Standards for
Applied
and Clinical Sociology Programs
at the Baccalaureate Level
Commission on Applied and
Clinical Sociology
June 1997
(Rev. June 2003)
In this document, the
Commission on Applied and Clinical Sociology (CACS) presents standards for
applied and clinical sociology programs at the master’s level. This document is to be used by the applicant
program, in conjunction with the Guidelines for Completing the Self Study
Report to facilitate the Self Study process and to prepare the Self Study
Report. The Policies and Procedures
document and the Review Process Manual are to be used by the applicant Program,
in conjunction with these Standards, to prepare for the Site Visit.
Sociological practice is the
general term that encompasses both applied sociology and clinical sociology.
Members of the Commission recognize that, currently, training and education in
applied and clinical sociology occurs in many different types of institutions
and may be called by many different names.
Sociological practice is the general term that encompasses both applied
sociology and clinical sociology. Members of the Commission recognize that,
currently, training in applied and clinical sociology occurs in many different
types of training institutions and may be called by many different names. Therefore, in this document, the term Program is used to mean any of these
training modes, whether they are traditional sociology departments, parts of
broader degrees, or in multidisciplinary settings. While the assumption of this document is that
most of the training will occur in a university or college setting, it is also
acknowledged that this may vary.
Therefore the term "institution" is broadly meant to be the
organizational unit that houses the clinical or applied sociology training
program.
In the sections that follow,
introductory comments summarize the content of the section and are followed by
the standards. Italicized information
summarizes Commission thinking about a particular issue. Selected terms are
defined in the Glossary at the end of
this document.
1.0 PRECONDITIONS FOR REVIEW
Programs
in sociological practice applying for accreditation review at a baccalaureate
degree level are requested to meet a number of preconditions. Programs must demonstrate and explain in
their self-study documentation how they meet these preconditions. If a Program does not meet these
preconditions in a strictly literal sense, but it meets the spirit of these provisions, the Program
may petition the Commission on Applied and Clinical Sociology (CACS) for
special consideration.
1.1 The
Institution
The
institution in which the Program is housed shall meet the following
criteria:
1.1.1 It shall be
accredited by a regional accrediting body recognized by the Council for Higher
Education Accreditation (CHEA) or by its successor organization.
1.1.2 It shall
have no policies or procedures that violate or contradict the ethical standards
of the profession.
1.1.3 It shall
have policies and procedures for accommodation of student and faculty
grievance, and the Program shall use procedures available in the larger
institution. This information shall be
distributed to the faculty and students of the Program.
1.1.4 It shall have policies, procedures and activities that are
nondiscriminatory.
They shall conform to the applicable laws about race,
ethnicity, creed, age, sexual orientation, disabilities, and marital status.
1.1.5 It shall
have appropriate policies and procedures for maintaining the confidentiality of
student records. These policies shall be
consistent with applicable laws.
1.2 The Program
While
the Program may be housed in a variety of administrative structures or units,
it is important that it be identified as sociological practice, applied sociology,
or clinical sociology. As a precondition for review, the Program shall have
authority, responsibility, and resources to determine and meet its goals and
objectives. It shall also demonstrate
program stability.
1.2.1 The Program
shall have an established governance and administrative structure insuring its
authority and responsibility for decision-making with respect to goal setting,
program planning, assessing and documenting program outcomes, and achieving
specified goals.
1.2.2 The Program shall have resources sufficient to insure the continued operation of the program.
Resources shall be sufficient to ensure the retention of
a well-qualified faculty and professional staff, the maintenance of library
resources, ongoing expenses of the practice component, including field
experiences, and the effective operation of facilities. These factors shall be examined within the
context of the resources of the institution.
1.2.3 The formal
title(s) of the Program(s) shall contain any combination of the words sociological
practice, applied sociology, or clinical sociology.
