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DEPARTMENT
OF EDUCATION OFFICIALLY RECOGNIZES COMMISSION ON COLLEGIATE
NURSING EDUCATION AS ACCREDITING AGENCY
Accrediting
Commission Charts New Course, New Model for Nursing Education
WASHINGTON,
D.C., March 14, 2000 - U.S. Secretary of Education Richard
W. Riley has officially recognized the Commission on Collegiate
Nursing Education (CCNE) as a national agency for the accreditation
of baccalaureate and graduate-degree nursing education programs.
The Secretary's February 22 decision confirms
the recent recommendation of the National Advisory Committee
on Institutional Quality and Integrity - a panel of the U.S.
Department of Education - to grant initial recognition of
CCNE for two years, the standard term for new accrediting
agencies.
CCNE is
an autonomous arm of the American Association of Colleges
of Nursing (AACN) - the national voice for university and
four-year-college education programs in nursing. Established
in 1996, CCNE is the only national agency devoted exclusively
to the accreditation of bachelor's- and higher-degree nursing
education programs. CCNE accreditation provides students,
employers, and other parties with assurance that education
programs meet the standards that have been established by
the professional nursing community.
This
is an historic milestone in nursing education and marks a
significant reform in health professions accreditation," says
Linda K. Amos, EdD, RN, FAAN, chair of the CCNE Board of Commissioners.
"The professional nursing community has worked for several
years to create this unique accrediting agency. CCNE is charting
a new course, with a new model, that takes nursing education
to a higher standard by clearly focusing on the advancement
of baccalaureate and graduate programs as a distinct subset
of nursing education."
"While CCNE already had achieved nationwide
recognition and acceptance by various constituencies, the
Secretary's decision formalizes and verifies the high quality
of our processes and standards," Dr. Amos adds. "We also acknowledge
the support and assistance of the professional nursing community
in helping to define the directions, values, procedures, and
standards of CCNE, and for participating in CCNE activities."
Breaking
New Ground
In
addition, CCNE is breaking new ground in other key areas.
Notes CCNE Director Jennifer Butlin: "CCNE's core values are
reflected not only through excellent customer service and
our being responsive to constituent needs, but also in the
ways we measure programs against their own stated missions
rather than prescribe what their missions and goals ought
to be." In this way, "CCNE respects both the institution's
autonomy and the differences and innovations in the nursing
education programs we review."
"Enhancing value in accreditation and recognizing efforts
by education programs to continuously improve are at the heart
of the CCNE process," she adds.
Moreover, as a member of
the Alliance for Nursing Accreditation - an AACN-established
coalition of 11 regulatory and credentialing bodies - CCNE
is pursuing a range of activities to improve coordination
of the accreditation process itself, including development
of guidelines to reduce redundancies and improve cost-efficiency
through collaborative accreditation reviews by the Alliance's
member agencies.
CCNE
began accreditation reviews in 1998 with the conduct of 27
on-site evaluations. To date, CCNE has accredited 155 nursing
education programs located at 94 regionally accredited colleges
and universities. More than 400 nursing education programs
are scheduled for accreditation review by CCNE.
"CCNE
was created by the community of interest itself," explains
AACN President Andrea R. Lindell, DNSc, RN. "CCNE was established
by an overwhelming vote of AACN-member schools - the consumers
of accreditation services - who expressed the need for an
accrediting framework and value structure focused exclusively
on the unique and specific requirements of baccalaureate and
graduate-degree nursing education, and on improving coordination
of accreditation reviews. AACN is proud to have been instrumental
in creating this new and innovative accreditation model."
CCNE
is independent in its development and implementation of standards,
policies, and procedures. CCNE is governed by an independent
board composed of nursing school faculty and administrators,
as well as practitioners, consumers, and employers, and maintains
its own financial management.
The
Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education 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.
CONTACT:
Robert Rosseter
(202) 463-6930, x231
rrosseter@aacn.nche.edu
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