Department of Social Work awarded full Reaffirmation status till 2019

Nov. 3, 2011

The Department of Social Work at the University of North Alabama has recently received Reaffirmation of Accreditation by the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE), the national accrediting body for social work education, for the full eight year cycle through October 2019. At UNA, the Department has been preparing social work professionals since 1971 and has been continuously accredited by CSWE since 1974. Most recently, the Department was evaluated under the new 2008 Educational Policy and Accreditation Standards (EPAS). The focus of accreditation has changed from an examination of program inputs to a concentration on program outputs and student learning outcomes. The Department of Social Work is now evaluated by what their graduates can do as beginning professionals, rather than by what they are taught as students. From this perspective, the new standards are a major step in the right direction, as they move social work education away from an assessment of program and in the direction of ongoing assessment of program outcomes and consequent renewal of its programs.

The overall goal and mission of the Department of Social Work is to prepare competent and ethical entry level social workers to apply professional social work values with diverse clients and communities in rural to metropolitan environments within a global context. The Department endeavors to model a commitment to professional practice and research that promotes the advancement of human well-being.