Accreditation of Academic Nursing Programs; the Role of Faculty

1. Accreditation of Academic Nursing Programs; the Role of Faculty Dr. Huda Abu-Saad Huijer Professor and Director Hariri School of Nursing AUB

2. Greetings from Lebanon

3. Greetings from Lebanon at Night

5. What is Accreditation?

6. What is Accreditation? • When students enroll in a degree program, they want to be confident that everything they are taught meets professional standards. • They want to know that the curriculum will prepare them to enter healthcare with the most current skills and knowledge in that field.

7. What is Accreditation? • Accreditation is a process by which educational programs are evaluated by an outside body that determines if professional standards are being met. • These organizations help ensure that the education students receive conforms to certain requirements.

8. Accreditation • Assesses the extent to which programs achieve their stated mission, educational philosophy, and goals/objectives. • Looks at the relevance of the mission, philosophy, and goals in determining the quality of the program and the educational preparation of members of the profession.

9. Accreditation • To hold nursing education programs accountable to the community of interest- the nursing profession, consumers, employers, higher education, students and their families - and to one another by ensuring that programs have appropriate mission statements, goals and outcomes to prepare individuals to enter the nursing profession.

10. Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE) • Recognized by the U.S. Secretary of Education as a national accreditation agency; • It is an autonomous accrediting agency, contributing to the improvement of the public's health. • CCNE ensures the quality and integrity of baccalaureate & graduate programs in nursing.

11. Mission of Accrediting Bodies • To hold nursing programs accountable to the community of interest, • To evaluate the success of a nursing program in achieving its own goals and meeting its expected outcomes, • To evaluate the extent to which a nursing program meets the standards for accreditation, • To ensure that changes are implemented that can continue to improve nursing programs, and • To inform the public of the value that accreditation has, so that institutes that have such status are recognized for their merits.

12. CCNE Standards • STANDARD I • PROGRAM QUALITY: MISSION AND GOVERNANCE • STANDARD II • PROGRAM QUALITY: INSTITUTIONAL COMMITMENT AND RESOURCES • STANDARD III • PROGRAM QUALITY: CURRICULUM AND TEACHING-LEARNING PRACTICES • STANDARD IV • PROGRAM EFFECTIVENESS: AGGREGATE STUDENT AND FACULTY OUTCOMES

13. General Accreditation Rules • Application for accreditation. • Once a program is accepted, the program must proceed toward accreditation. • Specifically, an applicant must submit an acceptable self-study document and host an on-site evaluation within 2 years of the date of acceptance; failure to do so will result in termination of applicant status.

14. Self Study • In seeking accreditation, AUB SON conducted a self-study related to program quality and effectiveness. The process of self-analysis involved all faculty & resulted in the preparation of an analytic document that addressed all accreditation standards and key elements. • Program strengths, performance with respect to faculty and student achievements, areas for improvement, and plans to address continuous improvement were addressed. • Input solicited from COI; students, faculty, staff, alumni and major stakeholders.

15. Comprehensive On-Site Evaluation • The evaluation occurred over a 3-day period • Objectives: • To validate the findings and conclusions of the self-study document; • To collect information to be used by CCNE Board to assess compliance with CCNE accreditation standards; • To review the processes that program officials and faculty have established to ensure continued self-improvement for the program.

16. Action by the CCNE Board of Commissioners • Initial accreditation of the BSN and MSN programs at AUB granted in 2007 for the maximum term of five years and reaccreditation for 10 years in 2012. • The programs met all accreditation standards. • There were no compliance concerns with respect to the standards and key elements.

17. Strengths Academic programs: • SON established in 1905; has a long standing history in academic nursing education with national, regional, and international reputation. • Academic programs, BSN, RN-BSN, BS/BA-BSN & MSN; sound, research-based, and rigorous; benchmarked against leading programs in the USA. • All academic programs are registered in the Department of Education, State of New York, and follow the American Model of nursing education. • Interdisciplinary PhD in preparation.

18. School of Nursing • The curriculum is developed & revised to reflect expected student learning outcomes (SLO) that are consistent with professional nursing standards & guidelines and are congruent with the program’s mission, goals, & program expected outcomes.

19. School of Nursing Student Learning Outcomes include: • knowledge, • practice, • research, • communication, • leadership, • professionalism, • ethics, & • Multidisciplinary collaboration.

20. School of Nursing • Faculty roles in teaching, research, service, and practice are identified clearly and are congruent with the mission, goals, and expected outcomes of the program.

21. School of Nursing • Program outcomes reflect AACN (American Association of Colleges of Nursing) Essentials. • Course objectives/learning outcomes in line with program outcomes. • Teaching of nursing courses based on the NURSING PROCESS. • Nursing courses stress evidence-based practice & value knowledge derived from research.

22. School of Nursing Professional Nurses Practice guided by: • American Nurses Association (ANA) Practice Standards • The Codes of Ethics of ANA & International Council of Nurses (ICN) • Lebanese Nurses Practice Act (LNPA) and Code of Ethics

23. School of Nursing • The baccalaureate curriculum builds upon a foundation of the arts, sciences & humanities. • The curriculum of the Masters program focusses on advanced practice nursing; leadership and clinical specialization.

24. School of Nursing; Role of Faculty • Curriculum & teaching-learning practices are evaluated on a regular basis & foster ongoing improvement. • Comprehensive Evaluation Plan • Instructor Course Evaluations • Course Evaluation Summary Forms • Community of Interest Surveys: • Students feedback • Graduating students • Alumni • Employer, & • Faculty

25. School of Nursing; Role of Faculty • Clinical teaching-learning practices: • Maximizing use of simulation Centre • Matching teaching strategies with learning needs • Daily & weekly objectives • Student monitoring & support to meet objectives • Formative & summative evaluation • Students who have certain learning problems are counseled & given extra help

26. School of Nursing; Role of Faculty • Student evaluation Policies & Procedures • Standardized SON syllabus template, where grading criteria are outlined. • Objectives/outcomes: focus on learning outcomes • Student performance is evaluated by course objectives/outcomes • Program learning outcomes guide level and course objectives/outcomes

27. School of Nursing; Role of Faculty • Channeling and use of student feedback for program evaluation: • Representation on committees (academic/curriculum). • Feedback from surveys monitored for trends overtime and recommendations adopted accordingly. • Town meetings: academic and other concerns raised & addressed • Class meetings: courses discussed