CCNE Releases New Standards

Can you name these ACEN accredited programs that go far and beyond the requirements? CCNE for the last 10 years have owned the lion's share of program accreditation for NP Master's programs making them the "de facto" commission in terms of program accreditation for many university-based nursing degrees. I'm not a Walden insider but that is precisely the reason why Walden supporters are waving that CNNE badge of accreditation in the face of those who doubt their academic standards

I'm not a Walden supporter... But they still have the "Defacto" badge regardless. I went to frontier. The only mark they don't make on this standard is in finding a clinical site. But their record of placement and follow up on sites are impeccable. They almost hand you the site. You just need to make the call. They do go through pretty serious exam proctoring and stringent grade requirements.

I'm not a Walden supporter... But they still have the "Defacto" badge regardless. I went to frontier. The only mark they don't make on this standard is in finding a clinical site. But their record of placement and follow up on sites are impeccable. They almost hand you the site. You just need to make the call. They do go through pretty serious exam proctoring and stringent grade requirements.

I was going to mention Frontier being ACEN accredited as well. I have heard they've hired a new clinical faculty member whose role will be to help students find preceptors however they are still in the very early stages of coordinating this and as of right now students still need to identify their own preceptors but it's hopeful for the future. I also like to add that even though students at Frontier are responsible for finding a preceptor Frontier provides a lot of resources and tips for identifying preceptors including a map of sites and preceptors they've used in the past and information about how those sites want students to contact them to start the credentialing process. They are have regional clinical faculty members who have connections with clinical sites in their region of the country that students are in contact with throughout the program. This regional clinical faculty member can help point students in the right direction with finding sites as well.

I was going to mention Frontier being ACEN accredited as well. I have heard they've hired a new clinical faculty member whose role will be to help students find preceptors however they are still in the very early stages of coordinating this and as of right now students still need to identify their own preceptors but it's hopeful for the future. I also like to add that even though students at Frontier are responsible for finding a preceptor Frontier provides a lot of resources and tips for identifying preceptors including a map of sites and preceptors they've used in the past and information about how those sites want students to contact them to start the credentialing process. They are have regional clinical faculty members who have connections with clinical sites in their region of the country that students are in contact with throughout the program. This regional clinical faculty member can help point students in the right direction with finding sites as well.

Exactly. I know it was tough finding preceptors and when it got down to the wire, my RCF managed to find me three in key spots. While I'll admit, the process can improve, I do think the school does well in finding appropriate sites and holds high standards to what we get out of them.

- Clinical practice experiences are provided for students in all programs, including those with distance education programs.

(CCNE, 2018)

I want to point out that "clinical practice experiences are provided for all students" never says who is responsible for providing the experience, just that the school must ensure they are provided. There is nothing in here (or the new CCNE accreditation standards) that prevents schools from continuing to require students to find their own clinical sites. These standards merely maintain that the school has a responsibility for determining the adequacy of the site once it is found. If you've seen anything different, I would love to hear about it but unfortunately a careful reading of these standards shows the CCNE is not interested in interrupting the status quo.

Step forward in the language, however, nowhere in the language does it state programs will be required to find clinical sites.

The simple fact that we are discussing and unable to agree on their meaning is what they want. Students fleetingly looking at the requirement may think it's good news. But if it were a true win, it would be worded thoroughly enough that this discussion of semantics would not exsist.

They are being purposefully vague so schools can weasel out of true responsibility.

Clarification from Lori Schroeder, CCNE Director of Accreditation Services for the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education.

"While programs (whether online or on-ground) may continue to allow students to identify appropriate clinical practice experiences and preceptors, ultimately it is the program's responsibility to ensure that students are able to get the clinical practice experiences they need to integrate new knowledge, demonstrate attainment of program outcomes, and complete the program."

So, schools can ask students to find clinical sites but in the event where a student cannot find a site schools are REQUIRED to find clinical placement for students. However, it is noted that the student MAY have to travel to the clinical site. And, according to the CCNE and Senior Policy Adviser at the NCSBN, Maureen Cahill, if a program is not placing their students then it is up to the students to report that program to the CCNE. STUDENTS MUST START REPORTING THESE PROGRAMS.

Nice about time. Hopefully it does follow through. Do we have a source of this. Almost shocked that np accreditation would actuallly so this after letting students flounder for so long

The simple fact that we are discussing and unable to agree on their meaning is what they want. Students fleetingly looking at the requirement may think it's good news. But if it were a true win, it would be worded thoroughly enough that this discussion of semantics would not exsist.

They are being purposefully vague so schools can weasel out of true responsibility.

Exactly! These standards are so vague and without any clear mechanism for enforcement. The holes in the language are big enough to drive or truck through (or a diploma mill, as it were). Even if school were threatened with withdrawal of accreditation, any lawyer worth his or her salt could easily make a case on the vagueness of the standard which could EASILY have been written to make clinical arrangements the responsibility of the school. Clearly, CCNE did not want to do so. I can only conclude that they want to talk out of both sides of their mouth.

Clarification from Lori Schroeder, CCNE Director of Accreditation Services for the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education.

"While programs (whether online or on-ground) may continue to allow students to identify appropriate clinical practice experiences and preceptors, ultimately it is the program's responsibility to ensure that students are able to get the clinical practice experiences they need to integrate new knowledge, demonstrate attainment of program outcomes, and complete the program."

Nothing in this non-binding quote precludes schools from refusing to allow students to continue in the program without securing their own clinical site. There are so many ways for a school to evade that responsibility. It also doesn't matter if student report schools since there is no clear obligation to provide clinical experiences there can be no breech of a assumed requirement. I maintain that it would have been quite easy for the CCNE to unambiguously write guidelines and standards to require schools to take on this responsibility. The mere fact that they did not should speak volumes. Why else would they encourage dissenters to complain directly to the organization who authored the sub-par standards?

TLDR version- higher education is a scam and most schools don't deserve the non profit or not for profit status they maintain.

Nail taxpayers once with Big loans then again when they evade a bunch of taxes