Accreditation Journey Issue - April 2024

The word “accreditation” has been known to place fear in the hearts of nurse educators and significantly raise anxiety. The prospect of preparing the Self-Study Report and organizing the actual site visit can be daunting but equally beneficial. Accreditation offers nurse educators the opportunity to review all aspects of their nursing program options through systematic evaluation ensuring that students receive an education that prepares them for program completion, clinical practice, and career advancement. Students are assured that accredited nursing programs meet established standards that strengthen their employability and job opportunities along with prospects for advanced education. The credibility and reputation associated with accredited nursing programs attracts high-quality students and faculty. Graduates from accredited nursing programs are highly recruited by local, regional, and national stakeholders. Additionally, the mark of distinction associated with accreditation affirms the governing organization’s commitment for outstanding graduates.  

Arkansas State University’s School of Nursing offers four programs of study that includes 18 options for student success. Ongoing assessment and sharing course and program results with faculty creates cohesiveness within the School of Nursing. It is also an effective method to orient new faculty about the importance of collecting and utilizing meaningful data to implement transformative curricular changes. Often, this evaluation results in an “a ha” moment that generates new ideas and improved processes. We have been fortunate to retain continuous accreditation without stipulations in all programs, which can be directly attributed to consistent faculty engagement.  

The complexities of measuring multiple program outcomes necessitated decentralization of our assessment processes for self-study completion and monitoring of accreditation standards. We developed committees comprised of faculty representing each program option. Committee members meet at least once a semester, or more often as needed, to review standard criterion and suggest potential changes to the School of Nursing administration. All School of Nursing faculty meet each semester to update and discuss outcomes and any modifications implemented during the prior semester. All School of Nursing and individual program meetings are documented using a standardized meeting minutes template to link accreditation Standards and Criterion to topics discussed in the meetings.  

The Nurse Administrator, Program Chairs, and ACEN Standard committee chairs have access to a central document repository. The repository is organized by accreditation Standards and Criteria to store accreditation documents such as substantive change reports, course reports and meeting minutes. Professional information related to licensure, certifications, continuing education credits, workload, and degrees is collected from full- and part-time faculty each semester via a Qualtrics survey and also stored in the central repository. The repository’s organizational structure allows for a smooth, efficient transfer of documents to the ACEN repository prior to our next accreditation visit and also provides the Nurse Administrator and Program Chairs with a convenient method to assign and track workload and faculty accomplishments.  

A distinct advantage to this process includes the involvement of all faculty throughout the School of Nursing in the accreditation process while keeping timely, relevant data at the forefront. Consistent exposure to the Standards and Criteria familiarizes faculty with the accreditation process, which builds confidence that our programs demonstrate adherence to professional standards and allows faculty members to articulate how each criterion is met. Additionally, faculty are encouraged to become peer evaluators to further their knowledge with the accreditation process and are invited to attend virtual and on-site Self-Study Forums. The School of Nursing leadership firmly believes that faculty engagement through continual assessment of our programs decreases anxiety associated with an accreditation site visit and affirms our commitment to high levels of program success.