CCNE- Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education

Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education is a nursing education accrediting organization to encourage and support nursing education programs. Read more about CCNE.

TCM Staff

19th October 2020

Commission on College Nursing Education (CCNE) is an autonomous and national accrediting agency that contributes towards the improvement of public health and is recognized by the US Secretary of Education.

It certifies the quality and honor of Bachelor’s degree, Graduate, and Residency programs in Nursing.

The Commission serves the public interest by evaluating and identifying programs that involve effective educational methods.

History of CCNE Accreditation

The American Association of Colleges of Nursing, in the year 1996, cherished the idea of an autonomous arm of the organization called the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education. Bachelors and Graduate degree education programs are accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education. 

Guiding Values for CCNE

CCNE accreditation activities are premised on a statement of principles or values.

Impact on Program Perfection

Let's look at its impacts

  • Concentrates on inspiring and supporting constant quality development in nursing education programs and its results.

  • Offers programs to encourage graduates those who demonstrate effective professionalism and socially responsible citizen.

Personal Development and Improvement

It comes with several benefits as given below

  • Assure independence and due process in its discussions and administrative processes. Depend on analysis and oversight by peers from the community of interest.

  • Uphold honor through a dependable, reasonable, and honest accreditation process.

  • Simplify and involve in self-assessment.

 [Also Read: What is Accreditation in Colleges and Universities? ]

Financial and Knowledge Benefits

Let's look at other essential factors

  • The short-term educational environment that supports student programs, graduates, and ability in their search of a lifetime knowledge.

  • Uphold a procedure that is cost-effective as well as cost-accountable.

What is Nursing Education acccreditation?

source - pexels.com

Purposes of the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE)

Every profession has to serve its purpose and for each program to create professionals who are skilled, the accreditation procedure has to be strict and efficient. The general purposes are given here. 

  • To ensure that the nursing programs are held accountable to meet the roles of individuals.

  • To rate the quality of the nursing program offered based on mission, goal, and expected outcome.

  • To identify the grade at which the nursing program meets its accreditation standard.

  • To let the public be informed about the value of accreditation and also the nursing programs that meet accreditation standards.

  • To help to improve the nursing programs and hence the professional practices associated with it.

What is Nursing Education Accreditation?

Source: St. Theresa International College

Steps in the CCNE accreditation process

Almost 750 people from different areas of employment serve the organization to improve the quality of nursing education in the United States. The organization fosters diversity in ethnicity, gender, age, and regional diversity.  

The volunteers are the strength of the organization and they get involved in activities such as rendering leadership, assessment evaluation, performance analysis, participation in accreditation decisions, report review, strategic goal setting, and more.

  • Self-assessment is first made depending on the quality of the nursing program offered in compliance with the CCNE standard.

  • The evaluation committee then visits the institution to evaluate the quality of the program that is offered.

  • A written report from the nursing team is generated as a response to the report from the evaluation team. All the then generated reports are finally assessed by the evaluation team.

  • Recommendations are made to the organization.

Nursing Accreditationsource - pexels.com

Decision-making bodies in CCNE

Some of the decision making bodies of the CCNE are mentioned here. 

CCNE Decision Making Bodies

Board of Commissioners

Executive Committee

Accreditation Review Committee

Report Review Committee

Standards Committee

Residency Accreditation Committee

Substantive Change Review Committee

Budget Committee

Nominating Committee

Evaluators

CCNE’s strategic directions for student success

Some of the directions provided by the commission are given here. 

  • Lead modernization in academic nursing that promotes team-based, inter-professional health care.

  • Improve the impact of academic nursing in healthcare and advanced education arenas.

  • Construct a strategic business to develop academic nursing.

  • Develop it as an academic discipline.

  • Advance leaders at all stages of academic nursing to an improved position, the career to transform higher education and health.

  • Increase co-operative openings with healthcare, higher education, and other sponsors to progress health and improve quality outcomes.

  • Advance a common idea and national policies with interprofessional partner administrations to develop healthcare reformat and delivery.

  • Increase openings for all sponsors to play an important part in attaining AACN’s mission.

Are CCNE internship programs offered to the students/scholars?

Yes. An internship is presented to students pursuing Nursing, Political Science, Public Policy, or further associated disciplines, by means of possessing an interest in Nursing as well as Health Policy.

  • The internship offers the opening to gain first-hand experience in the policy process.

  • The program is available to students in AACN associate organizations.

  • Students need to submit a curriculum vitae.

