Welcome to the Undergraduate Social Work Alumni Page!

As an alumnus of the BSW program, the department of social work values your contributions to the profession and to the education of current students. In March of 2006, we conducted a survey of alumni (see below). One of the suggestions was to create an alumni list serve so that alumni can keep in touch with each other/with faculty, post job listings, etc. If you wish to subscribe to the list serve, simply enter your email address and your name in boxes below and click "submit." You will receive a confirmation notice stating that you have been subscribed to the list. Once you've done this, you may send messages to swalumni@list.brockport.edu

Email address:
(required) Your name:

Over the next few months we'll be updating this site with more information. In the meantime, please feel free to contact Dr. Jason Dauenhauer at jdauenha@brockport.edu with any questions or comments.

Alumni Survey
2006

Introduction:

The department of social work believes education is a continual process--strengthening relationships with graduates will benefit current students and faculty in relation to sharing real-life practice experience, shaping curricular design, and much more. Alumni benefit by helping to shape future social work practitioners and the profession itself.

This report highlights the results of a web-based survey sent to graduates from the social work program at SUNY Brockport. The purpose of the survey was to collect information from alumni that will be used to develop stronger relations with graduates from the program. In brief, participants were asked a series of “yes/no” questions in relation to the types of information they would like to receive from the social work program, opportunities to become/remain involved with educating students, and interest in attending various events.

The survey was sent to alumni for whom the department could attain email addresses--about 325 of 1600+ graduates. About 25 email addresses were returned as “undeliverable.” Approximately 20 participants attempted to respond to the survey, though technical difficulties prevented this from occurring (i.e., web-browser conflicts, firewalls, etc.). Ultimately, a total of 73 participants responded to the survey (22% response rate). Years in which participants graduated ranged from 1973 to 2005, with a majority of participants from the mid 1980s and 2000s.

Results:

Part I: Types of information of interest to alumni

Most alumni (74%) were interested in receiving periodic updates from the department in relation to student, faculty, and alumni activities with the preferred method of communication being e-mail (80%); 83% would like to be part a social work alumni list serve. Over 71% reported being interested in having access to a social work alumni directory. More than half (64%) expressed interest in being informed about new social work courses. About half were interested in being informed about social work job opportunities in the Rochester region.

Part II: Opportunities to provide service to the program and current students

In relation to supervising a student in their field placement, 18% expressed interest, while 4% were currently active in this role. Nearly 30% reported a desire to give a guest presentation in a social work class. Areas of expertise covered a wide range of topics including aging services, criminal justice/social work issues, child welfare, graduate school experiences, private practice social work, school social work, and many others. Many (33%) also expressed interest in talking with students about various career opportunities. Over 20% reported they would like to provide therapy services for students in need. With regard to serving on committees, 17% reported interest in the field education/community advisory panel, reaccreditation for the Council on Social Work Education (19%), student social work organization (13%), and in forming a social work alumni committee (9%).

Part III: Interest in attending program-related events

More than half (53%) reported interest in attending an annual social work alumni reunion. Nearly 30% stated they would attend student/faculty picnics and the annual social work student banquet. About 10% expressed interest in attending graduation ceremonies in May; 5% would like to attend the Phi Alpha social work honor society induction ceremonies.

Part IV: General commentary/feedback

General feedback on this survey was mostly positive. Participants stated they enjoyed having the opportunity to share their thoughts about their education and potential involvement in the current program. A number of alumni reported wanting to be more active, but lived out of the area, were retired from the field, etc. Some suggested asking more questions about current employment and whether or not they were practicing social workers as this would influence their responses certain questions on the survey.

Conclusion:

The results of this internet-based survey are very useful to the department of social work. A majority of alumni report being interested in maintaining communication with the program through email. A smaller, but significant number of graduates would like to remain active in their service to the program by speaking with students in relation their fields of expertise and attending various events. Limitations to this survey relate to the fact that it was only sent to graduates for whom email addresses were known; this represents a relatively small and perhaps a selective group of alumni.

Next steps:

The department of social work will implement the following short and long-term objectives:

1. Create an e-mail list serve for social work alumni who are interested in maintaining electronic communication with other alumni and faculty.
1. This list serve will be the primary method of communication about departmental activities (i.e., upcoming presenters sponsored by the department, student social work activities, etc.)
2. Timeline: Complete by May 2006
   
2. Create a web page to highlight information/events of interest to alumni
1. Web page will host instructions for alumni who wish to sign on to the alumni list serve; upcoming departmental events/information, etc.
2. Timeline: Complete by May 2006
   
3. Communicate with alumni who have expressed interest in serving on various committees as reported in the survey.
1. Alumni will be contacted via email by the appropriate faculty member responsible for the respective committee.
2. Timeline: Complete by May 2006
   
4. Develop and administer a detailed annual survey for alumni following graduation to gain insight into the various career directions of former students
1. Survey will capture data from graduates one year following graduation (i.e., type of SW practice, attendance of graduate school, etc.)
2. Timeline: Fall 2006