Mission
Statement and Goals:
Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education
Mission and Purposes:
The Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE)
is an autonomous accrediting agency, contributing to
the improvement of the public's health. 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.
CCNE accreditation is a nongovernmental peer review
process that operates in accordance with nationally
recognized standards established for the practice of
accreditation in the United States. Accreditation by
CCNE is intended to accomplish at least five general
purposes:
- To
hold nursing education programs
accountable to the community of interest -- the nursing
profession, consumers, employers, higher education,
students and their families -- and to one another
by ensuring that these programs have mission statements,
goals, and outcomes that are appropriate for programs
preparing individuals to enter the field of nursing.
- To
evaluate the success of a nursing education program
in achieving its mission, goals, and outcomes.
- To
assess the extent to which a nursing education program
meets accreditation standards.
- To
inform the public of the purposes and values of accreditation
and to identify nursing education programs that meet
accreditation standards.
- To
foster continuing improvement in nursing education
programs -- and thereby in professional practice.
Scope:
CCNE serves higher education institutions throughout
the United States.
Goals for Accrediting
Nursing Education Programs
In developing the educational standards for determining
accreditation of baccalaureate and graduate nursing
education programs, CCNE has formulated specific premises
or goals on which the standards are based. These goals
include the following:
- develop and implement
accreditation standards that foster continuing improvement
within nursing education programs;
- enable the community
of interest to participate in significant ways in
the review, formulation, and validation of accreditation
standards and policies and in determining the reliability
of the conduct of the accreditation process;
- establish and implement
an evaluation and recognition process that is efficient,
cost effective, and cost-accountable with respect
to the institution and student;
- assess whether nursing
education programs consistently fulfill their stated
missions, goals, and purposes;
- assure that nursing
education program outcomes are in accordance with
the expectations of the nursing profession to adequately
prepare individuals for professional practice, life-long
learning, and graduate education;
- encourage nursing
education programs to pursue academic excellence through
improved teaching/learning and assessment practices
and in scholarship and public service in accordance
with the unique mission of the institution;
- assure that nursing
education programs engage in self-evaluation of personnel,
procedures, and services, and that they facilitate
continuous improvement through planning and resource
development;
- acknowledge and respect
the autonomy of institutions and the diversity of
programs involved in nursing education;
- ensure consistency,
peer review, agency self-assessment, due process,
identification and avoidance of conflict of interest,
and an assurance of appropriate confidentiality in
accreditation practices;
- enhance public understanding
of the functions and values inherent in nursing education
accreditation;
- provide the public
an accounting of nursing education programs that are
accredited and which merit public approbation and
support; and
- work cooperatively
with other agencies to minimize duplication of review
processes.
Autonomy:
The CCNE shall be autonomous in conducting all aspects
of its evaluation and accreditation activities, including
but not limited to the establishment of bylaws, standards,
policies, and procedures; control of its financial affairs;
implementation of its operating rules; selection of
its members, officers, committee members, evaluators,
and consultants; and the administration of its own affairs.
