8.1 The Bachelor of Social Work and Social Administration (B.

SWSA) Programme

8.2 Mission of the B.SWSA Programme

The mission of the B.SWSA Programme is to produce Social Work practitioners who are both
development oriented and thoroughly grounded in theories and skills of social work practice,
relevant to local and international standards. Within this mission, our vision is that the Department
of Social Work and Social Administration should be an institution of excellence with a capacity of
producing social service planners and service delivery personnel for a wide range of social
development programmes.

8.3 Objectives of the B.SWSA Degree Curriculum

The objective of the B.SWSA curriculum is to enable participating students to acquire two broad
categories of professional competencies that the emerging practice situation in this country calls for.
These competencies consist of the knowledge and skills required for practice at the macro and
micro levels of society, both in service delivery settings as well as in the industrial sector as detailed
below.

(a) Objectives relating to Practice Competencies at Macro Levels

By the end of the B.SWSA training curriculum, the graduating students should possess the technical
competencies that a Social Work practitioner requires in order to be in a position to enable
communities, their constituent groups, individual levels and leaderships, to acquire capacities for
self-help, which involves imparting to them skills in resource identification, resource mobilization
and resource management; skills in the development and management of problem solving projects,
and skills in leadership and organization, which skills are needed for both managing normal social
situations and for dealing with disasters.

Social Work students should also be able to study societal problems and lobby for policies and
social programs to address those problems.

(b) Objectives relating to Practice Competencies at Micro Levels

By the end of the B.SWSA training curriculum, the graduating students should possess professional
competence to perform the following general tasks:

(i) Linking people to needed services available;

(ii) Mediating conflicts at individual, family, community levels;
(iii) Providing technical information to client systems for problem solving;
(iv) Promoting advocacy services for the disadvantaged;

Enabling individuals and families to resolve or cope with the psycho-social problems they have
internalized from their stressful circumstances, and

To offer counseling services to individuals and families faced with interpersonal and intra-personal
problems.

8.4 Justification
Since 1969, the Department of Social Work and Social Administration has been offering training for
two degree courses: the professional B.A. degree in Social Work and Social Administration
(BA.SWSA) and the B.A. degree in Social Sciences offered jointly with other departments in the
Faculties of Social Sciences and Arts. Over these thirty years, many qualitative and quantitative
changes have taken place with regard to both the range of human problems in this country and our
understanding of these problems, together with the social interventions these problems call for. Side
by side with changes in the structure of human needs and problems, there has been significant
expansion in social work knowledge about these problems and in the types of innovative social
work responses to them. This expansion in social work knowledge has come about because of
effective interaction of social work research and practice. Both of these developments call for
innovative changes in the design of the training curriculum for the personnel who are to take charge
of the social development sector in the twenty-first century. Thus, the B.SWSA degree programme
is intended to produce the kind of social work practitioner that will match the practice requirements
of the next century.

The unique feature of the B.SWSA Programme is that it is based on a reconceptualization of social
work practice, which distinguishes between professional competencies for the Macro and the Micro
levels, and two specializations, namely; “direct social service delivery” and “industrial based service
administration”. These distinctions are reflected in the course structuring, theoretical content and in
the design of fieldwork placements. In this way, the programme suitably prepares its graduates for
the emerging situations in the country.

This programme attempts to meet the standards set by the International Association of Schools of
Social Work (IASSW) and the International Federation of Social Workers (IFSW). This should
enable our graduates to take professional post-graduate studies leading to Master of Social Work
(M.SW) and Doctor of Social Work (D.SW) degrees, and to increase our institutional capacity to
participate and compete favourably at the international level.

8.5 Regulations for the B.SWSA Degree

8.5.1.1 Introduction
The B.SWSA programme will be governed by the general regulations of Makerere
University and those of the Faculty of Social Sciences. It will, further, be governed by
special regulations, which reflect the special requirements of professional social work
education. The key regulations of the programme concerning admission, the weight to be
given to the various secondary school subjects for admission purposes, examinations
procedures and the determination and classification of the B.SWSA degree award are
presented below.

8.5.1.2 Admission to B.SWSA Programme

To be admitted to the B.SWSA programme, a candidate is required to satisfy the
general University requirements for admission to a degree programme and the special
requirement for entrance to the social work profession, as spelt out in the sub-sections
that follow.

8.5.1.3 Direct Entry

 For admission under the Direct Entry Scheme, a candidate must have:

(i) `O' Level Certificate of Education (or its equivalent):

(ii) At least two `A' Level principal passes at the same sitting of the U.A.C.E. (or its
equivalent). Qualifications for Direct Entry will be based on performance in the
subjects classified as follows:
a) Essential subject (Economics)
b) Relevant subjects (Geography, Literature in English, Divinity and History).
c) Desirable (Mathematics, or any of the Arts and Science Subjects)

8.5.1.4 Mature Age Entry

For Admissions under Mature Age Entry Scheme, a Candidate must pass the Mature Age
Entry Examinations in those subjects relevant to the professional degree course of
B.SWSA

8.5.1.5 Diploma Holders

Candidates with Diplomas in Social Development Studies e.g. (Education, Human
Resource Management, Business Studies, and Paramedical), or equivalent from
recognized institutions of higher learning are eligible for admission to a B.SWSA
provided they have obtained at least a Second Class Diploma.

