Commission on Collegiate
Nursing Education Moves to
Consider for Accreditation Only
Practice Doctorates
with the DNP Degree Title
WASHINGTON, DC, October 20, 2005 –
In a move consistent with other health professions, the
Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE), the
autonomous accrediting body of the American Association
of Colleges of Nursing (AACN), has decided that only practice
doctoral degrees with the Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)
title will be eligible for CCNE accreditation. The CCNE
Board of Commissioners reached this unanimous decision
on September 29, 2005 as part of its continuing work to
develop a process for accrediting clinically-focused nursing
doctorates.
“Consistent degree titling will help
to reduce confusion among health care consumers about
the qualifications of doctorally-prepared nursing clinicians,”
said Dr. Mary Margaret Mooney, Chair of the CCNE Board.
“With dozens of practice doctorates now in the development
stage, CCNE deemed it important to articulate a position
that may assist programs in adopting a common degree name.”
Dr. Mooney represents CCNE on the AACN task force that
has been charged to develop the DNP Essentials that will
outline curricular expectations for practice doctorates
in nursing. Represented on the CCNE Board of Commissioners,
which is separate and distinct from the AACN Board of
Directors, are nursing deans, nursing faculty, practicing
nurses, professional consumers (employers of nurses),
and public consumers.
CCNE's decision to consider for accreditation
only practice doctorates with the DNP title is consistent
with good accreditation practice and with similar actions
taken by accrediting organizations for the other health
professions. The nationally recognized organizations responsible
for the accreditation of doctoral degrees in allopathic
medicine, osteopathic medicine, optometry, podiatry, pharmacy,
and chiropractic, as examples, require a specific degree
title in order for the doctoral programs to qualify for
the accreditation process. “This requirement helps
to assure consistency in degree titling, which, in turn,
helps to protect consumers and the general public –
a primary goal of CCNE accreditation,” said Dr. Jennifer
Butlin, Director of CCNE. “In other health professions
where degree names have not been an issue, practice doctorates
are consistently titled. For example, all of the accredited
practice doctorates in physical therapy and occupational
therapy are titled DPT or OTD, respectively.”
In response to numerous requests, CCNE is
in the process of developing an accreditation process
for DNP programs that will help assure educational quality
and provide public protection. More than 40 nursing practice
doctorates are now in development nationwide following
AACN’s decision in October 2004 to endorse a position
statement which called for moving the current level of
preparation necessary for advanced nursing practice roles
from the master's degree to the doctorate level by the
year 2015. Included in this statement were the recommendations
that all practice doctorates carry the same degree title,
namely the Doctor of Nursing Practice or DNP, and that
an accreditation process be developed to assess the quality
of these programs.
For more information about CCNE, see http://www.aacn.nche.edu/Accreditation.
For details about the movement toward the practice doctorate
in nursing, see http://www.aacn.nche.edu/DNP.
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 nursing education
programs. 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.
Web site: http://www.aacn.nche.edu/Accreditation
The American Association of Colleges of
Nursing (AACN) is the national voice for university and
four-year-college education programs in nursing. Representing
more than 585 member schools of nursing at public and
private institutions nationwide, AACN's educational, research,
governmental advocacy, data collection, publications,
and other programs work to establish quality standards
for bachelor's- and graduate-degree nursing education,
assist deans and directors to implement those standards,
influence the nursing profession to improve health care,
and promote public support of baccalaureate and graduate
nursing education, research, and practice. Web site: http://www.aacn.nche.edu
