Dear Dean Cavanaugh,

We are writing this letter to urge you to support Hours Alignment. We recognize the immediate need for Silberman students to be supported by Silberman to show that the institution cares for and listens to its students: Hours Alignment is one way to relieve the undue burden for students.​ We demand that Silberman adjust the total required unpaid practicum hours for full-time, advanced standing, and accelerated program students from the current 1200, to align with the standard of 900 hours set by CSWE and NYSED (for graduate accreditation and licensing, respectively).

Silberman has a unique mission as a public institution dedicated to public service that calls on us to be leaders in social justice and promote educational equity. A social work education should be accessible to all applicants and current students. Silberman is uniquely committed to “admit and graduate a diverse student body primarily from New York City; to maintain [its] affordability… and to strive for multi-layered diversity in our student body” (Silberman School of Social Work, n.d.). Indeed, Silberman is viewed as one of the most diverse social work schools in NYC, and some of us represent the communities we serve. Aligning hours with CSWE and NYSED requirements would improve accessibility for all of us, but especially students who need to work—who are disproportionately students of color—and students with disabilities. Social work education and the broader social work profession has far to go to reflect the immense social change that has occurred since its inception. Hours Alignment would enable Silberman to further embody its mission and exemplify its commitment to educational access and “graduat[ing] excellently prepared and civically engaged social workers for New York’s diverse communities” (Silberman School of Social Work, 2019).

Students in NYC are facing enormous economic burden. The 1200 hours requirement was established 40 years ago. In that time, cost of living has skyrocketed. Since 2000, the median rent cost in NYC has increased from $630 per month (Insider, 2014) to $2,031 (Apartment List, 2023), an increase of over 220%.

There are multiple possibilities for actions that could alleviate student burdens and enable students to deliver quality services at their internships. We believe that Hours Alignment is an attainable, short-term goal that could have an immediate positive impact.

Aligning hours requirements hours with CSWE/NYSED requirements would improve student wellbeing and performance by allowing us to:

Work to support ourselves and our families in the face of the cost of living crisis in NYC

Better provide for service users, focusing on the quality of time spent with them over quantity

Meaningfully invest in our learning and academic requirements

Take care of ourselves, loved ones, and dependents

Our research shows that hour requirements have no basis in empirical evidence and are based on a notion of who social work students are and the context they’re practicing in that is no longer realistic. Additionally:

Most MSW graduate programs across the U.S. already require far fewer hours than NYC MSW programs. Aligning the hours requirement with CSWE/NYSED brings us in line with requirements for most other top MSW programs and comparable mental health professional programs in NYC. Licensure requirements for social workers in New York are higher than those in other states, providing additional learning hours for MSWs after graduation.

One public university reduced advanced MSW students’ required hours by 5 hours per week in an effort to better accommodate working students, and a study showed that the change in hours had no impact on supervisors’ ratings of their students’ preparedness to practice as social workers (Petra et. al, 2020). Many supervisors commented that they felt readiness was more a function of other factors—capabilities, efforts, and experience—than the number of hours students spend at their practicum. The authors concluded that students’ experiences in practice should “be balanced with their many obligations when setting field practicum requirements” (Petra et. al, 2020, p. 17).

In our survey of over 530 NYC MSW students, 68% of students reported that they work in addition to their placement, that they always or often experience stress related to paying their expenses, and that holding additional paid positions has negatively impacted their ability to learn from their work in practicum. MSW students across NYC are largely in favor of Hours Alignment.

For survey results from Silberman students only, click here.

The changing NYC landscape demands flexibility and reflection from social workers and social work educators. Aligning the number of required practicum hours for Silberman students is a critical and immediate step in addressing student needs. We believe in the power of Silberman and its stakeholders to take significant steps forward in the interest of students and the social work profession.

We are grateful to our faculty and Silberman community for coming together in solidarity to improve the practicum experience and achieve greater equity. Now, we are urging to hear from Dean Cavanaugh.​

We, the undersigned, ask that Silberman take meaningful action in the advancement of Hours Alignment.

References

Apartment List. (2023, March). New York City, NY Rental market trends. Retrieved March 11, 2023. https://www.apartmentlist.com/rent-report/ny/new-york

Mauer, M. (2014, April 25). NYC rents have surged 75% since 2000. Insider. https://www.businessinsider.com/nyc-rents-have-surged-75-since-2000-2014-4

Petra, M., Tripepi, S. & Guardiola, L. (2020). How Many Hours is Enough?: The Effects of Changes in Field Practicum Hours on Student Preparedness for Social Work. Field Scholar 10(1), 1-20.

Silberman School of Social Work. (2019, July 24). About. https://sssw.hunter.cuny.edu/about/