For Immediate Release
Contact:
Lydell Thomas
Manager, Marketing and Communications
1.703.519.2057, lthomas@cswe.org
Alexandria, VA USA, March 19, 2014 – The Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) is pleased to announce the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) has granted recognition to CSWE’s accreditation program for another 10 years. CHEA’s recognition process examines and affirms the quality of regional, faith-related, career-related, and programmatic accrediting organizations. CHEA is the only nongovernmental higher education body in the United States that studies and endorses accrediting organizations.
CHEA’s review was based on six recognition standards, which require an accrediting organization to show the organization’s accreditation process advances academic quality, demonstrates accountability, encourages self-scrutiny and planning, employs fair and appropriate procedures, and demonstrates ongoing review of practice, and that the organization possesses sufficient resources to carry out its accreditation processes. The CHEA recognition policy requires an accrediting organization to undergo a review at least every 10 years and submit two interim reports. CHEA recognition status means the CSWE Commission on Accreditation (COA) and the Office of Social Work Accreditation (OSWA) demonstrated the CSWE’s accreditation process is consistent with the quality, improvement, and accountability expectations established by CHEA.
“This recognition signifies that the Commission on Accreditation with the assistance of our Office of Social Work Accreditation advances academic quality, supports continuous improvement, and fosters public confidence in professional social work education,” stated Darla Spence Coffey, CSWE president and CEO.
CHEA will provide notice that CSWE is a CHEA-recognized accrediting organization and post on their website a Public Notice: Recognition Decision Summary. Recognition, like accreditation, is a peer-based activity of professionals judging professionals. In this case the goal is to improve and enhance the quality and effectiveness of the accreditation process. CHEA recognition applies standards of quality developed by the community, as does CSWE accreditation. CSWE’s COA and its OSWA look forward to using what they have learned from the CHEA recognition process to enhance development of social work accreditation, with a continued focus on maintaining educational quality and improvement in social work education.
CSWE is a nonprofit national association representing more than 2,500 individual members as well as graduate and undergraduate programs of professional social work education. Founded in 1952, this partnership of educational and professional institutions, social welfare agencies, and private citizens is recognized by the Council on Higher Education Accreditation as the sole accrediting agency for social work education in the United States.
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