Portage College Community Social Work Program Gets Thumbs Up
For 26 years, Portage College has been offering the Community Social Work (CSW) program. Earlier this year, following a rigorous evaluation, the program has received validation and acknowledgement from the peer review team of the Alberta College of Social Workers & Social Work Education Board. Bonita Decaire, Program Coordinator for the CSW program, is pleased to announce that the CSW program has received a seven-year accreditation-the maximum accreditation possible following the review process.
The accreditation is significant and means that graduates of the program, for the next seven years, will qualify for Registered Social Worker status. "It just validates our program," stated Decaire. "I am extremely proud of our team and our program."
The extensive process took about a year to complete, and included an on-site visit by the review team, group and individual discussions with past and present students, and evaluation of documentation provided by the program.
Portage College is the second college in Alberta to undergo the process. Decaire indicated that Portage College CSW faculty were involved in the first review of Red Deer College's program and will be involved in future reviews of other programs being offered in Alberta.
The impact of the process and the accreditation has led to improvements in the program including formalized processes for internal reviews, and structure for student feedback. In addition, the possibility of a Bachelor of Social Work offering is being explored with hopes for 2013 implementation.
For more information, please contact Leona Geller at 780-623-5591.
