**Accepting late applications to December 15, 2011.**
About School and Community Support Worker Program
Effective January 2012, the School and Community Support Worker Certificate Program will be delivered as a full time program over 18 months. Applicants wishing to complete the program on a part-time basis are able to do so as long as the program requirements are completed within five years.
This program includes both theoretical studies and practical applications for working with and supporting individuals who have developmental, physical or intellectual disabilities. Graduates of this certificate will be prepared to work with people who have disabilities in a school or community settings. The school portion of the program will prepare graduates for positions in the public school system working as educational assistants with children in the school/classroom setting; the community portion of the program prepares graduates to work with people who have disabilities in various residential and community settings.
The competency, skill and knowledge base enable students to gain generic, multidisciplinary skills and perspectives for work in the disability field. Specialty courses and practicum placements* for the program provide the specialized skills and knowledge required for work in each particular role and setting. Having both school and community aspects to the program gives students greater employability.
Currently, classes are offered on the Nanaimo and Powell River campuses.
Students who successfully complete the program will receive a Vancouver Island University certificate. This certificate has the potential to ladder into the Child and Youth Care diploma or degree and/or the Social Service Worker diploma, as well as a general Bachelor of Arts degree at VIU.
* Acceptance into the SCSW program does not mean that students will be placed into practicum. Students will be individually assessed as to their readiness for the practicum in terms of skills, knowledge and personal suitability. Placement into a practicum will be at the discretion of the Program Chair.
Detailed information on admission and graduation requirements, along with program and course decriptions are available from VIU's official Calendar here: School and Community Support Worker
Information about the required training for commencing practicum and for graduation, here: Non-violent Crisis Intervention Training Information