Southwest Baptist
University News Release
Contact:
Sharina Smith, Office of Marketing & Communications
BOLIVAR, Mo. – The Council on
Social Work Education’s (CSWE) Commission on Accreditation voted in its June
meeting to grant Southwest Baptist University’s Bachelor of Social Work (BSW)
program a second year of candidacy status.
A
second year in candidacy is the next milestone in the four-year accreditation
process. A series of benchmarks and site visits must be achieved before the
program is granted full accreditation. The program will be eligible for full
accreditation in June of 2014.
In
February, a site visitor met with the University’s president, provost, dean of
the college of education and social sciences, chair of the department of
behavioral sciences, social work faculty and students, and social service
agency representatives. Additionally, both the visitor and other designated
members of the COA reviewed the Benchmark II and program response documents
submitted to CSWE.
“Being
granted a second year of candidacy is an affirmation that the program is in
line with CSWE’s policies and standards” said Christine Saladino, the BSW
program director. “I am grateful for the continued support of the university
administration and the Bolivar community as we go through the accreditation
process.”
The
BSW program admitted its first cohort of nine students during the fall of 2011.
Those students will begin their second year of the program in August of 2012.
Students in their second year will complete 450 hours of practicum in local
social service agencies. Amanda Keys, SBU’s director of field education, will
supervise students in their placements.
“Amanda
has done a tremendous job laying the foundation for our field education program
this year” said Saladino. “Much of the success in this latest CSWE benchmark is
directly attributable to her dedication and efforts.”
A
new cohort of students will be admitted this fall. The BSW program expects to
see an increase in the number of students enrolled. Additionally, the program
is continuing to see increased interest in the social work major from
prospective students.
The
BSW program at SBU will prepare students to be professional social workers who
will be able to work in many different practice settings. 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 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 for Higher
Education Accreditation as the sole accrediting agency for social work
education in this country.
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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.
