School of Social Work Receives Reaccreditation From National Council on Social Work Education

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The U of A School of Social Work's Bachelor of Social Work and Master of Social Work programs have been awarded an eight-year reaccreditation from the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE), ensuring the programs' continued excellence in educating future social workers.

The reaccreditation process, which is conducted every eight years, involved a comprehensive review of the programs. The B.S.W. and M.S.W. programs submitted more than 2,000 pages of supporting documentation in December 2022, followed by a two-day site visit in March 2023. During their visit, council representatives met with School of Social Work program directors, then-interim Dean Kathy Sloan and Associate Dean Stephanie Schulte, as well as community partners, students from both programs and other key stakeholders.

The B.S.W. program at the U of A is one of the oldest in the country, having been established in 1940 and continuously accredited since then. The M.S.W. program, launched in 2001, quickly earned national recognition and is currently ranked No. 94 among social work programs in the United States by U.S. News and World Reports.

Following the site visit, the Board of Accreditation for the Council on Social Work Education met from Oct. 4-7, 2023, to finalize their decision. They voted to extend full accreditation for both programs for the maximum term of eight years. The next accreditation review is scheduled for 2031.

CSWE's vision is to "ensure a well-educated social work profession equipped to promote health, well-being and justice for all people in a diverse society." Accreditation is a rigorous peer-review process that balances consistent outcomes across programs with flexibility, allowing schools to develop unique approaches tailored to their contexts. This assures recipients of social work services and students, faculty and staff of social work education programs that the program has a clearly defined mission and objective aligned with the expectations of the profession. For more information on the accreditation process, please visit www.cswe.org/accreditation.

"We are proud of our accomplishment of continued full accreditation for both the BSW and MSW programs," said Johanna Thomas, director of the School of Social Work. "The process is arduous and takes our entire team of faculty and staff years to complete all of the required documentation. But this process allows us, as a school, to revisit our mission, vision and goals and ensure we are delivering the highest possible level of education needed for our students to become leader-practitioners in Arkansas and beyond. Although the process is daunting, it was empowering to take stock of all the things our faculty, staff, students and alumni are doing to make the school, college, university and community a better place. We are very proud of the programs we offer and of our students and alumni."

As part of the reaccreditation requirements, the B.S.W. and M.S.W. programs will continue to post assessment data on the School of Social Work website every two years. These reports can be accessed through the school's official site.