Summer 2017

Dear Colleagues:

I know that preparing a program for accreditation, especially if it is the first time the program is seeking to be accredited, can seem like a daunting task. There are many details to address with a multitude of stakeholders who need to be involved in the process – faculty, staff, students, community partners, campus officials, to name just a few. It is common for those who are charged with leading the program’s accreditation efforts to feel overwhelmed at times and seek guidance during the process.

The NLN CNEA’s core values of integrity, excellence, diversity, and caring, as applied to the accreditation process, serve to create an environment that is supportive of programs as they strive to demonstrate their compliance with the NLN CNEA Standards of Accreditation. As one means by which to demonstrate this support, NLN CNEA has developed a series of workshops and topical webinars designed to assist programs in preparing for accreditation. You can find the NLN CNEA’s current offerings listed in this newsletter.

August 25, 2017 NLN CNEA Program Review Committee meeting September 7-8, 2017 NLN CNEA Initial Program Application Subcommittee meeting October 19-20, 2017 NLN CNEA Board of Commissioners meeting PRE-ACCREDITATION CANDIDACY DEADLINES for 2017-2018 August 14, 2017 November 13, 2017 April 9, 2018 August 13, 2018 November 12, 2018

There are times, though, when a more individualized approach can be helpful to a program. With this need in mind, the NLN CNEA is pleased to announce the addition of another tool to our roster of program support services – the Accreditation Process Navigator. The accreditation process navigator serves as a peer mentor to those individuals leading the accreditation efforts for their program. This free service provides an additional source of information and support about the NLN CNEA accreditation process.

The nurse educators who serve as accreditation process navigators do so in a volunteer capacity, providing pre-accredited programs with one to two hours/month to answer questions and clarify information about the NLN CNEA accreditation process. The navigators are carefully selected based upon their breadth and depth of knowledge about the NLN CNEA accreditation process, and their own experiences with leading programs through nursing accreditation experiences. Programs may request a navigator once they are pre-accredited by the NLN CNEA and they determine they are ready to schedule a campus visit and write their self-study report to pursue initial accreditation. The program’s relationship with the navigator ends with the submission of the self-study report to the NLN CNEA. At that point, the onsite program evaluation team leader becomes the program’s primary point of contact in preparation of the onsite visit.

The role of the navigator is to focus on the accreditation process, answering individualized program questions about how to organize the writing of the self-study report; prepare resource rooms; plan for the onsite visit, prepare faculty, students, and other stakeholders for their role in accreditation; and other questions of a similar nature – all tasks that are started some months before the program evaluation team arrives on campus. Accreditation process navigators are not program consultants; for example, programs requiring assistance with curriculum development, systematic program evaluation, or the actual writing of the self-study report are advised to seek a consultant to assist them with their needs. The NLN CNEA does not provide or recommend program consultants. Additional information about the accreditation process navigator will be available soon on the NLN CNEA website. The NLN CNEA will begin piloting the accreditation process navigator role in fall 2017.

Of course, the NLN CNEA staff is always available to answer your questions about the accreditation process as well. We strive to respond to all queries in a timely manner and the feedback that we receive from programs is that we are successfully meeting this benchmark. There are also times, however, when the guidance of an experienced nurse educator peer can do much to alleviate the anxiety associated with the accreditation process. We hope that the accreditation process navigators can provide additional support to the programs seeking NLN CNEA accreditation.

My hope for you is that you will find some time during these long, summer days for moments of relaxation and rejuvenation.

All best wishes,


Judith A. Halstead, PhD, RN, FAAN, ANEF
Executive Director
National League for Nursing
Commission for Nursing Education Accreditation
 

The NLN CNEA provides program development opportunities that meet our programs’ differing needs. Use this as a guide to decide which offering is most appropriate for you:

	Workshops provide a detailed and interactive one-day experience, designed to explore the given topic in depth.
	Topical webinars are one hour in length and provide a focused overview on selected topics. Interaction is through the use of a chat feature. Topical webinars may be live or archived experiences. A nominal fee is charged for these webinars and CEUs are awarded.
	Accreditation process webinars provide an overview of NLN CNEA policies and procedures such as applying for pre-accreditation, the mechanics related to writing a self-study report, preparing to host an onsite program evaluation visit. Interaction is through the use of a chat feature. Accreditation process webinars may be live or archived experiences. These webinars are free.

Upcoming Workshops

August 24 - SOLD OUT
Writing Your Program’s NLN CNEA Self-Study: Process and Outcomes
NLN Headquarters in Washington, DC

September 14, 2017 at NLN Education Summit
The ABCs of Developing Program Systematic Evaluation Plans for NLN CNEA Accreditation
Marriott Marquis San Diego Marina in San Diego, CA

Preparing Your Program for NLN CNEA Accreditation: Beginning the Journey
Marriott Marquis San Diego Marina in San Diego, CA

October 27
Preparing Your Program for NLN CNEA Accreditation: Beginning the Journey
The DoubleTree by Hilton in Portland, ME

November 3
Preparing Your Program for NLN CNEA Accreditation: Beginning the Journey
Barbara Jordan Conference Center in Washington, DC

Upcoming Topical Webinars – New Offering!

The NLN CNEA Webinar Series: Focus on the NLN CNEA Standards of Accreditation provides faculty with the opportunity to focus in depth on the quality indicators associated with each NLN CNEA accreditation standard. Each one-hour webinar concentrates on a single accreditation standard and its quality indicators. Each quality indicator will be discussed, along with the interpreting guidelines and how faculty can best prepare their program to address each quality indicator with a goal of demonstrating compliance.

This webinar series is presented by NLN CNEA staff and nurse educators specifically selected by NLN CNEA because of their expertise and direct involvement with NLN CNEA accreditation. Learn more and register.

August 30
Focus on the NLN CNEA Standards of Accreditation – NLN CNEA Standard I: Culture of Excellence – Program Outcomes

September 20
Focus on the NLN CNEA Standards of Accreditation – NLN CNEA Standard II: Culture of Integrity and Accountability – Mission, Governance, and Resources

October 25
Focus on the NLN CNEA Standards of Accreditation – NLN CNEA Standard III: Culture of Excellence and Caring – Faculty

November 15
Focus on the NLN CNEA Standards of Accreditation – NLN CNEA Standard IV: Culture of Excellence and Caring – Students

December 6
Focus on the NLN CNEA Standards of Accreditation – NLN CNEA Standard V: Culture of Learning and Diversity – Curriculum and Evaluation Processes

Upcoming Accreditation Process Webinars

September 21
NLN CNEA Pre-accreditation Candidacy: An Overview of the Process

October 11
NLN CNEA Self-Study Reports: An Overview of the Process

Upcoming Pre-accreditation Candidacy Application Deadlines

August 14, 2017
Programs applying by August 14, 2017 will have action taken on their application by the NLN CNEA Board of Commissioners at the October 19-20, 2017 meeting

November 13, 2017
Programs applying by November 13, 2017 will have action taken on their application by the NLN CNEA Board of Commissioners at the February 26-27, 2018 meeting

April 9, 2018
Programs applying by April 9, 2018 will have action taken on their application by the NLN CNEA Board of Commissioners at the June 14-15, 2018 meeting

August 13, 2018
Programs applying by August 13, 2018 will have action taken on their application by the NLN CNEA Board of Commissioners at the October 18-19, 2018 meeting

November 12, 2018
Programs applying by November 12, 2018 will have action taken on their application by the NLN CNEA Board of Commissioners at the February 2019 meeting

Next Issue of the CNEA Connection: November 13, 2017