In such situations where the Program name cannot include
the words applied sociology, clinical sociology, or sociological practice, this
standard may be waived. In such
instances, the Program shall demonstrate its identification with applied
sociology, clinical sociology or sociological practice through course titles,
literature distributed to students, or other documentation acceptable to the
Commission.
1.2.4 The Program shall have been in operation for at least two years and the unit in which the Program is housed shall have at least two (2) full-time faculty members, one of whom shall be the director of the Program. The majority of the full-time faculty shall have graduate degrees in sociology or closely related fields.
This is interpreted to mean that the Program has enrolled
students for at least 2 years and is recognized, through the institution's
literature, at the time of application.
1.2.5 The Program
shall be housed within an institution that grants a baccalaureate degree.
2.0 PROGRAMMATIC STRUCTURE
The
Program shall have a mission statement with programmatic structures to support
that mission. The Program's mission
shall be reflected in: a) its goals and objectives, b) its administrative and
organizational structures, c) the services it provides to its students, d) its
faculty characteristics and professional development, and e) the nature of its
public and professional services.
2.1 Goals
and Objectives
The
Program shall clearly articulate its philosophy and vision as a program in
sociological practice, applied sociology, or clinical sociology. It shall have a mission statement that is
translated into a set of program goals and objectives and an associated curriculum
of study. The student learning outcomes attached to the Program's goals and
objectives shall be quantitatively and/or qualitatively measurable.
2.1.1 The Program
shall have statements of goals and objectives that clearly identify and reflect
both the underlying philosophy and more concrete ways the Program defines
sociological practice.
2.1.2 The Program
shall provide for a learning environment in which the Program’s goals and
objectives can be achieved.
2.2 Administrative
and Organizational Structure
The
Program shall accurately reflect its characteristics and the nature of its
offerings in public documents. It shall
maintain ongoing relationships with sociological practitioners.
2.2.1 Programs
shall establish and maintain close, reciprocal, and ongoing relationships with
sociological practitioners and practitioner associations.
As part of the ongoing relationships with other programs,
departmental or program membership in the Society for Applied Sociology and/or
in the Sociological Practice Association is required.
2.2.2 The current
institutional catalogue or bulletin shall accurately describe the academic unit
and the program(s) offered, including admission criteria, minimum Program
requirements, matriculation requirements, opportunities for supervised
experiential learning, and financial aid information.
2.2.3 The Program shall have access to resources to support practice, teaching, research, and experiential learning for students (e.g., field placements, internships, practica).
This is interpreted to mean that the Program has direct
access to or control over resources including, but not limited to:
a) data analysis
and word processing capabilities;
b) statistical consultation and computer assistance for ongoing research and data analysis activities;
c) clerical
support;
d) administrative support to assist the Program in securing resources for sociological practice activities, including supervised experiential learning for students; and
e) professional, technical, and financial support for faculty and curriculum development and assessment.
2.2.4 The Program
shall have access to library facilities and resources that are appropriate for
scholarly inquiry, research, and practice by Program faculty and students. The Program shall have access to historical
and current scholarly materials relevant to sociological practice
including including the Journal of Applied Sociology, and Sociological Practice as well as copies
of the Clinical Sociology Review from 1982 to 1998 (Volumes 1-16).
2.2.5 The Program shall maintain on file, for five years, syllabi for all courses taught that include, at a minimum, course objectives (learning outcomes), course assignments, and mechanisms used to evaluate the progress of students in the course.
2.2.6 Accurate
and comprehensive information about the Program shall be provided to
prospective and enrolled students.
This Program information includes, but is not limited to:
a) career information,
including information about the job placements of alumni of the program;
b) Program requirements, prerequisites, and offerings, including appropriate courses offered through other departments
c) student learning outcomes and assessment processes;
d) admission processes and procedures;
e) if applicable, additional cost of the Program to the student;
f) course registration;
g) student financial aid;
h) withdrawal and dismissal polices and procedures; and
i) accreditation status of the Program.
