Editor’s be aware: Melissa Freedman, MSW, is a social work educator and marketing consultant specializing in management, supervision, administration, and high quality administration and assurance. On this weblog put up, she shares an outline of the interpretation information to jot down a self-study for social work accreditation by the Council on Social Work Schooling (CSWE). I discovered utilizing CSWE’s interpretation information each helpful and overwhelming on the identical time, and the guidelines that Melissa shares on this put up helped break down the information for me. She may be reached by way of e mail at freedman121@comcast.net.
As a social work program navigating the accreditation course of, this weblog put up assumes you may have created a piece plan, recognized your core accreditation group members and their roles, assigned writing tasks to those group members and/or different key people, and began to develop an inside timeline for job completion. In case you are nonetheless considering begin the self-study course of or haven’t but addressed all key planning steps, it’s possible you’ll learn the Five Steps to Planning your Social Work Program’s Self-Study: CSWE Accreditation the primary weblog put up on this collection on CSWE Accreditation.
Earlier than social work applications start writing their self-study(ies), I vehemently encourage them to observe a couple of suggestions. First, to actively use the interpretation information. Second, TO ACTIVELY USE THE INTERPRETATION GUIDE!
What’s the interpretation information? CSWE identifies it because the “official companion doc” to Academic Coverage and Accreditation Requirements (EPAS). At the moment, there are two variations of the information out there: one for social work applications searching for accreditation underneath the 2015 EPAS and one other for applications searching for accreditation underneath the 2022 EPAS. Listed here are the hyperlinks to the latest model of every information:
For this put up, the 2022 EPAS interpretation information will probably be used.
The interpretation information is comprised of the next:
Introduction: On this part applications will discover an outline of the information, its goal, a quick clarification about use the information, and a few notes regarding implementation and a abstract of common expectations.
Academic Insurance policies (EP): These are the 5 main program design parts that function the competency-based framework in social work schooling. Following the order of EPAS, the insurance policies are:
- Academic Coverage 1.0 — Program Mission and Objectives
- Academic Coverage 2.0 — Anti-Racism, Variety, Fairness, and Inclusion (ADEI)
- Academic Coverage 3.1 — Generalist Observe
- Academic Coverage M3.2 — Specialised Observe (Grasp’s applications solely)
- Academic Coverage 4.1 — Scholar Growth
- Academic Coverage 5.0 — Evaluation
Accreditation Requirements (AS): These are linked to the tutorial insurance policies and specify the necessities that social work applications should abide by to attain and preserve accreditation. Accreditation customary numbers that begin with a “B” solely apply to baccalaureate applications whereas accreditation customary numbers that begin with an “M” solely apply to grasp’s applications. These with no B or M apply to each baccalaureate and grasp’s applications.
Compliance Statements: These are the discrete gadgets that applications should reveal compliance with as associated to the accreditation requirements. These compliance statements are utilized by the Board of Accreditation (BOA), previously the Fee on Accreditation (COA), to find out whether or not applications meet the accreditation requirements.
Collectively, I consider the accreditation requirements and the compliance statements because the “what” that should be met by the social work program. The “what” required could also be a program’s coverage, a selected faculty-to-student ratio, subject teacher {qualifications}, a named individual as this system director, a finances, or a course syllabus.
BOA Interpretations & Writing Guidelines: Candidly, if you happen to select to not learn and/or make the most of the total interpretation information (by the best way, you completely ought to use the whole interpretation information), a minimum of learn this column. I can’t encourage you sufficient to observe the content material of this part intently and meticulously when writing a self-study. In my work with social work applications, I consult with this part of the interpretation information because the “exhausting and quick” guidelines. Such an outline has helped to speak to applications the numerous significance of the BOA’s steerage in finest reply every of the compliance statements.
I take into account the interpretations and writing guidelines the “how” required of social work applications, that means clear proof, calculation, description, rationale, evaluation, or clarification is required. The “how” is the sector schooling program presenting particular examples of competency-based generalist observe alternatives with every of the 5 system ranges in subject settings. It’s a program describing its course of for evaluating functions for admission and the way candidates are notified of choices. It’s also the copying and pasting of a program’s termination insurance policies and explaining how these insurance policies are communicated to college students and stakeholders.
Definitions & Ideas: After the interpretations & writing guidelines, I see this part because the second most essential one for applications to make use of. Right here applications will discover steerage and extra explanations that embody however aren’t restricted to:
- definitions and hyperlinks to phrases within the glossary;
- prompts for reply the compliance statements (e.g., who, what, when, and the way questions to arrange responses);
- examples of required info (e.g., skilled advising actions);
- linkages between accreditation requirements and the way responses are related in some instances, leading to attainable cascading results of citations;
- solutions for formatting; and
- what CSWE doesn’t deal with (e.g., variety of credit score hours for a level).
For applications in candidacy, this portion of the information additionally identifies what will probably be reviewed on the benchmarks.
Glossary: On this part, applications will discover a checklist of phrases and definitions and the associated accreditation requirements for every time period. Do evaluation and be accustomed to this part additionally – it shouldn’t be seen as much less essential. For instance, Put up-Social Work Diploma Observe Expertise is included within the glossary and offers steerage about which employment or different experiences could also be counted as the 2 years of post-degree social work companies rendered to people, households, teams, organizations, or communities.
You will need to be aware that CSWE could periodically replace the interpretation information after every BOA assembly (these conferences happen in February, June, and October) and/or at different occasions when it has been deemed essential. All updates, or clarifications as CSWE refers to them, are efficient instantly when an up to date interpretation information is revealed – applications have to observe the newest model of the information. For example of how an up to date information could affect a program, let’s assume a baccalaureate program should submit its self-study by August 1, 2024. In February of 2024, the BOA meets and decides that further clarifications are essential within the interpretation information. The up to date information is revealed on March 20, 2024. The social work program, properly into its self-study course of, might want to intently look at the up to date model of the interpretation information and resolve whether or not it must edit or rework any responses to the compliance statements based mostly on the latest clarifications.
As a common observe, I encourage applications, at minimal, to test CSWE’s webpages and the 2022 EPAS toolkit for any updates a couple of month after every of the BOA conferences. Whereas this isn’t a agency rule, it’s a option to construct further practices into your preparation to make sure you have entry to and are utilizing essentially the most present info. Merely, do go to CSWE’s accreditation webpages typically.
In abstract, be exceptionally accustomed to the interpretation information. Talk the significance of this doc to all members of your accreditation group and different school and workers. Seek advice from it throughout all phases of your self-study. Contemplate it to be an absolute necessity for achievement. And as at all times, when you’ve got questions on deal with a selected customary or arrange responses after consulting the interpretation information, contact your accreditation specialist.
Additionally, I might be curious about figuring out if anybody has used the CSWE Interpretation Information. If that’s the case, what was your expertise with it? Please go away a remark under.
Learn how to cite this put up:
Freedman, M. (2023, October 24). The Position of the Interpretation Information within the Self-Examine: CSWE Accreditation. Educating and Studying in Social Work Weblog. https://laureliversonhitchcock.org/2023/10/24/the-role-of-the-interpretation-guide-in-the-self-study-cswe-accreditation/
