may 2012
Important Notice to All Students Regarding Financial Aid
at Smith College School for Social Work
Beginning May 1, 2012 all financial aid, loan, and billing functions will be handled by the Student Financial Services (SFS) Office at Smith College. This is a positive move for SSW and the College as it will allow for greater consistency, efficiency and student support.
David Belanger, Director, and his SFS team of 14 staff will handle all SSW financial aid awards, loan processing, billing and payment processing, and SSW student customer service. Cathleen Klaes, newly appointed Associate Director of SFS, will serve as the direct liaison to the SSW staff and as the primary resource to the SFS team on all SSW matters. Diane L. Tsoulas, Associate Dean for Administration for the School for Social Work, will have primary oversight for SSW during this transition and will be available to respond to any questions or concerns.
The main office phone number for SFS is 413-585-2530 and Fax #413-585-2566.
Email address: sswfa@smith.edu will remain and be monitored by the SFS staff.
SFS Office location: College Hall 106
Office hours: M/T/Th/F 8:30am - 4pm W 10am-4pm to speak with a front office staff member or schedule an appointment with a director.
Drop in hours: Tues 10am–12pm, Wed 2pm–4pm, Friday 10am–12pm to speak with a director.
About the Bulletin
The Bulletin offers relevant notices, reminders, and deadlines for School for Social Work students. Students are encouraged to use the SSW Bulletin as a vehicle to post items that are relevant to their class or to the entire student body.
The Bulletin is updated weekly during the summer terms, and monthly throughout the fall and spring.
| Next Submission Deadline: May 31 |
We would like to invite students to use this vehicle to post items that are relevant to their class or to the entire student body. Submission deadlines are listed below:
Submission Deadline |
To Be Issued On |
May 31 |
June 4 |
June 7 |
June 11 |
June 14 |
June 18 |
June 21 |
June 25 |
April Deadlines & Important Dates
| Due | Task | Audience | |
| May 10 | Monthly narrative and statistical report due to FFA | 1st & 2nd MSW students; all AS* students | |
| May 11 | Fifth thesis deadline: three substantive chapters approved by advisor, drafts of the remaining chapters completed | 2nd year MSW students | |
| Fifth thesis deadline: data collection completed | AS* students | ||
| May 18 | Deadline for receipt of all required material by Field Department and Financial Aid Office to be cleared for Sunday check-in | 2nd & 3rd year MSW students; AS* students | |
| May 21-31 | Spring break | AS* students | |
| May 23 | Date by which students will be notified by the Field Department and Financial Aid Office if they are cleared or not cleared to check in on Sunday, June 3 | ||
| May 31 | Dormitories open at 1:00pm. Buffet lunch at noon for students who will be living on campus | ||
| June 1 | Central check-in for entering students and all returning non-cleared students. | ||
| June 2 | Student Community Day (planned by students for entering students) | ||
| June 3 | Opening convocation and all-campus barbecue | All students | |
| Orientation to professional social work | 1st year MSW students | ||
| Central check-in for cleared returning students | |||
| June 4 | Classes begin | ||
| Late check-in, 8:00am-10:00am; $125 fee assessed | |||
| June 4 - Aug 17 | Reduced field hours (16 hours/week) | AS* students |
* Advanced Standing
Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) for SSW Students - NEW
This is a non-credit offering by the school to promote student well-being and self-care. Developed by Jon Kabat-Zin at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center, MBSR has been shoen to reduce anxiety, depression, and negative affect among health and mental health professionals and to increase positive affect and self-compassion. The course is for students who would like to explore the potential of MBSR to help them manage stress in their own lives during the busy SSW summer and to develop a practice that may be able to sustain them in their professional pursuits as a clinical social worker.
Please note: this is not a course in conducting MBSR with others, but is rather a course focused on one's own personal stress management. It will be facilitated by Annemarie Gockel and Martha Reeves and will take place on campus in the Helen Hills Hills Chapel on eight consecutive Thursdays from 6:30-8:30pm beginning June 14 and ending August 9, 2012. An orientation meeting for all those interested in participating will be held Thursday, June 7, at the chapel. Enrollment is limited and students must be able to attend all eight sessions of the course to participate.
Reaching for Excellence (REX) Nominations Now Open - New
SEPTEMBER 20-22, 2012: A Weekend at the Smith College School for Social Work for bachelor-level human service workers. Nominations are now open through May 15.
HELP SMITH SSW - Invest in the best; nurture commitment to the prodfession; develop professional leadership capacity; and encourage aspirations toward an M.S.W. degree.
Nominees must:
- be a bachelor-level social worker or other human service provider with at least two years experience
- have earned a minimum cumulative undergraduate GPA of 3.0
- demonstrate a passion for human services work
- have not received or applied for their Master's degree in social work or similar field
Make your nomination today! For more information about the program or to nominate someone, please see details online at: www.smith.edu/ssw/REX.
Questions? Call 413-585-7960 or email sswapp@smith.edu.
Group for Spanish-Speaking Clinicians
If you are a clinician who conducts any of your clinical work in the field in Spanish, and if you are a fluent speaker, please consider joining the Spanish-speaking group this summer on campus! To give input on content and meeting times, please contact Audra Winn at awinn@smith.edu or at 413-281-9245.
STUDENT FINANCIAL SERVICES (SFS)
Mailings and Timelines from SFS
APRIL
Student bills for the 2012-13 academic year were mailed by the end of April. The bills included tuition, room and board (if living on campus) and the activity fee. For students who have financial aid, grants also appeared on the bill and loans were reflected as pending credit and will be disbursed to your student account just prior to the start of classes.
All active students were provided an eBill for April as well as a paper bill. An email detailing how to access your eBill and online account information was sent to your Smith email on Saturday, April 28th.
MAY
Payments will be due by mid-May to avoid any problems with the check-in process.
If you are eligible for a refund from your loans, refunds will be processed the week before classes begin. We encourage you to complete a direct deposit form to have your refunds deposited directly into your bank account to avoid missing a check while you are transitioning to campus. You can find the form at http://www.smith.edu/controller/PDF_files/DirDepFWS%20Note.pdf Please return the form to the Controller's Office per instructions on the form.
ONGOING
Bills are generated each month in which a balance exists on the account or a recent transaction has occurred.
OFFICE OF ACADEMIC SUPPORT SERVICES
Spring Planning Guide
We would like to remind you that the Spring Planning Guide is now online at http://www.smith.edu/ssw/final%20SPG.pdf , linked from the For Current Students page, and contains many important dates and deadlines, including information about Central Check-In and Sunday Check-In.
Courses Linked to Moodle
Your Summer 2012 courses will be linked to Moodle around the second week in May.
thesis information
Social Media Arrives to the School for Social Work
We are pleased to announce our new Facebook Page and Twitter Feed! Like or follow us on:
Follow @smithcollegessw
Note: The Bulletin will remain in place as the main vehicle for important reminders from the School. These additional channels will provide opportunities for our community to stay connected and engaged throughout the year.