  • Students need to commit an approximate duration of 10-15 hours a week.

Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education accredited institutions

Few universities/colleges that offer CCNE accredited Nursing programs are given below.

CCNE Accredited Universities/Colleges

Jefferson College of Health Sciences

Brookline College

Lewis University

Walden University

Loyola University of Chicago

Drexel University 

Walsh University

South University

Aspen University

Sacred Heart University

Conclusion

Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education is a nursing education accrediting organization that helps to progress public health. CCNE assists public attention by evaluating and categorizing programs that involve effective educational practices.

Moreover, a nationally recognized accreditation standard makes a student eligible for financial aid.

Students are eligible for better employment opportunities with an accredited degree in hand.

Most employers prefer a CCNE certified professional. Recognized universities around the country also give admissions for graduate programs to students who have received their Bachelor's degrees from accredited institutions. 

CCNE accreditation is a clear indication of how efficient your nursing program education has been. A sufficient amount of patient-care practice hours along with the high standard of the course-lessons would contribute to the quality of the created nursing professional.

Consideration of the curriculum, institution's resources, and, the effectiveness of the program together contribute towards CCNE accreditation.

Blogs you might be interested in 

Frequently Asked Questions

  • 1.What do you mean by CCNE Certification?

    CCNE is officially recognized by the U.S. Secretary of Education as a national accreditation agency. The Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE) is an autonomous accrediting agency helping in the improvement of the standards of Nursing Education programs. 

  • 2.How is CCNE Accreditation useful?

    The Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE) is a specialty national accrediting agency that works to keep up high standards among college-level nursing education programs. This includes nursing programs that are offered in the distance and online learning format. 

  • 3.What are the CCNE benefits for schools and programs? Will CCNE accreditation elevate a nursing school or program to a completely different level?

    These programs attract a lot of potential students, as a result of that, they understand that these institutions went through the accreditation method to satisfy and maintain high standards.

  • 4.How is clinical practice experience defined by the CCNE?

    The set of practical sessions that are made part of the nursing curriculum to provide a learning environment for the original clinical experience is evaluated by the CCNE. Nursing interventions that create an impact on patient care settings are also categorized under clinical practice experience.

  • 5.Is clinical practice experience mandatory for online nursing programs as per the CCNE?

    Clinical practice experience is mandatory for the online programs as per the CCNE. Regardless of the mode of education-delivery, practice sessions are mandatory for the highly service-oriented profession.

  • 6.What is meant by faculty evaluation and supervision during clinical practice sessions?

    The physical presence of the evaluator is mandatory during all clinical practice sessions of the CCNE. Assessment, diagnosis, treatment, and, evaluation of a real client happens during the clinical practice sessions.

  • 7.Should the licensed nurses need to have clinical practice experience even after their Certification status is positive?

    Depending upon the course for which they are enrolled in, students should be subjected to clinical practice experience irrespective of their licensure.

  • 8.Does CCNE suggest clinical practice experience for those enrolled in indirect care roles?

    Clinic Practice experience is mandatory for all enrolled in direct or indirect care roles.

  • 9.What type of clinical experience practices are suggested for those enrolled in Masters in Nurse Educator Programs?

    Students should have an identified area of advanced nursing practice. The basic clinical practice experiences should be made proper for each irrespective of the enrollment in any degree.

  • 10.How often does the periodic evaluation of CCNE accredited programs happen?

    For a 10 year term of CCNE program, the evaluation happens in 5 years and for a 5-year term evaluation happens for 2.5 years, ie mid-term.  

  • 11.Which are the other types of accreditation for a nursing school?  

    Accreditation Commission For Education in Nursing (ACEN), Council on Accreditation of Nurse Anesthesia Educational Programs (COA) and American College of Nurse-Midwives Division of Accreditation (ACNM) are the accrediting bodies for nursing education in the US.  

  • 12.What is the difference between CCNE and ACEN accreditation?

    Faculty’s qualification, program's plan of study, resources used in the program, evaluation plan and catalog of courses become the criteria for offering an ACEN accreditation whereas mission and goals of the program, program performance, resource utilization, resource utilization, and integrity become the criteria for offering a CCNE certification.  

  • 13.Is it OK to take-up a non-accredited nursing program?  

    An unaccredited program is not eligible for financial aid. Moreover, credit-transfer is easy for an accredited program than the non-accredited program. Accreditation ensures better value for the degree in the market. Higher studies would also be affected if the current program is not accredited.

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