Bachelor of Social Work
Receives CSWE Accreditation
Central Michigan University’s bachelor of social work degree program
has been granted initial accreditation through February 2008 from the
Council on Social Work Education. The Council of Social Work Education
is a nation-wide nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting and
maintaining social work education. This national accreditation is
retroactive to all students who graduated with a B.S.W. degree from
the program since the fall of 2001, but it does not apply to students
who received a Sociology major with a social work concentration.
Catrina Davis, Detroit senior and treasurer of the Student Social Work
Association, said the accreditation is a “nation-wide stamp of
approval.”
Accreditation has been an important factor to prospective students,
said Michael Dover, director of CMU’s social work program, especially
since most states’ social work licensure provisions require an
accredited degree. Michigan is the only state without social work
licensure, Dover indicated, but he pointed out that legislation for
licensure has passed the Michigan Senate, has been reportedly
unanimously out of committee in the House, and has the Governor’s
support. “Since I’ve arrived, I’ve received numerous inquiries from
parents of prospective CMU students about the status of
accreditation,” he said.
According to a statement released by the social work program, the
accreditation is due to the consistent support from the University
administration and from Dean Gary Shapiro; from the program Advisory
Board; from supportive programs on campus, and from the Dept. of
Sociology, Anthropology and Social Work and its chairs and faculty,
especially Mary Senter. The statement pointed out that the
accreditation is especially due to the hard work of two social work
faculty members, Joanne Riebschleger and last year’s Interim Director,
Fred Allen, who are the only social work faculty members who have been
involved in the process since its inception, as well as to the
contributions of Susan Grettenberger, Field Education Director.
Joanne Riebschleger, assistant professor of Sociology, Anthropology
and Social Work, said students were key to the accreditation process.
“We couldn’t have done it without them,” she said.
Dover said that CMU has been working on the accreditation process for
more than five years. The B.S.W. degree program was created in 1977
but did not seek accreditation and it was cut back in 1982. From 1982
to the spring of 2001, students could only take social work as a
concentration of the sociology major. The present B.S.W. degree
program became available to students in 2001.
This year the program will graduate 20 students, although it is
expected that the program will graduate 30 students in May 2006.
Dover expects those numbers to increase further, given indications of
demand for the degree from students and based on the experience at
other recently accredited social work programs in public
universities. At one time, over 50 students a year graduated from the
earlier B.S.W. degree program. However, this would require additional
faculty resources, he pointed out.
The possibility of developing a master’s degree program in social work
has long been considered by the University, Dover said, and is
mentioned in current program materials. However, he pointed out that
such a program would have to offer something new to the present mix of
such programs in Michigan, such as a rural social work focus like that
offered at Ohio University. Rural social work is part of the mission
of the B.S.W. program, Dover said, pointing out, “Rural poverty and
urban poverty are more closely linked than is often realized and both
require greater attention.” Faculty member Joanne Riebschleger is a
nationally-recognized researcher in rural social work, Dover said.
However, the program has placement sites in Mt. Pleasant, Lansing,
Midland, Saginaw, and Bay City, where both urban and rural issues are
salient. There are no immediate plans for such a program.
“Our
profession has the unique commitment of working to oppose oppression
in its many forms. Given that mission, it’s a positive commentary on
our university and our society that there is increasing acceptance of
social work, as reflected by the University’s commitment to having an
accredited program and by the impending state licensure of social
work,” he said. “Another unique aspect of a professional social
workers education is that it has a clear ethical commitment to working
for social justice and satisfying human needs,” Dover said.
Mary Senter, Chair of the Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and
Social Work said she is pleased with the efforts of the social work
faculty throughout the accreditation process. “The social work
faculty have worked long and hard throughout the accreditation process
and the department has tried to be supportive,” she said. “The goal is
to provide the best possible education for social work students and to
prepare them for the many challenges they will face as social work
professionals..”
Since accreditation was received, the program has received
congratulatory messages from President Michael Rao, Provost Thomas
Storch, Dean Gary Shapiro and numerous faculty members, including a
resolution passed by the faculty in the Department of Political
Science. Congratulations have also been received from several
advisory board members and others in the community and from the
directors of numerous of undergraduate social work programs in the
state. A number of celebrations were reported to have taken place
spontaneously in classrooms, with students in one case bringing
refreshments to class as part of an unplanned event!
Top of page
