Social Work Education

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  • 1.  DAY OF ACTION: #SocialWorkIsAProfession!

    Posted Feb 11, 2026 08:28
    Edited by Matt Hooper Feb 11, 2026 18:09

    CSWE members and supporters––we need your voice today!

      

    Today, Wednesday, February 11, we are encouraging all CSWE members to participate in a day of action to remind the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) that #SocialWorkIsAProfession and that social work degrees should be included in DOE's definition of "professional degrees."

      

    Everything you need is here in our Social Press Kit.

      

    Comments are being accepted by the DOE through March 2, and we encourage members and supporters to continue utilizing social media to support social work education through the end of the comment period.

      

      

    What happened? 

    The U.S. Department of Education (DOE) has updated its definition of "professional degrees," a classification that determines federal student loan eligibility for graduate programs. Historically, social work has been recognized as a professional degree, allowing MSW students to access federal Direct Unsubsidized Loans and other critical funding.

      

    Under the proposed rule, social work would no longer meet the professional degree criteria, creating significant financial barriers for students. This change comes amid growing demand for social workers in behavioral health, child welfare, education, and community services-sectors already facing severe workforce shortages.

      

    CSWE and the Social Work Leadership Roundtable are advocating to ensure social work retains its professional degree status and continued access to federal financial aid.

      

    What can you do?

    We are encouraging all CSWE members to leave a comment on the proposed rule at Regulations.gov.

      

    How to submit comments

    1. Visit this page
    2. Click "Comment" and upload or paste your response. Include in your comment:
      1. A personal or institutional experience (e.g., teaching, supervising students, practicing, or hiring social workers).
      2. Insist that social work be included in the definition of professional degrees.
      3. Explain how reduced loan access would affect MSW students and affordability, workforce shortages in mental and behavioral health, and/or access to services in rural and underserved communities
    3. Share your comment across your social media networks! CSWE has prepared a Social Media Toolkit you can use to easily share this information with your networks.

    Encourage colleagues to join in submitting their comments to the DOE, as well. If you post on any social media network, please use the hashtag #SocialWorkIsAProfession

    Learn more at CSWE.org


    #Advocacy #SocialWorkEducation

    ------------------------------
    Linda Hassan
    Senior Manager of Communications & Marketing
    CSWE
    Alexandria VA
    ------------------------------



  • 2.  RE: DAY OF ACTION: #SocialWorkIsAProfession!

    Posted Feb 11, 2026 10:24
    For what its worth, I've already done this. Without the CSWE's encouragement.

    But if the CSWE is declaring a "day of action" maybe they should announce this so that social work educators might actually strategize ways to incorporate this "action" into their day and their classrooms?
    (Many classrooms are already i session this morning.)

    Fortunately, comments are open for two more weeks.  But the momentum for a "day of action is perhap lost?

    NOW THIS:   How do we, as social work educators intend to incorporate  (infuse) this issue into our various courses?

    Clearly this is a matter that fits into " social policy." How will YOU weave this in?

    How about in HBSE?  BOTH, at the micro and macro level? YES?

    How about FIELD SEMINAR?  INTRO? PRACICE?

    (As a parallel matter: does anyone out there even include discussion about student loans and personal financial planning / strategies?  POVERTY  is a major issue for MANY people we will work with. (As both faculty and social workers: how do we prepare students for such reality.) 

    I have regularly asked students about their student loans. Few knew the interest rates they'd agreed too, or when repayments began.  Most had some notion of loan forgiveness, but on review were not in loan arrangements that included "forgiveness."

    We are missing important issues here.
    And so too are the financial aid offices in many of our colleges and universities. 

    How are we as social work educators working within our home institutions (with administration as well as faculty colleagues) to address such issues?

    Gary Bachman MSSW, Professor Emeritus- Park University   (retired not dead)




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