
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, August 23, 1994                   TAG: 9408270018
SECTION: WELCOME STUDENTS                    PAGE: 47   EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE: RADFORD                                 LENGTH: Short

DONOR HELPS RADFORD OFFER SOCIAL-WORK DEGREE

Radford University is now offering a master's degree in social work, thanks in part to an anonymous donor. The first class of about 30 students will begin this semester.

The program was recently granted candidacy status by the Commission on Accreditation of the Council on Social Work Education, with full accreditation anticipated by the earliest eligibility date of May 1996.

"This means that we have the potential to be fully accredited by the time we graduate our first students," said Dorothy Bevcar, program director.

Launching the program was in danger of a setback during the last state legislative session when legislators funded only $75,0000 of an original $189,186 request. That's when the donor stepped in and made up the rest.

Bevcar said university and community response to the program have been overwhelming. "They've been beating down our doors," she said. "We had several hundred inquiries and 75 applications, including a dozen applications for next year - without any advertising or recruiting. I think many people have been waiting for Southwest Virginia to have its own [master's in social work] program."

The program offers a 61 credit-hour standard track for full-time and part-time students. A 36 credit-hour advanced standing track for outstanding students with undergraduate degrees in social work is scheduled to begin in the summer of 1996.

by CNB