Value of Accreditation Issue - April 2025

Accreditation by the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN) is a peer-review process designed to enhance quality improvement in nursing education. Quality improvement and quality assurance are accomplished by continuously assessing the program’s administrative capacity and resources, faculty, students, curriculum, and outcomes compared to established standards and criteria. Moreover, the process increases faculty and administrative awareness of areas needing improvement while offering faculty members professional development opportunities and validation.

Our accreditation visit followed closely after the COVID-19 pandemic and after we experienced significant turnover in our faculty. At the time of our visit, faculty members averaged three years of nursing education experience, and most had not previously participated in an accreditation visit. We were tasked with preparing faculty to write the self-study report and prepare for the site visit. The nursing administrator had experience with the ACEN accreditation process, having gone through previous accreditation visits and serving as an ACEN peer evaluator. A timeline for preparing for the site visit was established, spanning one and a half years. This timeline allowed faculty to learn about the process, develop a quality self-study report, and time to gather evidence. Faculty were surveyed after the accreditation visit related to the preparation activities with the majority reporting active learning strategies and games, such as Kahoot! Quizzing and a fair-themed learning day were most effective in preparing them for the site visit. One faculty member noted, “The team-building exercises, flipped classroom, and games were an effective way to instruct and educate the faculty in assessment, evaluation, and ACEN Standards/Criteria.”

During the preparation phase, we realized the need to develop a skills check-off process to better prepare our students for the clinical setting. Through this process, we created a standardized process for assessing student competency and safety in vital skills. This process was applied across all courses, ensuring a consistent and uniform approach to the skills check-off process. The process also improved student confidence in the clinical setting as they gained confidence through the check-off process. Additionally, a comprehensive review of the curriculum was undertaken. As we had a relatively inexperienced faculty body this process allowed faculty to come together from across the program to review the curriculum as a whole versus in course silos. Through the development of a curriculum map, which included skills, medications, and simulation across the curriculum, we created a cohesive curriculum that built upon prior knowledge and allowed for multiple exposures to concepts that progressed from simple to complex. This curriculum review increased faculty knowledge of the curriculum and prompted robust discussions on topics related to evidence-based practice as many faculty had recently left the bedside or were still at the bedside. Through these discussions, we updated the medications we were teaching to ensure currency with what the students encounter in the clinical setting.

As we maintain a mindset of being accreditation-ready, we have realized several additional benefits. Before our accreditation visit, one faculty member was serving as a peer evaluator. Currently, six faculty members are peer evaluators, which has profoundly impacted the program as so many faculty members are focusing on the ACEN Standards and Criteria. Faculty maintain a data-driven focus to inform decisions related to curriculum revisions, focusing on improving student outcomes such as retention and NCLEX pass rates. We often have several quality improvement projects underway as we pilot new processes and evaluate outcomes. As we continue working towards improved student retention, we implemented two nursing retention specialists who focus on improving progression in our pre-licensure program. These retention specialists target students at risk of non-progression, providing individualized support and remediation. While we are still collecting and analyzing data, our early data shows all students who utilized the retention specialist progressed, and we are currently up 37 students from this time last year. The need to report program completion for our continued accreditation highlighted the data that allowed us to advocate for these positions.

Maintaining accreditation also allowed for an improved salary for support staff due to the difficulty of recruiting and retaining staff. These roles oversee various daily operations, which encompass budgeting, supply orders, roster upkeep, ensuring clinical compliance, onboarding, and recruitment. Without sufficient staff, these roles and responsibilities fell to program leadership, resulting in increased workload and reduced time to perform their tasks. Through leveraging the accreditation standards, we were able to negotiate better salaries to attract and retain skilled support staff.

In our simulation curriculum, we have expanded interprofessional collaboration through partnerships with the social work and theater departments on campus. These interprofessional collaborations resulted in a more realistic simulation experience that fosters empathy and holistic patient care. The theater department contributes to the realism of the standardized participant by offering targeted training for simulation standardized participation. We have also incorporated virtual reality and augmented reality technology into our simulations, allowing students to practice complex patient scenarios in a safe environment.

Maintaining ACEN accreditation has served as a catalyst for continuous improvement in our nursing program, enhancing both student and faculty outcomes. Through the accreditation process, we have developed a cohesive, standardized curriculum; improved faculty development and engagement, leading to greater confidence and competence in assessment and curriculum delivery; and the introduction of retention specialists have already shown early success in supporting at-risk students, contributing to improved progression rates and student satisfaction. Accreditation has enabled us to advocate for essential programmatic changes, including increased support staff salaries to address staffing shortages and ensure smoother program operations. By leveraging partnerships with the social work and theater departments, our simulation curriculum now fosters empathy and holistic patient care, preparing students for real-world clinical situations. The integration of advanced simulation technologies represents our commitment to adopting cutting-edge educational tools to enhance clinical competency and safety. As we stay accreditation-ready, our program is positioned to continue advancing nursing education excellence, student outcomes, and positively impacting communities for years to come.