THE ROLE OF ALUMNI IN BACCALAUREATE SOCIAL-WORK EDUCATION

This article discusses the results of a 1993 national survey of underg raduate social work program directors on the role of alumni in their p rograms. Respondents indicated that they involved alumni, primarily as field supervisors, campus speakers, and members of curriculum advisor y boards. Only 20% of respondents reported social work-specific alumni organizations; most often these were institutions with public affilia tions, joint MSW-BSW program structures, and enrollments exceeding 10, 000. Having a social work alumni organization was associated with high er rates of alumni participation in field supervision, mentoring, link age and networking activities, recruitment, and curriculum advisory bo ards. A profile of the typical social work alumni organization is pres ented, and the need for more programs to initiate such organizations i s examined.