CCNE, ACEN & NLN CNEA

Agency CCNE ACEN NLN CNEA

Programs it accredits: Accredits bachelor Accredits all levels of Accredits all levels of
and master’s degree nursing programs. nursing program:
level program; the practical/vocational,
title Doctor of Accredits non-credit diploma (RN),
Nursing Practice; transition to practice associate, bachelor,
post-graduate programs at all elvesl master’s, clinical
certificate programs nursing licensure. doctorate, post-
that prepare Advance graduate certificate,
Practice Registered Gate Keeper for Title and distance learning
Nurses; and nurse VI funds. programs
residency programs.
Accreditation Process Process: Review and Process: Candidacy, Process: Formal
assessment of a self-study report, site notification of intent
program’s vision and visit, evaluation to proceed with the
governance, review panel and accreditation process,
institutional commissioner submission of the
commitment and decision. self-study report,
resources, curriculum participation in an
and teaching-learning on-site program
practice, and evaluation visit; and
assessment and the committee
achievement of review.
program outcomes.
Established Established 1998 Established 1949 as Established 2013
National League of
Nursing since 1997
ACEN
Recognitions Recognized by the Recognized by the Recognized by the
United States United States United States
Department of Department of Department of
Education. Education Education

Recognized by
Council for Higher
Education
Accreditation

Board of 13-member Board of 17-member Board of 15- member Board of

Commissioners Commissioners who Commissioners Commissioners
broadly represent the elected by the divided into those
community of representative of representing nursing
interest. ACEN-accredited education, those
nursing program. representing nursing
practice and those
 representing public
members.
Accreditation Term Periodically reviews Programs are Pre-accreditation
and Re-accreditation program at midpoint required to submit an candidacy status can
process of the approval term annual report which be granted, and
which can be 5 or 10 includes enrollment/ programs have a 3-
years. graduation figures, year time frame to
faculty number and complete the
credentials, job accreditation process.
placement rates, pass
rates, complaints and The full accreditation
changes to the term is 6 years.
program.
Self-study report and
Program must be host an on-site
visited and re- program evaluation in
evaluated at specific preparation for
intervals to ensure continuing
continuing accreditation
compliance by a consideration.
ACEN staff.

Philosophy Contribute to the Contribute to the Sets forth

improvement of the centrality of nursing accreditation
public’s health and tocare for the public standards infused
assess and identify good and provides for with the NLN core
programs that engage the maintenance and value – caring,
in effective enhancement of diversity, integrity
educational practices.education quality and excellence.
through continuous
self-assessment,
planning and
improvement.
Standard 1 To hold nursing Standards of Standards of
programs accountable Accreditation: Accreditation: 1
to the community; Mission and Program outcomes; 2
evaluate the success administrative Mission, governance,
of the nursing capacity, faculty and and resources; 3
program; assess the staff, students, Faculty; 4 Student; 5
programs ability to curriculum, Curriculum and
meet accreditation resources, and Evaluation Processes.
standards, inform the outcomes.
public the purpose
and values of
accreditation; and to
foster continuing
 improvement in
nursing programs.

Quality for Safety Education for Nurses (QSEN)

