FAQs: Candidacy and Initial Accreditation

All programs seeking initial accreditation must first apply and be approved as a Candidate for ACEN accreditation. A program with ACEN Candidate status has two years to host an initial accreditation visit. However, a program sets its own timeline and may request an onsite visit for any cycle after becoming a Candidate. This means the nursing program may complete the Candidacy process sooner than two years. The ACEN accreditation process includes the following:

• Program preparation of the Self-Study Report
• A site visit for evaluation of the program by peer evaluators
• Review of the program by peer evaluators on the Evaluation Review Panel
• Review of the program by the ACEN Board of Commissioners, which also makes the accreditation decision

Accreditation decisions made by the ACEN Board of Commissioners for the Spring and Fall accreditation cycles can be found under the Commission Actions > Accreditation Cycles.

Candidacy is not accreditation. It is the first step for a nursing program seeking initial accreditation. Candidacy means that, based upon the review of the Candidacy Presentation, the nursing program (a) demonstrated it is currently compliant with selected ACEN Standards and Criteria or demonstrated the potential to be compliant with selected ACEN Standards and Criteria within two years of notification of achieving Candidacy, and (b) the potential to achieve ACEN accreditation based upon the selected ACEN Standards and Criteria reviewed in the Candidacy Presentation. Candidate programs need to complete the Candidacy process within two years of notification of achieving Candidacy, inclusive of writing a complete Self-Study Report and hosting an initial accreditation site visit. Approval of Candidacy does not guarantee that the program will achieve initial accreditation.

A list of nursing programs with upcoming review is available  on the Current and Upcoming Site Visit component of the ACEN website. When a program is granted initial accreditation, then the program is added to the list of ACEN-accredited programs on the ACEN website. The ACEN Board of Commissioners makes initial accreditation decisions in spring and fall (e.g., March/April and September) of each year for programs who have been reviewed during the Fall or Spring accreditation cycle, respectively. A program is notified within 30 calendar days of the ACEN Board of Commissioners making an accreditation decision.

Candidate programs being reviewed for initial accreditation must be in compliance with all the Accreditation Standards. The ACEN website is updated at the completion of each accreditation cycle following the notification of the programs that were reviewed during that particular cycle. For programs reviewed during the Fall Cycle, the results are posted in April/May. For programs reviewed during the Spring Cycle, the results are posted in October.

Students enrolled in a nursing program during the initial site visit would be graduates of an ACEN accredited program IF the program is granted ACEN accreditation at the ACEN Board of Commissioners meeting following the site visit. For programs visited during the Fall Cycle, the ACEN Board of Commissioners will make an accreditation decision during its spring meeting; for programs visited during the Spring Cycle, the ACEN Board of Commissioners will make an accreditation decision during its fall meeting. If initial accreditation is not granted, then students would not be graduates of an ACEN accredited program. Upon granting of initial accreditation by the ACEN Board of Commissioners, the effective date of initial accreditation is the date on which the nursing program was approved by the ACEN as a Candidate program that concluded in the Board of Commissioners granting initial accreditation.

A program is reviewed five years after initial accreditation is granted. Once continuing accreditation has been granted, the program is reviewed every eight years. In addition, a program is surveyed every year through an annual reporting process and could be reviewed periodically through the substantive change process.

Programs that have been granted Candidacy with the ACEN must notify the ACEN of changes that occur in the program during the entire candidacy process, since both eligibility for Candidacy as well as Candidate status are based upon the information provided in the Candidacy Application Form or the Candidacy Presentation. Changes that occur can affect the program’s eligibility to pursue the process and/or achieve initial accreditation with the ACEN. Therefore, programs must notify the ACEN of changes, which include but are not limited to:

• changes in nurse administrator,
• change in status with the state regulatory agency or the accrediting body of the governing organization,
• changes in curriculum/options,
• potential addition of a new location, or
• implementation of distance education.

The ACEN should be notified of these changes no less than four months prior to the change or as soon as possible for any unexpected changes. The notification should be in writing and should address the selected Criteria from the Candidacy presentation related to the change (e.g., all of the Standard 4 Criteria for a change in the curriculum and/or new option). Failure to notify the ACEN of changes could result in the changes not being considered in the initial accreditation review or an unsuccessful initial accreditation visit. See ACEN Policy #34.

Contact your ACEN mentor for guidance related to any other changes and the need to report those changes.