CU’s Social Work program earns CSWE accreditation
Mar 2, 2004
Council on Social Work Education grants four-year approval to Cornerstone University“I think it’s important for a Christian university such as Cornerstone to have an accredited, professional social work program,” says Pamela Awtrey, assistant professor of social work and director of the Social Work program at Cornerstone University.
After years of working towards accreditation, Awtrey, along with colleague Marcia Lampen, assistant professor of social work, and Social Work department secretary Judi Stolz, received the official word. The Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) in Alexandria, Va., has granted the Social Work program Cornerstone University an initial four-year accreditation.
Awtrey explains that the Social Work department has always been accredited through the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools, just like the other disciplines at Cornerstone. However, the newly-granted CSWE approval is a secondary level of accreditation that will allow CU graduates entrance into advanced placement MSW programs and state licensure, among other benefits.
Accreditation has a lot of clout, Awtrey explains. “It shows consistency. It shows that the university values social work, because it requires a budget minimum, it requires that we put money into library resources, and it requires that we have a certain standard of educator for all of our classes. … It shows that we’ve thought through what we want our program to be.”
The process of accreditation involves a self-study, a review of that study by an outside accreditation board, and a site visit, after which the board decides whether to grant accreditation.
Cornerstone became eligible for candidacy in February 2001 after several years of preparation and initial groundwork. In March 2003, Cornerstone sent to CSWE its social work self-study report, which reviewed its mission and goals and also evaluated how effectively the department has carried those out. Approval of the document authorized the school for a site visit.
In October 2003, two members of the CSWE accreditation team visited Cornerstone: Dr. Edward Kuhlmann, professor of social work at Eastern University in St. Davids, Pa., and Jan Potter, associate professor of social work and sociology at Dana College in Blair, Neb. For a day and a half, they interviewed faculty, administration, students and social work practitioners about Cornerstone’s social work program.
Lampen says that this visitation team was impressed with the way the social work students integrated their faith into their work. She adds that she and Awtrey are indebted to those who had previously worked so hard toward accreditation, particularly former social work director Lori Powell. “Without her hard work and vision, Pam and I would not be reaping the rewards of this current accreditation,” Lampen says.
