The status, roles, and perceptions of the administrators of baccalaureate degree programs in social work in American colleges and universities

The study had four purposes: to identify and describe key characteristics of administrators of baccalaureate degree programs in social work accredited by the Council on Social Work Education; to determine the position of the administrator of baccalaureate degree programs in social work in the administrative structure; to determine the perceptions of administrators concerning administrative role behavior including a measurement of job satisfaction; and to determine the perceptions of administrators regarding selected administrative problems.Questionnaires were mailed to 184 social work program administrators in March, 1977. One hundred and fifty-one questionnaires were returned, representing 82.0 percent return and 148 were usable resulting in an 80.4 percent net return. Analysis of the data led to the following findings and conclusions:The mean age of all respondents was 45.2 years of age. Fifty-nine percent of the social work program administrators were male having a mean age of 41.2 years and 41 percent were female having a mean age of 48.3 years. Thirty-four percent of the social work program administrators held a doctorate and 66 percent had a master's degree as the highest earned degree. The majority, 37.2 percent, of social work program administrators were in the $16,000 to $19.999 salary range.The mean number of years of employment for social work program administrators at the present institution was 7.1 years. The mean number of years in the social work program administrator position was 4.5 years. Sixty-five percent of the social work program administrators were tenured.The majority, 64 percent,-of the social work programs were located in public institutions with 32.4 percent located under the administrative auspices of autonomous social work departments. The majority, 40 percent, of social work programs served 100 students or less.Fifty-two percent of the social work program administrators were appointed to the present administrative position from within the social work program. The majority, 71 social work programs reported the master's degree as not considered a terminal degree.The majority of social work program administrators reported the following administrative role behaviors as extremely important: program planning and curricular development, recruiting and selecting faculty, teaching students, advising students on academic matters, and interacting with administration on behalf of the social work program.The majority of social work program administrators were very satisfied with the following: nature off the work, opportunity to innovate, job security, and opportunity to work with students.Male social work program administrators were younger, held higher ranks and held higher degrees than female social work program administrators.Thesis (D. Ed.