Pacific Oaks College is honored to provide academic programs that are representative of our institutional values and pedagogy. This past year, Pacific Oaks has seen several accreditation advancements that better position graduates to flourish in their chosen professions.
“Here at Pacific Oaks, we promise to keep students at the center of everything we do, and we follow through on that promise with action,” says Dr. Jack Paduntin, president of Pacific Oaks. “We want to make sure everyone is supported in achieving their educational goals.”
School of Education Accreditation
The School of Education has been granted seven years of accreditation without stipulation from the Commission on Teacher Credentialing (CTC), signifying a stamp of approval for the school, its faculty, and administrators. The CTC unanimously recommended a continued seven-year accreditation cycle after reviewing all institutional and programmatic information and finding all preconditions, program standards, and common standards met. On March 17, 2022, they voted to approve the site visit team’s recommendation to determine the official accreditation status.
Training competent and compassionate teachers for the classroom has been at the core of Pacific Oaks’ mission from the start, and this has been affirmed through approval from the CTC. “Seven years with no stipulations really says we have an extraordinary teacher program,” says Jerell B. Hill, Ed.D., dean of the School of Education at Pacific Oaks. “It speaks volumes to our mission, vision, and core values.”
The granting of accreditation establishes a foundation for the faculty and staff of Pacific Oaks as they strive over the next seven years to exceed the benchmarks laid down for them. “We understand that accreditation is the initial step in unlocking the promise, hope, and possibilities that education can bring to impact communities,” Dr. Hill says.
Social Work Accreditation Candidacy
The Council on Social Work Education’s (CWSE) Commission on Accreditation has granted the Master of Social Work program at Pacific Oaks College candidacy for accreditation. This significant milestone indicates that the social work program has made progress toward meeting the criteria for the assessment of program quality evaluated through a peer-review process.
“This is a stamp of approval for our Master of Social Work and Bachelor of Social Work programs,” says Sandra Hill-Glover, Ed.D., associate dean of social work programs. “Our students can know that we have demonstrated excellence and that we are on track to attain full accreditation with CSWE.”
As a result of this decision, students will be retroactively recognized as having graduated from a CSWE-accredited program once the program attains initial accreditation, as long as their program attains candidacy in, or before, the academic year in which they started. While candidacy typically takes three years and does not guarantee that a program will eventually attain initial accreditation, approval assures potential applicants about the quality of the program and the competence of students who graduate.
Learn more about Pacific Oaks College
If you would like to learn more about the academic programs available at Pacific Oaks, fill out the form below to request more information, or you can apply today through our application portal.
