Speaker 1: Welcome to the webinar on the ACEN Accreditation Process. The purpose of this webinar is to orient you to the ACEN peer review process used to evaluate nursing education programs. Let's start with a common understanding about accreditation. Accreditation is a peer review, self-regulatory process by which non-governmental associations recognize educational institutions or nursing education programs that have been found to meet or exceed standards and criteria for educational quality. It is a distinction that nursing education programs are committed to excellence. Did you know that accreditation started in 1887 and the first accrediting agency was the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools, which is still in existence today? For over 130 years, accreditation has been instrumental in promoting educational quality through self-regulation and peer review. Accreditation is important because it supports further improvement in educational quality by assessing the critical resources that support the educational process. Most importantly, accreditation focuses on the student results from those investments. The mission of the ACEN is to support the interests of nursing education, nursing practice, and the public by the functions of accreditation. The purpose of the ACEN is to provide specialized accreditation for all levels of nursing education offered by domestic and international institutions. The ACEN accredits all types of nursing education programs, including Clinical Doctorate and DNP Specialist Certificates, which may be combined or stand-alone nursing education programs, Master's and Post-Master's Certificates, which also may be combined or stand-alone nursing education programs, Baccalaureate Nursing Education Programs, Associate Nursing Education Programs, Diploma Nursing Education Programs, and Practical Nursing Education Programs. The ACEN also accredits nursing education programs in a variety of settings, including Post-Secondary Institutions, which are colleges and universities, Post-Secondary Institutions, which are public K-12 school systems that offer nursing education programs to adult students, not high school students, and hospital-based and single-purpose institutions that offer any of the nursing education program types already mentioned. Additionally, the ACEN provides specialized accreditation for non-credit transition-to-practice programs at all levels of nursing practice, including advanced practice, registered nursing, and practical nursing. Additionally, the ACEN accredits all types of transition-to-practice programs offered in a variety of clinical practice and academic settings. Transition-to-practice program types include but are not limited to those for the newly licensed nurse, the nurse who is re-entering the profession, and the nurse who is transitioning from one practice specialty to another within an organization. The literature suggests that the benefits of TTP programs include improvements in the quality of patient care, enhanced patient safety, improved employer retention of nursing staff, and increased competence and confidence of the participating nurse. Contact the ACEN if you are interested in more information on the accreditation of TTP programs. Self-regulation through peer review is the underpinning of accreditation. The ACEN accreditation process is strong because peer evaluators are committed to these tenets of accreditation to advance educational quality through agreed-upon standards. Your ACEN staff is honored to be a supportive partner for all nursing education programs, and we work every day to exceed your expectations. The ACEN is your accrediting agency, and your ACEN staff are here to assist the nursing faculty and program leaders obtain and maintain accreditation of your nursing education program. The ACEN is recognized by the two organizations that have the authority to recognize accrediting agencies, the United States Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation, also known as CHIA. We have been continuously recognized by the United States Department of Education since 1952 and CHIA since 2001. The ACEN is the only accrediting agency recognized by both the Department and CHIA to accredit all types of nursing education programs. The ACEN is the only accrediting agency that is authorized by the Department to serve as a Title IV gatekeeper for all types of nursing education programs offered by certain institutions that are eligible to participate in financial aid nursing education programs administered by the United States Department of Education or other federal agencies, such as the Health Resources and Services Administration, HRSA. Please see ACEN Policy No. 3, Eligibility for Initial and Continuing Accreditation, for additional information regarding Title IV. Additionally, recognition by CHIA offers the opportunity for ACEN accreditation to international nursing education programs. The ACEN accredits nursing education programs in multiple countries, such as Oman, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey, and our international presence is growing steadily. The ACEN is the leading authority for nursing education accreditation and is the oldest and most experienced nursing accrediting agency. The ACEN is a not-for-profit subsidiary of the National League for Nursing, known as the NLN. The ACEN has operated under three different names, NLN from 1938 to 1996, NLNAC, National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission, from 1996 to 2013, and ACEN, Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing, from 2013 to the present. With over 1,200 ACEN-accredited nursing education programs, ACEN nursing education program graduates represent the overwhelming majority of newly licensed nurses annually. Some may ask, does accreditation make a difference? An analysis of the licensure examination pass rate of ACEN-accredited nursing education programs, which are self-reported by the nurse administrator, demonstrate that accreditation does make a difference. Year over year, graduates of ACEN-accredited nursing education programs outperform the national average reported by the NCSBN. Visit the ACEN website to review the report to constituents, which includes this information. There are numerous benefits of accreditation. Students benefit greatly from being a graduate of an accredited nursing education program and especially if the accrediting agency is recognized by the United States Department of Education. Many students and their family members are aware of the benefits that accreditation offers, and they do make career and education decisions based on whether a nursing education program is accredited. Your ACEN staff witness this every day. We receive telephone calls asking if a nursing education program is accredited, and when we say that the nursing education program is not accredited by the ACEN, the caller asks why. Our response is, you need to ask the nursing faculty and nursing education program leaders that question. Another example is a nurse calling and asking what we can do to help because the state where he or she wants to work as a nurse requires graduation from an accredited program to obtain a nursing license in that state. Additionally, certifying bodies require graduation from an accredited program to take its certification examination, such as the certification examinations for advanced practice nursing roles. Accreditation also benefits students' ability to transfer credits. Think about your institution and nursing education program. Does your institution or nursing education program accept transfer credits from an unaccredited institution or nursing education program? Accreditation influences employers' hiring decisions. Did you know that all branches of the United States military require nurses to be graduates of an accredited nursing education program to work as a nurse in the military? The same is true for the United States Department of Veterans Affairs and many other private and public employers that use accreditation as a consideration. Additionally, students benefit