Nursing Department

CCNE Scheduled Accreditation Visit to PSU School of Nursing: Comments Solicited

November 11, 2012

Dear Friend of the PSU Nursing Department,

The Nursing Department will be hosting an on-site evaluation team from the Commission of Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE, aacn.nche.edu/ccne-accreditation) on March 6, 7, 8, 2013, as part of our initial accreditation process for the PSU Baccalaureate of Nursing program. The visitors will be meeting with members of the university and the professional community as part of their evaluation.

This review is conducted to ascertain the program’s compliance with accreditation standards of the CCNE. As a part of the evaluation process, the department is asked to inform its communities of interest of the opportunity to provide written input to the review team for their deliberations. Written and signed third-party comments will be accepted by the CCNE through February 4, 2013. Communications should be directed to:

Cristina Walcott
Administrative Assistant
Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education
1 Dupont Circle NW, Suite 530
Washington, DC 20036

Please note that the CCNE shares third-party comments with members of the evaluation team prior to the visit, but at no time during the review process are these comments shared with the PSU School of Nursing. During the review of the School’s BS program, the evaluation team will consider any third-party comments, if any, that relate to the program’s compliance with the accreditation standards.

About the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE)

The Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE) “is an autonomous accrediting agency, contributing to the improvement of the public’s health. A specialized/professional accrediting agency, CCNE ensures the quality and integrity of baccalaureate and graduate education programs preparing effective nurses. CCNE serves the public interest by assessing and identifying programs that engage in effective educational practices. As a voluntary, self-regulatory process, CCNE accreditation supports and encourages continuing self-assessment by nursing education programs and supports continuing growth and improvement of collegiate professional education.”

The CCNE, which is recognized by the U.S. Secretary of Education to accredit baccalaureate and graduate degree programs in nursing, is an autonomous accrediting arm that conducts unbiased assessments of the quality of professional education programs.

According to Mary Bantell, Ed.D, RN, director and chair of the nursing department, “National accreditation is an important process to validate the quality and success of our programs. It is the culmination of much hard work from faculty, staff, and students in the Department of Nursing.” The standards include: (1) adherence to Plymouth State University’s stated mission, and governance, (2) institutional commitment and resources, (3) curriculum teaching-learning practices and (4) student and faculty outcomes. Plymouth State University’s nursing program site visit is scheduled for March 2013.

About the Nursing Department

PSU’s Bachelor of Science in Nursing program consists of two tracks: a four year program (pre-licensure track) and an online RN completion track. Pre-licensure students are undergraduate students who do not have an RN license. RN students are those who currently hold an associate’s degree in nursing from a community college and a license to practice as a registered nurse. The nursing major is 56 credits for the pre-licensure student and 31 credits for the RN student. The RN to BS nursing courses are delivered online.

The program is administered by the Department of Nursing in the College of Education, Health and Human Services on the campus at PSU. This program is available through the Frost School of Continuing and Professional Studies with the general education, prerequisite, and elective courses offered in evening, online, and weekend formats as well as daytime formats. The nursing courses will be offered in a weekend (Friday/Saturday) format. The clinical courses are scheduled Monday through Thursday.