work programs. They also offer an advanced practice (clinical) concentration as well as a social and organizational impact (macro) concentration.

The Bachelor of Social Work program is a 120-hour program that prepares students for the general practice of social work. The curriculum covers a variety of topics, including human behavior, social welfare policy, social work practice, and field education. 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock is the only university in the state that offers a fully online Bachelor of Social Work program.

The Master of Social Work program is a 60-hour program that focuses on clinical social work practice. Students learn contemporary, evidence-informed practice approaches that can be used across a wide range of settings and with diverse individuals, families, and groups.

Best Universities only considered schools that are regionally or nationally accredited and offer at least one fully online social work degree program with no more than two weeks of required in-person work. The university鈥檚 proven track record of providing affordable, quality education to students made it the perfect addition to this list.

鈥淭he 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock School of Social Work is a well-respected program that has been preparing social workers for over 50 years,鈥� Best Universities stated. 鈥淭he online programs offer a flexible and convenient way to earn a social work degree.鈥�

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Social work is one of the university鈥檚 most popular majors, currently ranking fifth in most undergraduate students at 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock. The School of Social Work is the home to approximately 425 students and 18 full-time faculty and staff. The school has been growing steadily over the years, up from 365 students five years ago.

Its programs include the Bachelor of Social Work and Master of Social Work degrees with both online and on-campus options, a graduate certificate in gerontology, and minors in gerontology, human services, and social work.

Danforth and Jones became the school鈥檚 co-directors on July 1, 2022, upon the retirement of Dr. Stephen Kapp. After nine months on the job, they are dedicated to expanding the School of Social Work to become the top social work higher education destination in the state!

How did you both come to work at 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock?

Danforth 鈥� I was a master鈥檚 student in the Social Work department at 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock, and I had such a good experience. It鈥檚 actually the first time at a university that a professor had informed me there was something beyond the MSW. I ended up applying to a Ph.D. program at Mizzou (University of Missouri) and had my professors here write recommendation letters for me.

When I was in the market for an academic position, I was interviewing all over the country and I loved the balance that 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock strikes with teaching, research, and service. No other university that I interviewed with had the community-engaged metropolitan university designation, or was as involved in the community as 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock was. It was nice to land somewhere where that was a priority. I started at 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock in 2017.

Jones 鈥� My wife and I moved here from Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1997 because of her job as a psychologist at 糖心Vlog传媒MS. I then started here as an adjunct instructor and started full time as an assistant professor in 1999, and I鈥檝e been ever since.

When did you know that you wanted to be social workers?

Danforth 鈥� I realized some time in high school. That鈥檚 when I realized the important role that social workers play both in a macro and micro sense. Our responsibility as social workers is to not only provide mental health and case management services to clients, but also to  advocate for equity and fairness and large-scale change that allows everyone to meet their full potential. I went to U of A, and they had an orientation on the major and I was sold.

Jones 鈥� It was in junior college in Illinois when I took my first psychology class. That was my favorite subject, and I did the first two years in a community college outside of LaSalle, Illinois. It was during the last semester of junior college that I realized social work is what I wanted to do.

What are your major fields of research?

Danforth 鈥� Mine has been education equity, or using qualitative methodology to tease out the experiences of populations that have been marginalized or historically silenced. Because of this role Kim and I have taken over, I am also interested in the preparedness of future social workers and whether we are doing a decent job of educating them for the field.

Jones 鈥� My main focus is clinical social work practice. I am chair of the advanced practice concentration 鈥� clinical track. I also research case-based teaching in the social work curriculum and issues related to father absence.

What has it been like becoming co-directors of the School of Social Work?

Danforth 鈥� You can probably tell by our interests and backgrounds that we balance each other pretty well. We make a pretty good team. It鈥檚 especially helpful to us since we are so large of a school. It鈥檚 nice to have a teammate to tag team big stuff

For me, it鈥檚 been such a great learning experience. It鈥檚 really been beneficial for someone who just got tenure. It was a really big shift moving from faculty to administration. It鈥檚 been really challenging, but really eye opening as it relates to what it takes to keep a department running. You are managing the budget, student enrollment, and strategic planning. You are also learning to be in a leadership position for your colleagues and trying to help them reach their full potential as faculty. It鈥檚 also been nice to meet other chairs of departments and those in administration positions across campus.

Jones 鈥� I had been the MSW program coordinator for 16 years, so I had that administrative experience. I also served as the interim co-director in 2017 with Shannon Collier-Tenison, so I鈥檓 in this role for the second time.

What are your plans now that you are co-directors? What鈥檚 new and up and coming in the School of Social Work?

Jones 鈥� Enrollment is up, so we are managing the growth of the school and getting new resources to accommodate that growth. We are continuing to expand our online offerings throughout the state. We are the only BSW program with an online option in the state of Arkansas. We have strong concentrations in the MSW program 鈥� advanced direct practice clinical work or management and community practice. We are one of the only programs that offer both those concentrations in the state. We are positioning ourselves to be a leader in social work education in the state of Arkansas.

Danforth 鈥� Because Kim and I are in a position to really take stock of the number of students and faculty, we have been able to help faculty really understand their specific roles in the school, which feels like a luxury now. Now everyone is focused on their particular position and what they can do for the school and for students. Because there are two of us, we have the bandwidth to work on more than just the day-to-day running of the program. It鈥檚 a very well-oiled machine now.

With it being Social Work Month, what would you say to students who want to become social workers?

Jones 鈥� It鈥檚 a very fulfilling profession in terms of having a meaningful career and being able to help others. There is also the issue of job growth. It鈥檚 about 13 percent right now, so it looks good for the future. There is a tremendous amount of mental health issues in America. Social workers can now operate independently, which they couldn鈥檛 until recently. They currently provide 75 percent of the mental health needs in the United States.

Cooler opportunities, job growth, job satisfaction, and increased salaries 鈥� all of this goes along with high demand for social workers. The versatility of the social work degree allows people to work in school settings, hospitals, mental health fields, and micro and macro sectors. I want to emphasize the diversity of positions that are out there for social workers.

Danforth 鈥� A lot of social workers end up in clinical positions, which is amazing. My advice would be to continue to pay attention to the macro issues going on in the work and state and federal policies that are coming out. All of those things will affect individual clients and their ability to meet their potential.

Can you describe the variety of careers that people can have as social workers, especially the ones that aren鈥檛 commonly known?

Danforth 鈥� There is a mental health sector. Within that, there is direct clinical practice. There is school-based social work, residential and outpatient treatment. You can work in hospital settings and be a hospital social worker and do therapeutic support work, making sure people get the resources they need. You can work in drug rehabilitation, the aging adult arena or geriatrics where you help with hospice care and end of life planning. You can also do policy analysis, community organizing, legislative research and advocacy. We have graduates who have formed their own nonprofits and do a lot of grant writing. It鈥檚 so broad. You can do so much with this degree.

Is there anything else you鈥檇 like to add?

Danforth 鈥� The degree of social work is a very gratifying, stable, and impactful degree to have. You will always have job security. Individuals and communities will always need assistance and intervention. The world is a complicated place. As much as we would love to work ourselves out of jobs, the demand for social workers is always going to grow. You will also have the ability for professional licensure, and there is always an opportunity to move from one area to another because social work is so broad.

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