2.3 The
Students
The
Program shall maintain accurate and timely information about students' progress
in the Program. Support services
available to the student (i.e., through the institution) shall include Program
and career advisement and employment assistance.
2.3.1 The Program
shall clearly articulate and implement criteria and processes for student
admission.
2.3.2 An advisor
shall be assigned to each student during enrollment in the Program. The advisor shall assist the student to
develop a plan of study.
Generally, the planned program of study identifies how
the student learning outcomes will be met and assessed. It shall include the following:
a)
student learning outcomes for the Program;
b) curricular experiences required to meet learning outcomes (this shall include core requirements along with specialized and elective curricular requirements, as appropriate) ;
c)
supervised practice experience requirements; and
d)
methods of assessing achievement of learning outcomes.
2.3.3 An up-to-date file on each student shall be kept.
This file shall include, but is not limited to,
documentation of student progress, including such items as:
a) a
plan of study;
b)
academic record/transcript.
c)
documents related to the internships.
2.3.3.1 At the time of the
accreditation review, the Program shall provide:
a) examples of
students' work;
b) critical assessment of the those students’ work; and
c) examples of work related to the practice experience.
2.3.4 Students
shall receive assistance in making career decisions and in seeking employment
following completion of their degree programs.
2.4 The Faculty and Staff
The
Program's goals and objectives shall be supported and advanced by: a) the
quality, composition, and size of the faculty and staff, and b) the nature of
the Program's curricular, scholarly, outreach, and community service endeavors.
2.4.1
The department or unit in which the Program is housed shall have at
least two (2) full-time faculty members, one of whom shall be the
director/coordinator of the Program.
2.4.2 The
director/coordinator of the Program shall be a full-time member of the
faculty. This director/coordinator is
responsible for the coordination of the Program, and is the one to whom
inquiries regarding the overall Program are addressed. The director/coordinator
shall have:
a) a doctoral
degree in sociology;
In situations where the director's doctoral degree is NOT
in sociology, this requirement may be waived. In such cases, the Program shall
document how the work of the director is essentially sociological.
b) documented
experience in sociological practice, applied sociology, or clinical sociology;
c)
membership(s) in the Sociological Practice Association and/or Society for
Applied Sociology;
d) sufficient release time to adequately fulfill the administrative duties associated with the program.
Because programs will vary in size, institutional
context, and designation of a director/coordinator, the time needed for
administrative duties will vary. A
Program shall document the administrative tasks, the time required for their
completion, and the adequacy of the personnel and time to complete these
tasks.
2.4.3 Program
faculty shall have :
a) an advanced degree in
sociology or other closely related field;
b)
documented experience in sociological practice, applied sociology, clinical
sociology, or related fields;
c)
individual membership(s) in appropriate professional associations.
Membership in the Sociological Practice Association
and/or the Society for Applied Sociology is encouraged
2.4.4 Program
faculty shall be assigned to provide classroom instruction only in areas for
which they have experience and/or training.
2.4.5 There shall
be an effort to recruit and retain Program faculty
a) from practice as well as academic settings; and
b) who
represent a diversity among people in society (e.g., women, ethnic minorities,
persons with disabilities).
This is interpreted to mean that the Program follows the
institutional guidelines related to equal employment opportunities.
2.4.6
Individuals from practice settings shall be involved as adjunct faculty,
guest speakers, members of an advisory group, and/or in other roles as
appropriate.
2.4.7 Faculty
members shall provide evidence of continued involvement in some aspect of
scholarly, practice, and/or professional development and renewal, in addition
to teaching, to keep up-to-date and well-informed.
A wide variety of research and
scholarly activities are appropriate to a practice program. They include contributions to basic
scholarship, application, and instructional development. While scholarship may be in any area,
programs should emphasize the contribution to the clinical and applied
literature of sociology as part of the scholarly activities of the Program.
