Commission on Accreditation

Commission on Accreditation

The Commission on Accreditation (COA) of the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) is recognized by the Council on Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) to confer accreditation status to baccalaureate and master’s social work degree programs in the United States and its territories. Since its inception in July 1952, CSWE has accredited master’s programs. In 1974, CSWE began accrediting baccalaureate programs.

In addition to baccalaureate and master’s program accreditation, CSWE-COA also accredits post-master’s social work fellowship programs and is currently piloting accreditation processes for professional practice doctoral programs. 

The commission is responsible for both formulating accreditation standards and policies, and determining the criteria and process for evaluating these standards. All of the commission's accreditation decisions are accompanied by a reasoned opinion, and the accreditation process is conducted in a manner that ensures the continuation of the COA’s role as the accrediting body for social work education. 

Memorandum Of Agreement Between the Council on Social Work Education Board of Directors and the Accrediting Body

In January 2023, the CSWE Board of Directors and the CSWE accrediting body updated the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with respect to delegation of accreditation authorities of the CSWE accrediting body, as established in the CSWE bylaws Article 3, Section 5.

The completion of the MOA comes from a years-long collaborative process between the CSWE Board of Directors and the CSWE Commission on Accreditation to update the previous memorandum of understanding, adopted in 2010.

View the MOA revision and process timeline here.

Report to the Board of Directors, Feb 2022

Chair

Vice Chair

Member