Providence College Joins Accredited Mexican Consortium for Social Work Faculty and Students
Providence, R.I. – Providence College (PC) announced today it has signed an agreement with the Center for Global Education and Experience at Augsburg College (Minneapolis, Minn.), for membership in the Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) Consortium in Mexico, a one-semester cooperative studies program for undergraduate social work students.
The Mexico Consortium is an organization of the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) accredited social work programs in Minnesota and South Dakota.
Through this collaboration, a PC student with a declared major of social work may apply for the semester abroad and will be guaranteed a spot in the program.
PC faculty members from the department of social work will be able to participate in the oversight of and the curriculum review of the program. In addition, it provides PC faculty with the unique opportunity to serve as a faculty director in Mexico, in the future.
“This agreement is an exciting addition to our portfolio of study abroad opportunities at PC, for it expands our offerings in Latin America and extends our relationships to a new set of Midwestern colleges and universities,” said Dr. Hugh Lena, provost and senior vice president for Academic Affairs at PC.
The mission of the BSW Mexico Consortium is to develop cross-culturally competent, ethical social work professionals with a global perspective by providing a semester of transformative, experiential learning focused on social and economic justice.
“For several years we have searched to find a social work program abroad that would meet the curricular requirements of the Department and CSWE,” said Adrian Beaulieu, dean of the Center for International Studies at PC.
“This affiliation with Augsburg College and the BSW Consortium is not only a great academic fit for our students, but it also gives our faculty direct oversight of the program and its future prospects,” he said.
The BSW Mexico Consortium is the recipient of the “Best Practices in International Education International Exchange Award” from the Student Affairs Professionals in Higher Education (NASPA) in 2014, and also the CSWE 2006 Global Commission Partners in Education Award for its outstanding work with a collaborative program in Mexico.
