Wayne State University has made it easier for Southeast Michigan residents to obtain a Bachelor of Social Work (B.S.W.) degree by offering B.S.W. classes at the Livonia-based Schoolcraft Center and by allowing Schoolcraft College students to transfer up to 71 credits to the Wayne State School of Social Work's undergraduate degree program.

The agreement, which was finalized by Wayne State and Schoolcraft on Nov. 18, will raise the number of credits that can be transferred to Wayne State from the previously permitted 64. Beginning in January 2016, the Wayne State School of Social Work will also offer B.S.W. courses on Schoolcraft's campus in Livonia as well as online B.S.W. classes to enhance the flexibility of the program.

Doug Freed, director of Wayne State's Transfer Student Success Center, said the new agreement will particularly benefit residents of Western Oakland and Wayne Counties and Southern Wayne and Washtenaw Counties, noting that Schoolcraft is centrally located along several freeways to ease students' commute. For convenience, a Wayne State School of Social Work advisor will offer monthly advising and information sessions at the Schoolcraft Center.

According to Assistant Professor, Clinical Cassandra Bowers, coordinator of Wayne State's B.S.W. program, the agreement with Schoolcraft is another example of the School of Social Work's commitment to flexibility. The school already offers B.S.W. classes at Wayne State's University Center Macomb in Clinton Township and has one of the nation's few fully online B.S.W. programs, called Where Online Works! (WOW!).

"Students who are juggling the demands of work and family need options for completing their degrees at convenient times and in convenient locations," Bowers said. "With the Schoolcraft agreement, we are expanding our reach into yet another area of Southeast Michigan and making it easier for residents to complete a B.S.W. degree from a nationally ranked, accredited program."

Undergraduate students interested in a B.S.W. should contact the Wayne State School of Social Work Office of Admissions and Student Services at (313) 577-4409 as early in their coursework as possible.