Safety & Health Management
Safety and Health Management (SHM) Program
The roots of the BS-SHM degree can be tracked back to academic year 1974-75 when a 20 credit minor in OSH was first offered under the Safety Education (SED) Program. The SED program included two full-time tenure-track (TT) faculty members, Dr. Duane Patton and Dr. Ron Hales. On January 8, 1975, Dr. Patton submitted a proposal for a new Bachelor of Science in OSH to the CWU Faculty Senate, which was approved unanimously. The purpose of the integrated interdisciplinary OSH Major was to provide an education program for aspiring safety personnel in the region. Throughout name changes – to Loss Control Management and then Safety and Health Management – over the last 43 years, the program has graduated more than 675 OSH professionals. More than 80 percent of them are now employed in Washington, Oregon, and California, where the majority work in construction, insurance, and manufacturing. The BS-SHM is housed in the Hogue Technology Building where most of the SHM core courses are taught.
If you are interested in pursuing the BS in safety and health management or safety and health management minor, please contact the program coordinators below.
SHM BS- Professor Jennifer Serne
SHM Minor- Professor Michael Andler
ABET
Central Washington University’s BS degree program in safety and health management has been accredited by the Applied and Natural Science Accreditation Commission of the Accreditation Board of Engineering and Technology (ABET), a global accreditor of college and university programs in applied and natural science, computing, engineering and engineering technology.
ABET accreditation assures that programs meet standards to produce graduates ready to enter critical technical fields that are leading the way in innovation and emerging technologies, and anticipating the welfare and safety needs of the public.
Developed by technical professionals from ABET’s member societies, ABET criteria focus on what students experience and learn. ABET accreditation reviews look at program curricula, faculty, facilities and institutional support and are conducted by teams of highly skilled professionals from industry, academia and government, with expertise in the ABET disciplines.
ABET is a nonprofit, non-governmental organization recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA). It currently accredits 3709 programs at over 750 colleges and universities in 30 countries.
GSP
Central Washington University’s Bachelor in Safety & Health Management program has been reviewed by the Board of Certified Safety Professionals (BCSP) and approved as a Graduate Safety Practitioner® (GSP®) Qualifying Academic Program (QAP), providing the program’s graduates the option to apply with BCSP for the GSP designation after graduation. BCSP is recognized as a leader in high-quality credentialing for safety, health, and environmental practitioners (SH&E). BCSP establishes standards for and verifies competency in professional safety practice and evaluates certificants for compliance with recertification requirements.
The GSP meets the credential requirement for the Certified Safety Professional® (CSP®), the “gold standard” in safety certification, allowing those who hold the designation to waive the Associate Safety Practitioner® (ASP®) certification examination. It demonstrates accomplishment and commitment to professional development.
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