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Transfer Credit and Advanced Standing |
Degree: Graduate Certificate, Gerontology
College: Health Professions
Department: School of Social Work
Contact: School of Social Work (207) 221-4513
Overview
The University of New England's post-baccalaureate Gerontology Certificate Program (GCP) is designed for individuals who wish to attain an academic credential in the area of gerontology. Successful completion of the 18-hour GCP will result in a certificate of graduate study (CGS). Courses are designed for practicing professionals seeking to maintain currency in their fields, and for non-professionals wanting to explore the field of gerontology and the issues of aging.
The program integrates knowledge and skills from multiple health-related disciplines. Courses are designed to assist students in understanding the field of gerontology and aging through an interdisciplinary approach that emphasizes the acquisition of specific skills needed by health care and mental health professionals who are working with older clients, patients and consumers of health care.
The focus of the Gerontology Certificate Program (GCP) is service. Students who complete the program have the ability to apply their knowledge in the delivery, implementation, improvement, and evaluation of services for older people.
Mission Statement
The School of Social Work at the University of New England is committed to the values of human dignity, individual and cultural diversity, individual and collective self-determination, and social justice. We honor the uniqueness of the individual while simultaneously respecting people's membership in groups distinguished by class, race or ethnicity, gender or sexual orientation, culture, religion, age or ability. With a strengths perspective as our primary organizing theme, our efforts to promote growth and change respective of such uniqueness demand a commitment to struggle against and ameliorate oppression in all its forms, including discrimination, social and economic injustice, and violence.
Professional social work knowledge and skills emanate from these values and form the basis for our educational program. We provide students with the opportunity to understand people's strengths, individually and collectively. We focus on identifying and understanding societal barriers to human dignity including thorough assessment of social, psychological, economic and organizational oppression, their impact on people's lives, and the strengths people have developed to endure, resist, and change. Our learning environment (1) facilitates and encourages self-examination and reflection; (2) provides respect for each student as both teacher/learner; and (3) demands that our own actions serve as models for operationalizing these values in the classroom, among colleagues, in our governance, and in the University and community.
We prepare our graduates as advanced social work practitioners firmly based in these values as the principles guiding their work. We provide students with the knowledge and skills to promote human relationships grounded in mutuality, compassion and dignity; to support and enhance individual and collective self-determination; and to influence social, economic and political systems to develop the human rights, resources and opportunities to achieve social justice.
Program Goals
| 1. | To prepare students to practice in the field of gerontology - to carry out professional roles and responsibilities consistent with the values and ethics of specific professions as they relate to work with the elderly. | |
| 2. | To help students develop an understanding of health, wellness and maintenance of functional abilities as it relates to aging. | |
| 3. | To prepare students to understand the psychological and social context of aging within the parameters of practice in a health care or mental health setting. | |
| 4. | To provide students with an interdisciplinary classroom experience where they are able to learn new skills both from their own professional perspective as well as that of other health care professionals. | |
| 5. | To help students develop and implement professional gerontology practice relationships based upon empowerment and connection to enhance social functioning and social change consistent with the values of human dignity, individual and cultural diversity, self-determination, and social justice. |
Requirements
The Gerontology Certificate Program is offered at the post-baccalaureate level and awards the certificate of graduate study upon successful completion of the 18-credit-hour curriculum. Students are required to hold a bachelor's degree from an accredited institution with the exception of registered nurses with an associate's degree.
Procedures and Policies
A complete admissions application contains the following materials:
| 1. | A completed application form. | |
| 2. | If not a current UNE student, transcript(s) indicating completion of degree(s), both undergraduate and graduate, if applicable, from accredited college(s) or university(ies). | |
| 3. | If not a current UNE student, an application fee of $40. |
Non-Matriculated Students
Students may enroll in one or two courses (maximum of six credits) on a space available basis prior to applying to the program. However, in order to attain a certificate of graduate study, an individual must be admitted to the Gerontology Program. Individuals may be admitted into the program in September, January, and May.
