School of Social Work earns accreditation reaffirmation

 

At its June meeting, the Council on Social Work Education's (CSWE) accreditation commission reviewed the undergraduate and graduate-level social work programs in the School of Social Work at WMU. The accreditation for both programs was affirmed for 8 years, without conditions or progress reports, the maximum period available from CSWE.

The announcement capped a three-year process which entailed countless hours of research, preparation and documentation from the school.

"There were many individual and collective contributions made towards the re-accreditation process," said Dr. Hector Diaz, director of the School of Social Work. "Dean Washington was especially supportive, personally reviewing all of our documentation before submission."

Since the last time the programs were accredited, the CSWE updated their criteria, requiring curricula to be competency-based. Previously, the social work curricula were based on course objectives, necessitating the revision of curricula of all 56 social work courses offered at WMU.

In addition to curriculum changes, the School of Social Work's accreditation task force also developed a project timetable and an entirely new system for evaluating student outcomes.

"We look forward to eight more productive and prosperous years," said Dr. Diaz. "Now we can now focus on creative activities such as strategic planning, fundraising and development, curriculum revision and refinement, and program creation."

About Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) Accreditation
CSWE's Commission on Accreditation (COA) has developed accreditation standards that define competent preparation and ensures that social work programs meet them. In accordance with the requirements of CSWE's recognition body, the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA), the CSWE Office of Social Work Accreditation (OSWA) administers a multistep accreditation process that involves program self-studies, site visits, and COA reviews. For more information, visit cswe.org.