Changes in Admissions Work Arising from the New Social Work Degree in England

The business of admissions to higher education in England is a significant task for academic

and support staff. This paper draws on the Evaluation of the New Social Work Degree

Qualification in England (2004–2008) to describe the changes in admissions work for social

work staff in higher education associated with the change from diploma to a degree level

qualification for entry to the profession; to report how staff involved in admissions work are

managing these changes; and to identify elements of admissions processes that are perceived

to be fulfilling the new requirements of the degree and those which are identified as more

problematic. The article draws on two telephone/email surveys of a national sample of

social work programmes and on face-to-face in-depth interviews with a sample of teaching

staff from nine social work programmes in six higher education institutions undertaken

during 2005–2007. The work of admissions staff is rarely scrutinised in studies of higher

education or specifically in social work programmes: this article discusses the spectrum of

approaches. It recommends monitoring of the outcomes of practices in admissions work that

are recasting Department of Health Requirements as the minimum.