UND partners with Sitting Bull College on social work degree program

The Department of Social Work, together with officials from Sitting Bull College on the Standing Rock Reservation, are collaborating on a new UND undergraduate Social Work degree being offered starting Friday, Sept. 14.

On June 28, President Robert Kelley and Sitting Bull College President Laurel Vermillion signed a memorandum of understanding, detailing this important partnership between the two schools.

The agreement will allow members of the Standing Rock communities and surrounding area to enroll in an accredited UND undergraduate Social Work program, taught by UND faculty, at Sitting Bull College.

To be eligible for the degree program, a candidate must have completed an Associate of Arts degree at Sitting Bull College or be at the junior level in college credit hours.

Upon completion of the program, participants will be eligible for a bachelor’s of science degree in Social Work (BSSW) from UND and are qualified to become licensed social workers.

The Sitting Bull College classes will be taught by UND faculty on Friday afternoons and all day on Saturdays, six times per semester.

Two classes will be offered each semester for five to six semesters, allowing part-time enrollment and the ability for enrolled students to continue employment.

UND also will provide an on-site advisor each semester to assist students with academic program planning, with classes scheduled at the Sitting Bull College campus in Fort Yates, N.D.

Students must be admitted to UND and enrolled through the University to be eligible for financial aid and degree completion.

The social work degree program at UND is fully accredited by the Council on Social Work Education and all graduates are required to fulfill UND’s graduation requirements.

For more information about the program or enrollment procedure, contact Kenneth Flanagan, UND BSSW program director, 777.3769, kenneth.flanagan@und.edu; or Koreen Ressler, Sitting Bull College vice president of academics, 701.854.8001, koreenr@sbci.edu.

— David L. Dodds, media relations/writer and editor, University Relations, 777.5529, david.dodds@und.edu.