Preparing to meet competency and accreditation standards in the US: Perspectives of a social work program administrator July, 2015 Emiko A. Tajima, PhD University of Washington

Disclaimer Focus on CSWE (Council on Social Work Education), the accrediting body for the US I am not a CSWE commissioner or staff member I offer my own understanding of EPAS From perspective of a social work program administrator (UW School of Social Work) For questions about your own accreditation, please refer to your school’s accreditation specialist

Competencies in social work Shift in social work education to be competency- based Required core competencies, not required content areas for SW curriculum Shift in focus from inputs (what we teach) to outcomes (what graduates are prepared to do in practice) Programs evaluate outcomes and use findings to inform curriculum revision

2015 Educational Policy and Accreditation Standards (EPAS) EPAS 2015 just approved by CSWE Includes 9 core competencies and related practice behaviors Changes from 2008 EPAS

Session objectives: Review 2015 EPAS and core competencies Discuss major domains that (CSWE) accreditation requires Discuss how programs prepare for accreditation (especially re-accreditation) Share ideas for assessing student outcomes Other interests?

competency-based education Competencies guide Curriculum design Curriculum should offer learning opportunities (in classroom and field education) Programs assess student learning outcomes (evidence) Accreditation standards use measures of student competency to evaluate the program overall, not to decide who may graduate

Competencies are: Knowledge, Values, & Skills Also cognitive and affective processes Holistic Multidimensional Composed of interrelated competencies Developmental Dynamic Show integration and application in practice

CSWE EPAS 2015 Competency 1–Demonstrate Ethical and Professional Behavior Competency 2 –Engage Diversity and Difference in Practice Competency 3 –Advance Human Rights and Social, Economic, and Environmental Justice Competency 4 –Engage In Practice-informed Research and Research-informed Practice Competency 5 –Engage in Policy Practice

CSWE EPAS 2015 Competency 6 –Engage with Individuals, Families, Groups, Organizations, and Communities Competency 7 –Assess Individuals, Families, Groups, Organizations, and Communities Competency 8 –Intervene with Individuals, Families, Groups, Organizations, and Communities Competency 9 –Evaluate Practice with Individuals, Families, Groups, Organizations, and Communities

Program Assessment BAckground Using multiple measures of program outcomes is important (Meyer-Adams, et al., 2011) CSWE / EPAS currently requires multiple sources of data to assess competency (typically Field, Classroom, and / or Student) CSWE / EPAS (2015) has new assessment requirements: e.g., requires at least one measure of student outcomes in actual or simulated practice settings; requires assessment on ‘implicit curriculum’ (the overall learning environment) Need more research on competency assessment in social work education to evaluate the validity of measures (e.g., Bogo et al., 2012)

Accreditation requirement domains Statement of program mission & goals Explicit curriculum Generalist Foundation and Specialized Practice Field Education as Signature Pedagogy Implicit Curriculum Diversity Student Development (admissions, advising, retention, termination, student participation); Faculty (ratio to student= 1:25 BASW, 1:12 MSW); Administrative and Governance Structure Resources Assessment

Assessing student outcomes Examples of measures of student mastery of competency? Student self-assessments Field education supervisor ratings Classroom instructor ratings Standardized testing (licensure-type of question) Objective Standardized Clinical Examinations (OSCEs) ‘Capstone’ Portfolio reviews Exit Interviews

Assessment of Competencies MSW Foundation Year or BASW Exit Survey Student Self-assessment MSW Advanced Year Survey UW SSW Competencies & Practice Behaviors Field Assessment Classroom Assessment FI Quarterly Evaluations Instructor Ratings

MSW Foundation course coverage of Competencies–classroom measures in parentheses EPAS Core Competencies SocW 500 501 504 505 510 SocW 511 512 513 1: Identify as a professional social worker and conduct oneself accordingly. (7 items) X (e)   (a, b, c) (f, g) (d) 2: Apply social work ethical principles to guide professional practice. (5 items) (a, b) (c, e) 3: Apply critical thinking to inform and communicate professional judgments. (9 items) (a) (b, c, d, e) (f, i) (g) (h) 4: Engage diversity and difference in practice. (4 items) (a, b, d) (c) 5: Advance human rights and social and economic justice. (2 items) (b) 6: Engage in research-informed practice and practice-informed research. (5 items) (a, b, c, d, e) 7: Apply knowledge of human behavior and the social environment. (2 items) 8: Engage in policy practice to advance social and economic well-being and to deliver effective social work services. (3 items) 9: Respond to contexts that shape practice. (3 items) 10: Engage, assess, intervene, and evaluate with individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities. (15 items) (a, k, m, n) (b, d, e, f) (h, i, l) (c, j, o)

Rating scale for instructors

Assessment of student competency What outcome measures are best for your program? How best to evaluate the validity of competency measures? Should we measure from developmental perspective – change through the program (e.g., in Field evaluations) Are we assessing at individual level or program level? Comparison by subgroups of students / by cohorts How to measure the ‘implicit curriculum? What else do we want to measure with regard to student learning and program effectiveness?