University of Washington SAF Accreditation Review, 2006

Introduction

The College of Forest Resources (CFR) at the University of Washington and the Society of American Foresters (SAF) are in the process of reviewing a new Master of Forest Resources (MFR) in Forest Management for SAF accreditation.

With recent changes to the undergraduate curriculum, the previously accredited degree program, Forest Management, was discontinued. Undergraduates now have the option of majoring in Environmental Science and Resource Management (ESRM) or Paper Science and Engineering.

The College of Forest Resources recognizes the importance of maintaining an accredited professional forestry program. In response to this need, a new MFR in Forest Management was created in early 2006. This new program, designed with SAF’s standards in mind, is intended for undergraduates with a natural resource or forestry-related background and/or professionals with forestry or natural resource experience to pursue a 1-year master’s degree. This allows current CFR undergraduates interested in forest management an option to continue in school for one extra year and earn both a bachelor’s and a master’s of forest resources in five years.

The College of Forest Resources hopes to recruit both UW and non-UW students into the new MFR program; being able to offer an accredited program will greatly increase the appeal of the program, as well as continue the College’s commitment to train and educate some of the world’s best forestry and natural resources professionals.

The accreditation process includes a self-evaluation and on-site visit. The College community is encouraged to review the self-evaluation and participate in the on-site visit; feedback from faculty, staff, and students is an extremely important part of the accreditation process. Please contact the Committee Chair, Gordon Bradley (gbradley@u... or 5-0881), or the Accreditation Coordinator, Ara Erickson (arake@u... or 3-7418), with any questions about the accreditation process.