Abstract
On college campuses, both mental health and systematic issues are apparent for students. The role of social work needs to be more present on college campuses. This paper will serve to explore the role of social work on college campuses. A narrative systematic review was done in order to answer the question “What is the role of social workers on college campuses”. The databases that were used were PsycNet, SOCINDEX, Social Work abstracts, and the Journal of College Counseling. The following search terms were used: Colleges AND Social Casework, College Counseling AND Higher Education, Social Work Practice AND Universities & Colleges. The initial search yielded 384 articles. After the inclusion and exclusion criteria were implemented, 15 articles were determined to meet the standards. 15 articles were split into 3 category ratings according to content. Three main roles emerged from the literature: individual psychotherapist, case manager and mezzo-macro social worker. In addition, the 15 articles were found to have 5 of the social work values present in the roles. These findings suggest that social work would find a home in student service careers on college campuses. This was further fortified by the majority of social work values being present, regardless if a social worker role was present. Future research could include exploring these roles further and creating more opportunities for social work students to work in these settings.