Equity Case Studies Report - School of Social Work - University of ...

UBC school of social work equity and diversity strategic plan: A compilation of case studies 70
these policies, there are twenty reserved spots for Aboriginal applicants and twenty further spots
reserved for discretionary applicants. Both Aboriginal and discretionary applicants are admitted
on the evaluation of how likely it is that they will be successful in law school. (See Appendix N
for more information on the UBC Faculty of Law admissions policies).
Much like the UBC Faculty of Law, and several of the other Schools/Faculties of Social
Work, UBC School of Social Work also has a policy that designates five spaces for Aboriginal
applicants 14
(P. Riaño-Alcalá, personal communication, September 2, 2012). However, this
information is not provided on the School’s website, which negatively impacts accessibility of
admissions information and may decrease the chances that Aboriginal applicants will consider
UBC School of Social Work. Thus, it is recommended that this information be provided on the
School’s website and accessible through documentation. A further suggestion is for the School
to establish similar policies for applicants from other underrepresented groups. Currently,
although the School does not yet have such admission policies for minoritized and
underrepresented students, there is a section in the application packages called Equity
Identification (University of British Columbia, School of Social Work, 2012). However, it is
unclear in the application package whether this identification is connected to an affirmative
action policy or for reasons unrelated to equity admission criteria. Another suggestion to the
It is important to note, however,
that there are challenges that can
follow affirmative action and
other equity-related criteria in
admission policies.
School is to further clarify the purpose of this section.
With better policies in place, such as
Dalhousie’s affirmative action policy, U of M’s equity
admission criteria, U of C’s Aboriginal and diverse
qualifications admissions policies, and UBC Faculty of Law’s First Nations and discretionary
14 The UBC School Council Meeting of Thursday March 28, 2002 approved that “five spaces will be reserved each
year for First Nations qualified applicants for admission to the on-site MSW program”. This motion had also passed
unanimously at the March 6, 2002 meeting of the MSW Field Education and Curriculum Committee.