Dissemination of research and
scholarly activities shall be through appropriate media for the activity. Of
particular concern is that applications be disseminated so that they are
reviewed by practitioners as well as academicians. The manner of dissemination
may include publications in academic or practice refereed journals, public or
trade magazines, in-house journals or papers, and through workshops and trade
presentations, as well as through other formats that are appropriate to the
area of application. Dissemination also
may occur through presentations at appropriate professional meetings.
Institutions and Programs should take these varied means of dissemination into
account in their appointment, promotion, and tenure practices.
2.4.8 Resources shall be provided for faculty participation in scholarly
and professional organizations that are relevant to the Program's mission.
2.5 Public
and Professional Services
Programs shall serve their communities at the pertinent
local, state, national, and/or international levels in ways consistent with
their mission and goals. These
activities advance faculty competence and maintain the currency of faculty and
students in practice and changing public concerns.
Faculty shall be involved in public and professional
outreach and service that is consistent with the Program's goals, institutional
setting, and external context.
Faculty shall be encouraged to
support the advancement of the profession in a variety of ways. Appropriate activities include, but are not
limited to, development of professional organizations; support of registration,
certification and licensure when appropriate; and provision of information to
the general public.
Institutions and departments should
take these activities into account in their appointment, promotion, and tenure
decisions.
3.0 LEARNING OBJECTIVES
An undergraduate program in applied or clinical sociology
shall enable students to integrate sociological theory, knowledge, and skills in a practice setting. These students
shall learn to maintain a professional orientation and adhere to a set of
ethical standards in their practice endeavors.
The Program shall instill a comprehensive knowledge of the field as well
as educate students to be critical thinkers who can communicate effectively in
oral and written form. To that end, the Program shall incorporate a liberal
arts foundation within the entire baccalaureate curriculum and learning
experiences. Programs in sociological
practice shall be developed and organized as a coherent and integrated whole. They
shall establish a learning environment for the undergraduate student that:
·
Provides content about sociological theory,
knowledge, and relevant skills;
·
Enables
students to apply the theory, knowledge, and skills to related issues and
changing situations;
·
Provides
content about the variety of contexts and different levels of social organization (e.g., macro, meso, and
micro) in which sociologists practice;
·
Infuses
the professional orientation and ethics that guide sociologists in their
practice throughout the curriculum and learning experiences;
·
Prepares graduates to practice with diverse
populations and in diverse settings;
·
Prepares graduates to practice with an awareness
of limitations created by social and political contextual factors;
·
Prepares graduates who are aware of their
responsibility to continue their professional growth and development.
These educational
standards are framed as learning objectives and outcomes in keeping with the
trends toward outcomes‑based assessment and the creation of learning
environments. Focusing on the outcomes
of education recognizes the need for and value of various routes to achieving
these outcomes. This document does not
promote any single route to the acquisition of a degree in applied or clinical
sociology, but rather calls for all sociological practitioners, prepared at the
baccalaureate level, to demonstrate the identified knowledge, skills, and
professional orientation.
The educational standards that
follow describe first, a common core of knowledge, skills, and orientations
that are desired outcomes of preparation programs for all sociological
practitioners. Sociological practice is
a diverse field that encompasses a broad range of activities in diverse
settings. However, at the baccalaureate level, the graduate shall demonstrate
knowledge of, and the ability to apply and analyze, the sociological theory,
research, and practice necessary to function in supervised positions within the
work setting.
The Program in sociological
practice, applied sociology, and/or clinical sociology is generally expected to
be a specialization, concentration, or track within an academic major. Further specialization within a practice
program may occur in substantive areas (See 3.5). In a department other than sociology, the
same may occur. For example, a program
in criminal justice may incorporate the components of an applied or clinical
sociology program. This program is then
eligible for accreditation as a Program in sociological practice.
3.1 Knowledge
Sociological theory provides the
knowledge of how and why social phenomena operate the way they do. Sociological research methods provide the
tools for examining the nature of the social phenomena in a systematic
manner. Theory and methods together
provide the necessary direction for addressing applied or clinical sociology
issues.
