MSW Program receives accreditation from Council on Social Work Education
The University of Indianapolis announces today that the Commission on Accreditation (COA), as part of the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE), has granted initial accreditation to the Master of Social Work (MSW) Program, through July 2023.
“Our faculty worked very hard to get this done,” said Wanda Watts, MSW Program director. “Now it really means we have the opportunity to focus more exclusively on the students. This accreditation decision has helped affirm to us that our program is on a positive trajectory.”
The accreditation process by the COA began in February 2017. Through an in-depth benchmarking process that ended in July 2019, the MSW program received full accreditation that is retroactive to 2016, when the first class matriculated into the program.
During that time period, the COA examined the curriculum, conducted site visits, interviewed students and faculty, reviewed student assessment data and ensured that the program was in strict compliance with competency standards, social work professional standards and specialized practice standards in order to make an accreditation determination.
“The accreditation being retroactive is extremely important for our graduates because it means that they can say the program they graduated from is accredited. Their licensing, which requires graduation from an accredited program, is no longer in wait but is now in full effect,” said Watts.
“For our current students, there will be no issues of requiring a provisional status with the licensing board or employers asking if their program was accredited,” she added.
This accreditation decision also serves to make University of Indianapolis students even more attractive to local employers.
“We have had a large number of community providers anxiously awaiting our accreditation because they are looking for our graduates and our interns,” said Watts. “We have a great reputation for providing good social work professionals into the community and adding this qualification to our program will only help to increase that status.
This will also allow the University to produce more social workers in a time where there is an increasing unmet need in communities across the city, state and country as a whole. “We have more service providers seeking to fill internships than we have students to fill them,” said Watts.
About the program
The Master of Social Work Program is a one- to two-year program, depending on matriculating students’ bachelor’s degree credentials, with courses that cover theory, practice, research and policy and the ability to focus on one of two concentrations: Behavioral Health or Families & Children. The program builds off of the highly-regarded UIndy CSWE accredited BSW program and features small classes, engaged faculty, and significant opportunity for community outreach and collaboration with UIndy’s health sciences and psychology programs. Practicum experiences are part of the foundation curriculum and concentration curriculum of the program, ensuring that students have hands-on, immersive work with local at-risk populations.
About the Council on Social Work Education
CSWE is a national association of social work education programs and individuals that ensures and enhances the quality of social work education for a professional practice that promotes individual, family, and community well-being, and social and economic justice. CSWE pursues this mission in higher education by setting and maintaining national accreditation standards for baccalaureate and master’s degree programs in social work, by promoting faculty development, by engaging in interprofessional and international collaborations, and by advocating for social work education and research.
About the University of Indianapolis
The University of Indianapolis, founded in 1902, is a private, liberal arts university located just a few minutes from downtown Indianapolis. The University is ranked among the top Midwest Universities by the U.S. News and World Report, with a diverse enrollment of more than 5,500 undergraduate, graduate and continuing education students. The University offers a wide variety of study areas, including 100+ undergraduate degrees, more than 40 master’s degree programs and five doctoral programs. More occupational therapists, physical therapists and clinical psychologists graduate from the University each year than any other state institution. With strong programs also in engineering, business, and education, the University of Indianapolis impacts its community by living its motto, “Education for Service.”