Transfer Credit
Applicants can request a transfer of credit applied to required courses. Transfer of credit only occurs for graduate courses taken at an accredited institution, under the following conditions:
| 1. | The request for transfer of credit must be initiated at the time of application to the certificate programs. In no event will a request for transfer of credit be considered when made by students already admitted to the certificate programs. | |
| 2. | The transferred credit must have been earned at the appropriate level at an accredited university or college within five years preceding the request for transfer. | |
| 3. | The transferred credit must be accepted by certificate program faculty in order to waive a specific course in the certificate program curricula. A maximum of six credit hours can be transferred toward required courses in any certificate program. | |
| 4. | All transferred credits must carry a minimum grade of B. Grades earned at other institutions are not included in the computation of a grade point average (GPA) at the University of New England. | |
| 5. | Procedure: Applicants wishing to apply for transfer of credit must provide the Gerontology Certificate Program coordinator or designee with a written petition for the transfer, along with the following documents: an official transcript showing that the course(s) were taken; a copy of the university or college bulletin in which the course is described; a course syllabus; and, if applicable, clinical practicum evaluations. |
Advanced Standing
Advanced Standing status does not apply to this certificate program.
The full 18-credit Gerontology Certificate Program is designed as an interdisciplinary set of course work for students who are not currently enrolled in a UNE health care graduate degree program. Nurses, social workers, occupational and physical therapists, psychologists and licensed counselors, physician assistants and nursing home administrators are among those who would be in this category.
The curriculum is also designed so that currently enrolled students in health care professions can complete certificate requirements within one year and within their current course of study. The certificate requires 18 credits, but with careful selection of existing courses students can complete the certificate with a minimum of nine elective credits in gerontology. Students in the Gerontology Certificate Program should plan for a portion of their field experience to be aging-related and supervised by a professional in the field of gerontology/geriatrics.
Graduate Certificate, Gerontology (18 credits)
GER 520 Counseling Elders and Their Families
GER 560 Legal and Ethical Issues
GER 571 Social Work Practice with Groups
GER 625 Aging and Health
GER 627 Pharmacology: Drugs and Behavior
GER 670 Death and Dying
Total Program Requirements
Grading
Course grades are determined by the student's performance in that course and expressed as a letter grade. A passing grade is considered to be a “B” or better. Other details of the grading process, as well as general rules and regulations are detailed in the UNE School of Social Work Student Handbook.
Incomplete Grades
An incomplete (I) grade is given to a student who is doing passing work in a course, but who, for reasons beyond his/her control, is not able to complete the work on time. The “I” grade must be changed within the time limit determined by the instructor and may not extend beyond six weeks following the end of the semester or 30 days following the end of an eight-week session. The “I” grade defers computation of credits for the course to which it is assigned. Failure to complete the work by the limitation date, or within the time imposed by the instructor, results in the assignment of an administrative “F” grade for the course.
Tuition and Fees
Tuition and fees for subsequent years may vary. Other expenses include books and housing. For more information regarding tuition and fees, please consult the Financial Information section of this catalog.
Financial Aid
Detailed information and applications are available on request from the Financial Aid Office at the University Campus. Call 207-602-2342 or visit the Financial Aid website.
Students must successfully complete the 18-credit-hour curriculum to receive the certificate of graduate study
Courses are taught by experienced academic faculty who have expertise in the field of aging and by community practitioners. These professionals instruct as well as mentor students utilizing scholarship, research, and clinical methods.
| Betsy Gray, MSW | Donna McNelly, MS, BSN, RN | ||
| Marilyn Gugliucci, Ph.D. | David Prichard, Ph.D. | ||
While each student may work closely with an academic advisor, he or she must retain individual responsibility for meeting requirements in this catalog and for being aware of any changes in provisions or requirements.