3.1.1 Sociological Theory
Students who complete the Program
will be able to discuss the role of theory in sociological practice, and the
interaction between theory and practice. Specifically, they will be able to:
a) Compare
and contrast the basic theoretical perspectives of sociology, with particular
emphasis on those that relate to social action, change, and intervention;
b) Differentiate
between and provide examples of theoretical understanding at the three
different levels of practice: macro,
meso, and micro;
c) Describe
and evaluate the role of practice in the modification of sociological theory;
d) Identify
policy implications of theoretical perspectives.
3.1.2 Sociological
Research Methods
Students who complete the Program
will be able to discuss the role of evidence and qualitative and quantitative
methods in sociology. Specifically they
will be able to:
a) Compare and contrast the types of
methodological approaches that are particularly relevant to applied and
clinical sociology;
b) Differentiate
between and provide examples of quantitative and qualitative methodological
approaches;
c) Describe
and evaluate the role of data as the basis for examining issues and making
alternative recommendations for change;
d) Identify
and discuss the social, political and ethical factors that affect applied and
clinical research.
Specific
methods that should be considered include: surveys, case studies, in-depth
interviews, focus groups, conversational analysis, ethnography, content
analysis, observation, secondary data analysis, experiments/quasi-experiments,
and single subject designs. Types of
sampling techniques should also be introduced, as appropriate for a particular
type of design.
3.2 Skills
Students who complete the Program
will have the skills that facilitate the work of applied and clinical
sociologists. Specifically, they will
be able to:
a) Make
written, oral, and graphic presentations to appropriate audiences;
b) Use
sociological theory and methods in identification and resolution of individual
and social problems;
c) Use
the computer and software packages as appropriate as tools of sociological
practice;
d) Participate
effectively in group processes and decision-making;
e) Use
technology for identifying, locating, and retrieving information relevant to
the practice of sociology;
3.3 Professional
Orientation and Ethics
Professional orientation and ethics
provide standards and values that guide applied and clinical sociologists in
their work. These provide important peer
accountability guidelines thus protecting the clients, the practitioner and the
profession.
Students who complete the Program
shall be able to maintain a professional identity as a sociological
practitioner. They shall be expected to
adhere to the standards and values of the profession.
a) They
will comply with the codes of ethics of the Sociological Practice Association,
the American Sociological Association, and/or the Society for Applied
Sociology.
b) They
will recognize the social and political constraints on applied and clinical
practice.
c)
They will be aware of the social, ethical, and political issues related
to research involving human subjects.
4.0 Practice Experience
Students will be able to integrate
academic studies with occupational realities through a practice experience. The
purpose of the practice experience is to provide sociological practice students
with supervised work experiences at a site where they can learn how to apply
sociological theories, methods, skills, professional orientations, and ethics.
This also provides additional professional socialization within an applied or
clinical sociology practice setting.
While many different labels have
been used for these experiences, the
Program shall demonstrate that the practice experience is provided for the
students.
4.1 Structure of Practice
Experience
4.1.1 The practice experience shall consist of a
minimum of 120 hours that is either overseen by an on campus academic advisor
or by a practice site supervisor as approved by the practice Program director.
4.1.2 The Program shall document its expectations
for the practice experience. This shall
be available to academic and site supervisors as well as the students.
Generally
the documentation will include:
a)
site supervisor
and academic supervisor rights and responsibilities;
b)
student intern
rights and responsibilities, including reasonable work hours;
c)
appropriate
participation in the professional activities of the sponsoring organizations
d)
grievance policies
and procedures for supervisors and students;
e)
code of ethics
for clinical, applied and practice sociologists;
f) safety responsibility agreement.
4.1.3 The Program shall include in the student file documentation that will include, at minimum, the following: a) practice experience agreement between the Program, the site organiza