Social Work Program Reaccredited

Contact:
Wendy Mackall
724-938-5640
mackall@calu.edu

Posted on July 6, 2010

The Bachelor of Social Work Program at Cal U has been reaccredited by the Council on Social Work Education.

At its June 2010 meeting, the council's Commission on Accreditation voted to reaffirm the program's accreditation for eight years, ending in 2018.

"We couldn't be happier as a department," said Dr. Pamela Twiss, who chairs the Department of Social Work in the College of Education and Human Services. "This success would not have been possible without the work of the department's faculty, staff and students and the support of University administration."

Twiss said the renewal is extremely important to students because it allows those who achieve a high enough grade-point average as undergraduates to waive foundational courses at the master's degree level. Also, in states such as Pennsylvania, graduates cannot be called "social workers" unless they have graduated from an accredited program.

"The expectation is that faculty are working with outside agencies, sitting on various boards and doing work that benefits the region," Twiss said. "And students are expected to be doing work in the field with professionals.

"Maintaining our accreditation requires that our programs are dynamic and that we are staying on top of developments in the field. Going through the self-study was a wonderful opportunity to see what we were doing and why, and to make positive changes where necessary."

Twiss said collaboration among Social Work faculty is essential to both the reaccreditation and the overall success of the program.