One organization that impacts nursing education curricula is Quality for Safety Education for
Nurses (QSEN). The goal of the organization is to define quality and safe competencies for
nurses. For each competency, QSEN determines the knowledge, skills, and attitudes a pre-
licensure program needs to develop. These serve as guide to curricular development for all
stages of academic programs (Quality for Safey Education for Nurses, nd). The quality and
safety competencies fall under six categories: Patient-centered care, teamwork and collaboration,
evidence-based practice, quality improvement, safety and informatics. For example, under
patient-centered care the curriculum would need to include how diverse cultural, ethnic and
social background affect patient care.
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ)
Another organization that impacts nursing education curricula is the Agency for Healthcare
Research and Quality (AHRQ). The mission of AHRQ is “to produce evidence to make health
care safer, higher quality, more accessible, equitable and affordable, and to work with the U. S.
Department of Health and Human Services and with other partners to make sure that the
evidence is understood and used” (Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, n.d) The
organization invest in research, creates tools to help health systems and analyze data to help
healthcare systems see where there is area to improve. This organization affects curriculum
because it’s a resource for evidence-based knowledge that needs to be incorporated into the
curriculum to ensure best practices.
Faculty Role in Curriculum Development
Faculty plays an important role in curriculum development. Faculty are responsible for
extending their thinking beyond their experience and acquiring new skills to implement changes
to the curriculum. Faculty is also responsible for ongoing appraisal ideas, products and processes
(DeNisco, 2021). Ongoing appraisal will ensure that the curriculum remains evidence-informed
and context relevant. Another role of the nursing education faculty is to think like scholars. This
includes keeping up to date with literature, careful observation and analysis of nursing education
practice.
An internal factor that affects curriculum implementation is personnel. Having sufficient nursing
educators is important to implement a curriculum. Not only is the number of personnel important
but also personnel that have the proper teaching skills and practice competence to implement the
core of the curriculum. The lack of full-time faculty has forced institutions to make adjustments
to teach their students such as hiring part-time faculty. This creates a heavier workload on full
time staff who are responsible for curriculum development (Owens, 2017).
A system wide change also has a great influence on how the curriculum is delivered. The Oregon
Consortium for Nursing Education (OCNE) redesigned educational models that sought to
identify 10 competencies for registered nursing and creating a competency-based curriculum.
This is a radical change from the traditional, specialty-focused curriculum. During the first year
of implementation of this program, students reported quality of instruction and curriculum as a
area needing improvement. The students felt that content did not align with reading and clinical
experience, “self-teaching,” inexperience faculty and unclear expectations for students
(Ostrogorsky & Raber, 2014). Having proper faculty training to deliver a new curriculum affects
the quality of the instructions.
One factor that has changed the way the curriculum is delivered is the switch to in-person to
online education. During this ongoing pandemic, online education has become a critical long-
term strategy. Appropriate training and resources can affect the quality of how the curriculum is
delivered. Faculty need to able to modify the course design and to how to syllabus development
(Brinkley-Etzkorn, 2019).
Flora Previl
Accreditation Commision for Education in Nursing (2021) Accreditation Manual.
https://www.acenursing.org/acen-accreditation-manual/
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (n.d) About our work at AHRQ.
https://www.ahrq.gov
American Association of College of Nursing (n.d) Who we are.
https://www.aacnnursing.org/CCNE-Accreditation/Who-We-Are
Brinkley-Etzkron, K. E. (2019). The Effects of Training on Instructor Beliefs about and Attitudes
toward Online Teaching. American Journal of Distance Education, 34(1), 19-35.
https://doi.org/10.1080/08923647.2020.1692553

DeNisco, S. M. (2021). Advanced practice nursing: Essential knowledge for the profession (4th
ed). Jones Bartlett Learning.
National League for Nursing Commission for Nursing Education Accreditation (2019)
Accreditation Handbook: Policies and Procedures.
http://www.nln.org/docs/default-source/default-document-library/nln-cnea-policies-handbook---
sept-2019.pdf
Ostrogorsky, T.L. & Raber, A.M. (2014). Experiences of first-year nursing students during an
education redesign: Finding from the Oregon Consortium for Nursing Education. Nursing
Education Perspectives, 35(2), 115-121. doi: 10.5480/12-854.1
Ownes, J.M. (2017) Secondary stress in nurse educators. Teaching and Learning in Nursing.
12(3), 214-215. https://doi-org.ezproxy.delhi.edu/10.1016/j.teln.2017.02.004
Quality for Safety Education for Nurses (n.d) QSEN Competencies.
https://qsen.org/competencies/pre-licensure-ksas/