The University of North Carolina System Board of Governors approved UNC-Chapel Hill’s plan to offer a Bachelor of Social Work degree during its meeting Thursday. The degree expands UNC’s School of Social Work, which currently offers master’s and Ph.D. programs. UNC System leaders hope it will help address workforce shortages.
The School of Social Work has been working toward offering the degree pathway for years, with the Faculty Senate voting to approve the program in November of 2024 following the establishment of a BSW Feasibility Task Force in 2022. The school emphasized the need after the Faculty Senate vote, noting at least 30 states, including North Carolina, would likely experience a shortage of more than 195,000 social workers by 2030.
The UNC System is already responsible for the lion’s share of social work degrees awarded in the state. The first workforce alignment review this year, which will be conducted biennially going forward, showed the UNC System conferred 91% of social work degrees in North Carolina, bachelor’s and beyond, between 2019 and 2024 — but critical needs still remain unmet.
Social work workforce needs
While social work was not one of the nearly 40 undersupplied fields identified — accounting, general education and nursing led the pack — the report said certain professions within social work were still feeling a strain, such as mental health services…