Plymouth State University (PSU) announced that its nursing program has received full accreditation by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE). The program, which graduated its first class in 2013, was previously accredited by CCNE as a new collegiate program, but is now fully accredited. PSU’s nursing program is a four-year degree program in which students may graduate with a Bachelor’s Degree in Nursing (BSN).

CCNE is a national accreditation agency that ensures the quality and integrity of baccalaureate, graduate, and residency programs in nursing. Over two-and-a-half days in March 2018, three independent reviewers from CCNE evaluated all aspects of the PSU nursing program, including its curriculum, clinical partner sites and overall program quality, and conducted interviews with university leadership, staff, faculty, students and clinical partners. The CCNE review team noted that PSU’s strong partnerships with hospitals and health centers throughout New Hampshire offer nursing students tremendous opportunities for clinical training.

“This CCNE accreditation marks a significant milestone for our nursing program,” said Jean Coffey, Ph.D., APRN, CPNP, Director, Plymouth State University Nursing Program. “In the relatively short time that this program has been in existence, a lot of groundwork has been done to position PSU for this achievement. We are truly grateful to the numerous people who created a nursing program of the highest caliber, and we are excited to continue innovating and enhancing the program to provide the very best nursing education for our students.”

Coffey, who joined the PSU nursing faculty in January 2018 and became program director in July, credits PSU’s administration, faculty and students for the program’s success. Unlike many collegiate programs throughout the country, PSU’s nursing program has no faculty vacancies, which Coffey says is testament to the quality of the program. The program also shows positive trends in student enrollment, and more than 41 percent of current first-year nursing students are from New Hampshire. Of the 23 nursing program graduates in 2018, 100 percent passed the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX) to be licensed as Registered Nurses (RN), and many began their nursing careers at hospitals and other clinical sites in New Hampshire.