Next Meeting of the Board of Accreditation: October 7-10, 2026
CSWE's Board of Accreditation (BOA) is responsible for both formulating accreditation standards and determining the criteria and process for evaluating these standards.
About the BOA
CSWE’s BOA, formerly called the Commission on Accreditation (COA), is a Council on Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA)-recognized programmatic accrediting body that accredits baccalaureate, master's, and practice doctorate social work education degree programs within the United States and its territories.
Since its inception in July 1952, CSWE has accredited master's programs. CSWE began accrediting baccalaureate programs in 1974 and practice doctorate programs in 2025. BOA also accredits post-master's social work fellowship programs, which are non-degree granting programs that are not recognized by CHEA.
The BOA is responsible for both formulating accreditation standards and determining the criteria and process for evaluating these standards. The BOA's accreditation decisions are accompanied by a reasoned opinion, and the accreditation process is conducted in a manner that ensures the continuation of the BOA's role as the accrediting body for social work education.
In January 2023, the CSWE Board of Directors and the CSWE accrediting body updated the 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 Board of Accreditation to update the previous memorandum of understanding, adopted in 2010.
View the MOA revision and process timeline here.
BOA Members
Antoinette Y. Farmer, PhD
Professor; Interim Associate Dean for Academic Affairs; Associate Dean for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
Becky Thomas, PhD, LISW-S, ACSW
Associate Director, University of Akron
Carol Hurst, PhD, LCSW
Associate Professor & Field Director, Eastern Mennonite University
Christian Itin, BSW, MSW, PhD
Tenured Full Professor, Metropolitan State University of Denver
Diane R. Bessel, PhD, LMSW, CNM
Chair, Social Work & Sociology; MSW Program Director; Associate Faculty, Daemen University
Dorothea Ivey, PhD, MSW, MPA
Associate Professor and Director of Graduate Research, University of Southern Maine
Emarely Rosa-Dávila, PhD, MSW, LMSW
Associate Professor, Texas State University
Emmerentie Oliphant, PhD
Director, Doctorate in Social Work; Buddy Zeagler Endowed Professor of Community-Based Research, Stephen F Austin University
Fran Franklin BA, MSW, PhD, LCSW
BSW Program Director, Delaware State University
Janet Holter, DSW, MSSW
Social Work Program Director, Associate Professor, & Chair of Social Work, Sociology, Criminal and Community Justice
Joan Groessl, PhD, MSW, LCSW
Professor and Director of Social Work Professional Programs, University of Wisconsin-Green Bay
Jodi Hall, BSW, MSW, EdD
Department Head and Social Work Director, Shaw University
Karen Halfhide, PhD, LSW, ACSW
Professor, Millersville University
Katherine Perone, DSW, MSW, LSW
Professor and Director of Field Education, Western Illinois University
Kelly Bass, DSW, LCSW-PIP, QMHP
Department Chair & Associate Professor, University of South Dakota
Laura Racovita, PhD, MSW
Professor, Southern Adventist University
Lisa Clifton, MSW, JD
MSW Program Director, Mount St. Joseph University
M. Sebrena Jackson, PhD, LCSW
Dean of the Whitney M. Young, Jr. School of Social Work & Professor, Clark Atlanta University
Mark Giesler PhD, LMSW
Professor, Saginaw Valley State University
Mary Rawlings, PhD, LCSW
Professor, Azusa Pacific University
Megan Callahan Sherman, PhD, MSW, LCSW
Professor, Director of the Center for Child and Human Development; MSW Program Director, Saint Peter's University
Mini Datta, MSW
Director of Internships & Career Services, Loyola University Chicago
Randy Magen, PhD, MSSW
Dorothy & David Schachne Dean of the Wurzweiler School of Social Work, Yeshiva University
Robert Ortega, LMSW, MA, PhD
Associate Dean for Educational Programs, University of Michigan
Sarah Hessenauer, PhD, MSW, LSCW, MBA
MSW Program Director, University of Wisconsin-Whitewater
Selena T. Rodgers, PhD, MSW, LCSW-R
Professor and Chairperson, Department of Social Work & Founding Director, MSW Program, York College of the City University of New York
Sheri Hamamoto Boyle, MSW, PhD
Professor, Pennsylvania Western University
Terry Cluse-Tolar, PhD, MSW
Professor, Director of Studies for the Social Work Honors Tutorial Program, Ohio University