Assessment
All Council on Social Work Education programs measure and report student learning outcomes. Students are assessed on their mastery of the competencies that comprise the accreditation standards of the Council on Social Work Education. These competencies are dimensions of social work practice that all social workers are expected to master during their professional training. A measurement benchmark is set by the social work programs for each competency. An assessment score at or above that benchmark is considered by the program to represent mastery of that particular competency. The ratings to achieve the Benchmark of 80% meant that student interns received a performance of 4 or 5 on a five point Likert scale.
COMPETENCY |
COMPETENCY BENCHMARK |
PERCENTAGE OF STUDENTS ACHIEVING BENCHMARK |
| Identify as a Professional Social Worker | 80 |
100 |
| Apply Ethical Principles | 80 |
92.3 |
| Apply Critical Thinking | 80 |
83.3 |
| Engage Diversity in Practice | 80 |
93.7 |
| Advance Human Rights/ Social and Economic Justice | 80 |
77.8 |
| Engage Research Informed Practice/ Practice Informed Research | 80 |
55.6 |
| Apply Human Behavior Knowledge | 80 |
91.7 |
| Engage Policy Practice to Advance Well-Being and Deliver Services | 80 |
87.5 |
| Respond to Practice Contexts | 80 |
84.6 |
| Practice Engagement | 80 |
100 |
| Practice Assessment | 80 |
92.3 |
| Practice Intervention | 80 |
88.9 |
| Practice Evaluation | 80 |
90.9 |
This is the first Assessment Cycle for the Department of Social Work submitted to the Council on Social Work Education for the final step in accreditation. The table above indicates that Social Work Students Interns (December 2011 & May 2012) have met the benchmark in all areas accept Competency #5: Advance human rights and social and economic justice and Competency #6 Research informed practice informed research: Modifications have been made both at the course level and with the sites to improve student outcomes. Assessments will be updated every year to monitor progress.
