The UT College of Social Work (UTCSW) Student Success and Advising team empowers students through academic support, career preparation, and wellness resources, helping them thrive in their studies and future careers. The purpose of academic advising within the college is to support, guide, and assist social work majors with academic planning, career exploration, licensure, and resource referrals both within and outside of the university community.
With the start of a new academic year, the team is in full swing, with multiple activities scheduled and plans in place to ensure a smooth transition for new and returning students.
Amanda Gandy, Director of Student Success and Advising, always looks forward to the start of the new academic year and meeting with the new students. “We have a lot going on in our department, which is exciting,” she explained. “We have just wrapped up incoming Fall BSSW students’ orientation and graduate students, and Gina Middleton and Tiffany Toney are tirelessly planning our Welcome Back events on each campus to celebrate the start of the semester with students, faculty, and staff.”
“Our 2026 MSSW graduates are ready to enter the workforce with many already obtaining employment in agencies across the state, including K-12 School Systems, Helen Ross McNabb, and Youth Villages,” she continued. “They were supported for the job market and licensure by the Office of Student Success, coordinating that all graduating MSSW students received licensure prep materials, including online test and study materials, also through Social Work Examination Services (SWES). This spring, SWES also offered an intensive, live, full-day workshop, in which 90 students participated. Student Success rolled out new career workshops on how to use AI to enhance job searches and to help explain complex job descriptions and how to effectively articulate critical thinking skills in interviews. For this series, we partnered with Jennifer Luna, MSSW, an expert in social work career development and author of the Social Work Career Guidebook. As a social worker, career coach, keynote speaker, and trainer, Jennifer created and recorded this series to help students understand how to use AI—specifically ChatGPT—effectively and ethically in their job search. This is in addition to their standard models in Canvas on salary negotiations, social work identity & brand, interviewing, LinkedIn, and resume work.”
The numbers speak for themselves when it comes to measuring success. “For our BSSW students, we had 100% retention from their first to second year, which is often a time of high drop-off in the university,” Gandy explained. “And most recently reported data show our BSSW program with a 93.3% six- year graduation rate compared to the overall university, which is 73.9%. For the 2025 MSSW cohort, 96.2% of continuing students were retained. Additionally, the UTK pass rate for the Association of Social
Work Boards (ASWB) master’s-level licensure exam was 86.1%, compared to the overall US/Canada pass rate of 70.4%. These are all numbers that we are extremely proud of.”
Academic Advisor Margaret Huffstetler primarily works with MSSW students and acknowledges that MSSW orientation is a team effort, with many individuals across the college contributing to different aspects of orienting new graduate students. “Student Success was involved with a number of people in building a new MSSW Welcome Canvas course, which all newly accepted MSSW students are enrolled in,” she said. “This course went live for the current admission cycle and includes modules that guide students through key onboarding steps, such as setting up their email, accessing their academic plan, understanding registration timelines, and learning about available resources. Our team also hosted drop-in office hours for newly accepted MSSW students, where we provided real-time support for questions and registration assistance. In addition, we present at the Knoxville and Nashville in-person orientations and attend the live Zoom orientation for all online MSSW students starting in the summer and fall terms. In our presentation, we talk about our team, what advising looks like at the MSSW level, what types of things we can assist MSSW students with, campus and college resources, and we share information related to our advising and student success Canvas course, which we add students to shortly after attending a live orientation event. It’s a busy time but very rewarding knowing we are helping our students make the best decisions possible while getting their degrees.”
Gandy agrees that assisting the students at all stages of their time at the college is a labor of love. “Our team is small but mighty,” she adds. “Between Gina, Margaret, and myself, and now our newest members Arden Smith and Laura Balan, we work to ensure each student is supported throughout the program and recognize that this is a challenging time for many of them. One of the more impactful things we are lucky enough to do is processing emergency funds for students for unexpected needs like car repairs, medical bills, and food scarcity.”
Huffstetler is particularly proud of the advising Canvas course, which all MSSW students have access to. “Because we all hold MSSW degrees, we serve as resources for students to discuss career pathways, review job search strategies, provide feedback on resumes, and answer general questions related to careers in social work,” she explained. “Currently, our Canvas course includes modules on licensure, academic resources, university policy, certificates, and how-to guides so students can go to one place for many of their questions and needs.”
Student Success is looking forward to an amazing academic year supporting the new and returning graduate and undergraduate students, while preparing a new generation of world-class social workers to forge ahead and make a difference in the world.
