SBU Social Work Program Continues to Develop
Southwest Baptist University News Release
Contact: Sharina Smith, Office of Marketing & Communications
BOLIVAR, Mo. – The Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) Commission on Accreditation voted in its June meeting to award Southwest Baptist University’s Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) program with candidacy status. Candidacy is the next step in the accreditation process through CSWE.
“Candidacy marks an important step in the development of the program” said Christine Saladino, the BSW program director. “It also means that, according to CSWE standards, students who enter the program will be considered graduates of an accredited program.”
A series of benchmarks and site visits must be completed before the program is granted full accreditation. The program will be eligible for full accreditation in three years.
The BSW program has also added a second faculty member. Amanda Keys, MSW, LCSW, has been hired as the director of field education. In addition to teaching social work courses, Keys will be responsible for the development and oversight of the field program. BSW students in their senior year will complete two practicum experiences in local social services agencies for a total of 450 hours.
“This candidacy status continues to confirm the quality of education SBU provides is exceptional. It also helps social work graduates to be competitive within the human service profession” said Keys.
The BSW program at SBU will prepare students for entry-level positions in the social work field. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor statistics, the profession is growing faster than average for all occupations, especially in the areas of aging and health care services. There are currently more than 640,000 professional social workers employed in the United States.
The Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) is a nonprofit national association representing more than 3,000 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 for Higher Education Accreditation as the sole accrediting agency for social work education in this country.
Since 1878, Southwest Baptist University has been a Christ-centered, caring academic community preparing students to be servant leaders in a global society. SBU has been recognized for being one of America’s 100 Best College Buys® for 15 years and one of America’s Best Christian Colleges® for 14 consecutive years. SBU’s financial aid program has been recognized as one of America’s Best College Scholarships® for the past four years.
The SBU Bolivar campus is home to approximately 1,600 outstanding undergraduates and 900 graduate students. Academic offerings include associate’s, bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees in more than 45 academic disciplines including pre-professional programs, business, and nursing as well as liberal arts majors.
###
Southwest Baptist University is a leader among private universities in truly integrating Christ-centered academic pursuits with comprehensive professional programs at an affordable price. At SBU, the faculty and staff create a caring, academic community to prepare students to be servant leaders in a global society. For more information, visit www.SBUniv.edu.
SBU’s Office of Marketing and Communications is available to news media 24 hours a day at (417) 399-7918.
