The Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education recently granted accreditation to the baccalaureate degree program in nursing at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff.
UAPB received the accreditation for five years, extending to June 30, 2022. The program received the maximum five years for initial accreditation.
The accreditation is retroactive to the first day of the most recent site visit, which was Oct. 17, 2016. According to Nursing Department Chairwoman Diann Williams, the action by CCNE ensures that students who graduate from the program after the Oct. 17, 2016, date are designated as graduates of an accredited BSN program.
“Attending and graduating from an accredited nursing program is significant for our students, because this is one of the standards by which quality of the program is judged,” Williams said in a news release. “In addition, graduate school programs and some employers require that students accepted or employed have graduated from a program that is nationally accredited.”
Officially recognized by the U.S. Secretary of Education as a national accreditation agency, CCNE is an autonomous accrediting agency, contributing to the improvement of the public’s health. CCNE ensures the quality and integrity of baccalaureate, graduate, and residency programs in nursing and serves the public interest by assessing and identifying programs that engage in effective educational practices, according to the release.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
As a voluntary, self-regulatory process, CCNE accreditation supports and encourages continuing self-assessment by nursing programs and supports continuing growth and improvement of collegiate professional education and nurse residency programs. The CCNE accredits more than 1000 nursing education degree programs throughout the United States.
The UAPB baccalaureate nursing program was reviewed based on the CCNE Standards for Accreditation of Baccalaureate and Graduate Nursing Programs (2013). The Accreditation Standards incorporate the Essentials of Baccalaureate Education for Professional Nursing Practice (2008) prepared by the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN). The next on-site evaluation visit is scheduled to take place in the fall of 2021.
Details: http://www.aacn.nche.edu/ccne-accreditation .