from a nursing education program being accredited when they apply to undergraduate and graduate nursing education programs. Many graduate and baccalaureate completion programs require that applicants are graduates of an accredited nursing education program in order to be admitted. Accreditation further facilitates working together to create academic progression partnerships. For example, the nursing faculty at a community college and the nursing faculty at a four-year college working together so students with an associate degree in nursing are able to easily continue their education to earn a baccalaureate degree in nursing or a graduate degree in nursing. Faculty and communities of interest benefit also from accreditation. Accreditation means a nursing education program periodically undergoes review by peers on the extent to which it meets its educational purpose and on the extent to which it meets standards of educational quality that were established by the nursing profession. Experience suggests, as nursing faculty, we are very focused on educating students and don't often take the time to intentionally reflect on what we are doing and why we are doing it. Accreditation encourages necessary and deliberate reflection, which heightens our awareness and administrators' awareness about what is working and what could be improved. While accreditation is a voluntary process in some states, many states and U.S. territories require that all pre-licensure registered nursing education programs within that jurisdiction are accredited with an accreditation agency that is recognized by the United States Department of Education. Some of these states require accreditation for practical nursing education programs Some of these states require accreditation for practical nursing education programs as well as graduate-level nursing education programs. The National Council of State Boards of Nursing, or NCSBN, has called for all states to require accreditation by 2020, and additional states are working on requiring accreditation. In January 2018, the NCSBN published a study comparing the first-time pass rate of graduates of accredited pre-licensure registered nursing education programs —diploma, associate, and baccalaureate combined— compared to graduates of unaccredited pre-licensure registered nursing education programs —diploma, associate, and baccalaureate combined. Their updated, unpublished 2019 research showed that the first-time pass rate for graduates of accredited pre-licensure registered nursing education programs in diploma, associate degree, and bachelor's degree combined was significantly higher—90%— while the first-time pass rate for graduates of unaccredited pre-licensure registered nursing education programs was 80%. Also, did you know that 99%-plus of baccalaureate, master's, and clinical doctorate nursing education programs in the United States are accredited? Yet, approximately 59% of the associate degree nursing education programs are accredited, and far fewer practical nursing education programs are accredited. Graduates of the unaccredited associate and practical nursing education programs could have more educational and employment opportunities if these nursing education programs became accredited. Candidacy is the beginning process for a nursing education program seeking accreditation with the ACEN. This slide provides an overview of the entire candidacy process. The ACEN encourages all nursing education programs to be accredited so graduates have the maximum educational and career benefits of their education. Contrary to rumors, a nursing education program does not have to have graduates or outcomes data before being accredited by the ACEN. All existing nursing education programs should seek initial accreditation as soon as possible, and all new nursing education programs should seek initial accreditation so the first cohort of graduating students graduate from an accredited nursing education program. There are separate webinars on the ACEN website regarding candidacy for programs seeking initial accreditation, which have in-depth information regarding the candidacy process for both domestic and international programs. How often have you heard these sayings? If you are ahead, you can't be behind. Or, yesterday is gone, tomorrow has not yet come, we have only today, let us begin. When it comes to the accreditation process, begin as early as possible. Experience suggests a project management approach should be taken. You will need to do advanced planning to prepare for the development of the report and the actual site visit. Every institution uses different planning timeframes, and the budgeting process at your institution may need to begin 12 to 24 months before your site visit. Make sure the funds needed are included in the budget. For example, some employees may need to work during a summer to write the report, and extra funds may be needed to pay for this work. You will also need to do advanced planning related to the actual dates of your site visit. For example, you will need to submit an information form, which is on the ACEN website, to request the visit. You will include information about potential date conflicts on this form. This form is available approximately 18 months prior to the cycle. Check the academic calendar to avoid conflicts with holidays, breaks, and events. Once your site visit dates are finalized, make sure these dates are on appropriate calendars. Additionally, secure the meeting rooms that will be used during your site visit. The most comprehensive report is a self-study report, which includes all the standards and all the criteria within each standard, whereas a follow-up report includes only the standards and all the criteria within each standard being reviewed. A focused visit report includes some of the standards and may include only some of the criteria within the standards being reviewed. The type of report will determine who needs to be involved. Experience suggests the more complex the report, the more stakeholders that need to be involved. Consider involving your students, graduates, and other colleagues, such as advisory committee representatives and clinical agency representatives, to assist in writing your report. Also, ask your colleagues in the Financial Aid Office, the Business Office, the Library, and in Student Services to help write some sections of your report. For example, if Standard 3 is part of your report, then colleagues in the Financial Aid Office will know the information addressed in Criterion 3.6. Business Office colleagues can assist with Standard 5, Criterion 5.1, and colleagues in Student Services can help with Standard 3, Criterion 3.4. Everyone involved will need a copy of the standards and criteria, which can be downloaded from the ACEN website. Hopefully, the nursing faculty and program leaders are routinely working with colleagues in the Office of Institutional Effectiveness or the equivalent office at your institution. These colleagues are assessment subject matter experts, and the nursing faculty and program leaders should be working together on Standard 6 outcomes. Additionally, they may also have access to data that may be useful to the nursing faculty. Another hidden resource is the Alumni Office. Most alumni offices use services to find students that attended your institution. Part of the planning process should include taking advantage of the available ACEN resources, such as access to the candidacy webinar regarding services available to nursing education programs seeking initial accreditation. Another great way to prepare for initial or re-accreditation is by participating in a self-study forum. A self-study forum is a workshop where the ACEN professional staff will help you to prepare for your peer review by providing a deep dive into the standards and criteria. Information about self-study forums is available on the ACEN website. Two other optional resources to consider in your planning are the Observer Experience and the Advisory Review. More details regarding these services are included at the end of this presentation.