8.6 Award and Classification Of The Degree

8.6.1.1 Assessment of Performance

The degree of Bachelor of Social Work and Social Administration will be awarded after
taking into account the candidate's performance in all the prescribed examinations for
courses offered in the programme.

8.6.1.2 Fieldwork Assessment

There will be continuous assessment of student field-work and this will consist of
supervisory reports from the field supervisors. These will be considered in the final overall
assessment. At the end of each field placement, there will be an overall performance
assessment based on the report of the supervisor in the placement agency, the student's
prescribed field report, and the University staff supervisor's assessment. The exercise will be
guided by standard assessment forms. These will contain standard guidelines for the field
agency supervisor, for the student, and for the University staff supervisor.

Students will be required to pass fieldwork practice, on a pass/fail basis. A student pursuing
a B.SWSA degree course will be awarded the degree only if he or she satisfies all the
requirements for fieldwork, which is an integral component of the B.SWSA Curriculum.

8.6.1.3 Classification of the Degree of Bachelor of Social Work and Social Administration
Subject to the above, the degree of B.SWSA shall be classified as follows:
B.SWSA with Honours - First Class
B.SWSA with Honours - Second Class Upper Division
 B.SWSA with Honours - Second Class Lower Division
B.SWSA - Pass
The range of final average grades which shall be used to classify the B.SWSA degree
will be as follows:
Class of the degree Final Grade Point Average
First Class Honours - 4.40 – 5.0
Second Class Honours Upper Division - 3.60 – 4.39
Second Class Honours Lower Division - 2.80 – 3.59
Pass - 2.00 – 2.79

8.6.1.4 Departmental Board

There shall be a Departmental Board of Examiners comprising internal and external
examiners, chaired by the Head of Department, and shall receive and consider
examination results and make recommendations to the Faculty Board of Social Sciences.
All decisions of the Departmental Board of Examiners shall be subject to ratification by
the Faculty Board of Social Sciences.

8.6.1.5 Examinations Regulations for the B.SWSA

Examinations will be written at the end of each semester. Examinations for the B.SWSA
degree will be governed by the general examinations regulations of the University and
those of the Faculty of Social Sciences. In addition to these, however, special regulations
regarding student fieldwork assessment will apply.

8.6.1.6 Progressive Assessment (Course-Work)

Progressive assessment shall consist of not less than two assignments, term papers or
tests and shall contribute 40% of the marks in any course examination. A student, who
fails an examination for a particular course and is required to re-take that examination,
the progressive assessment contribution shall be included in the same way as on the first
occasion.

8.6.1.7 Final Examination

The examinations at the end of the semester shall constitute 60% of the final marks in any
course examination.

8.6.1.8 The Composite Mark

The end of semester examination marks (60%) will be added to the course work marks
(40%) to get the total mark of each course as shown hereunder:
End of Semester Examination - 60 %
Course work - 40 %
------
Total - 100%
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8.6.1.9 Pass Mark
a) The pass mark in each course shall be 50%
b) A candidate who fails one course in any semester may be allowed to re-take the
failed course when it is next offered.
8.6.1.10 Grading of Performance
The following grading scheme shall apply:

% Score Grade Point (GP)

A 80-100 5.0
B+ 75-79.9 4.5
B 70-74.9 4.0
B- 65-69.9 3.5
C+ 60-64.9 3.0
C 55-59.9 2.5
C- 50-54.9 2.0
Below 50 0.0

8.6.1.11 Cumulative Grade Point Average

The cumulative grade point average at a given time shall be obtained by:
(i) Multiplying the grade point obtained in each course by the credit units
assigned to the course to arrive at the weighted score for the course.
(ii) Adding together the weighted scores for all courses taken up that time.
(iii) Dividing the total weighted score by the total number of credit units taken up
to that time.

8.6.1.12 Progression
Students’ progression shall be classified as normal or probationary.

Normal progression shall occur when a student passes all the specified courses for that
semester with a minimum Grade Point average of 2.0.

Probationary progress shall occur when;

(i) A student’s cumulative grade point average at the end of any semester is less
than two (2.0)
(ii) When he/she has failed a Core course.

If the Grade Point Average of a student goes up in the following semester, after the
student has re-sat and passed the failed course(s), then the probation shall be removed.

8.6.1.13 Re-Taking Course Examinations

(i) A student who fails a course shall be required to re-take it when it is offered
again. It shall be indicated on the student’s academic transcript that the
specified course was re-taken.

(ii) A candidate can re-take a course once to better his/her grade. The transcript
shall indicate so.

(iii) A candidate shall get a maximum of 50% out of a re-taken paper

 (iv) A student who fails an elective course shall be allowed to change to another
elective course when it is next offered.

8.6.1.14 Repeating
(i) A student shall not be allowed to accumulate more five (5)-retake courses at a
time.
(ii) A student with a CGPA of less than 2.0 for two consecutively semesters shall
repeat that academic year.

8.6.1.15 Discontinuation
A student shall be discontinued when s/he:-
(i) accumulates three consecutives probations based on CGPA of less than 2.00
(ii) has failed to obtain at least the Pass Mark (50%) during the third assessment
in the same course or courses s/he had retaken.
(iii) has overstayed in an academic programme by more than two (2) years.
(iv) is found guilty of examination malpractice/irregularities.