The Community College System of New Hampshire (CCSNH) and the University of New Hampshire (UNH) College of Health and Human Services have partnered to create a universal transfer
pathway in social work. This will enable community college students to seamlessly transfer college credits from an associate degree program into a bachelor’s degree program with a clear path for future coursework and degree attainment. This agreement is the first with the College of Health and Human Services; CCSNH currently offers pathways to 28 other UNH degrees.
“We are excited to continue to build more available and seamless pathways for our community college students who wish to continue their education and transfer to UNH,” said Leslie Barber, CCSNH faculty fellow and professor of Biology at Great Bay Community College.
“This new pathway is a particularly important because it offers an applied/clinical option for students who are interested in psychology but are not necessarily looking for the theoretical or research focus found in traditional psychology programs,” added Aimee Huard, Department Chair of Social Science at GBCC. “It also gives our students access to one of the top social work programs in the country.”
Social work promotes social, economic and environmental justice to enhance quality of life for all and improve human and community well-being. Social workers help individuals, families, and community members with problems in their daily lives and advocate for those who need a voice.
Students will gain valuable, hands-on experience through a 40-hour human service experience at a social service agency and a 450-hour internship. Potential careers include case manager, family social worker, housing specialist, and peer support worker. Course mapping guides have been created that align courses at New Hampshire’s seven community colleges with degree requirements for each of the UNH pathways.
“I am very excited about this completion of this pathways agreement with CCSNH,” said Gretchen Bean, undergraduate professor and program director of Social Work at UNH. “It allows human service and social work students to maximize their education on both campuses, while increasing the capacity to address critical workforce challenges in the state.”
The N.H. Economic Labor Market Information Bureau 10-year employment outlook for social work occupations projects over 7,000 openings through 2030, indicating opportunity for job seekers. While the workforce demand continues to rise across the Granite State, social workers remain a critical part of helping communities and residents’ flourish.
About CCSNH:
The Community College System of NH consists of seven colleges, offering associate degree and certificate programs, professional training, transfer pathways to four-year degrees, and dual-credit partnerships with NH high schools. The System’s colleges are Great Bay Community College in Portsmouth and Rochester; Lakes Region Community College in Laconia; Manchester Community College; Nashua Community College; NHTI – Concord’s Community College; River Valley Community College in Claremont, Lebanon and Keene; and White Mountains Community College in Berlin, Littleton and North Conway. The seven community colleges in the system are committed to working with businesses throughout the state to train and retain employees to develop a robust workforce across all sectors and embraces the “65 by 25 Initiative,” which calls for 65% of NH citizens to have some form of postsecondary education by 2025 to meet future workforce demands.
About UNH:
The University of New Hampshire inspires innovation and transforms lives in our state, nation and world. More than 16,000 students from all 50 states and 71 countries engage with an award-winning faculty in top-ranked programs in business, engineering, law, health and human services, liberal arts and the sciences across more than 200 programs of study. A Carnegie Classification R1 institution, UNH partners with NASA, NOAA, NSF and NIH, and received $260 million in competitive external funding in FY21 to further explore and define the frontiers of land, sea and space.
