SHARDA SCHOOL OF NURSING SCIENCE AND RESEARCH

ASSIGNMENT ON:
ACCREDITATION STANDARDS FOR NURSING COLLEGES

SUBMITTED TO SUBMITTED BY

Dr.David Paul Ratna Minakshi gangwar

Associate Professor Msc 2nd year

SSNSR 2023000253
 INTRODUCTION

Accreditation is a formal recognition granted to an educational institution or program after an in-depth

Accredited programs must undergo periodic evaluations and reviews to maintain their status, ensuring that they
continuously meet industry standards and improve their quality of education.

The National League for Nursing (NLN) has a long and distinguished history of championing quality nursing
education to prepare a competent and skilled nursing workforce. Since 1952, the NLN has provided leadership
in establishing quality assurance and improvement processes in nursing education through the development of
professional accreditation standards, that when applied through the accreditation process, provide nursing
programs with a public mark of educational quality. With the establishment of the NLN Commission for
Nursing Education Accreditation (CNEA) as a programmatic accrediting body in September 2013, the NLN’s
commitment to setting standards that foster quality and excellence in nursing education continues through an
accreditation process that is infused with the NLN core values of caring, diversity, integrity, and excellence.

NLN CNEA Mission The National League for Nursing Commission for Nursing Education Accreditation (CNEA)
promotes excellence and integrity in nursing education globally through an accreditation process that respects the
diversity of program mission, curricula, students, and faculty; emphasizes a culture of continuous quality improvement;
and influences the preparation of a caring and competent nursing workforce. NLN CNEA Accreditation:

 A Mark of Quality and Excellence in Nursing Education February 2016 FINAL 2 NLN CNEA Accreditation
Process and NLN Core Values The NLN Commission for Nursing Education Accreditation implements its
mission and carries out its accreditation activities guided by the NLN’s core values – caring, diversity, integrity,
and excellence – as applied to the accreditation process.
 A culture of caring is demonstrated through an accreditation process that reflects a culture of advocacy for
quality assurance in nursing education, and is implemented in a collegial, collaborative context with
stakeholders. NLN CNEA staff, governance board, committee members, and onsite evaluation teams
demonstrate through their interactions with stakeholders that accreditation standards can be upheld in a rigorous,
yet caring and respectful manner.
 A culture of diversity is evidenced by a commitment to accredit all types of nursing programs from
practical/vocational education through clinical doctoral education. NLN CNEA’s accreditation standards reflect a
respect for the diversity of nursing programs’ mission, curricula, faculty, and students that can be found to exist
in nursing education nationally and internationally.
 A culture of integrity exists throughout NLN CNEA with a commitment to exercising personal, professional, and
organizational integrity throughout the accreditation process. This is evidenced, in part, by ensuring transparency
and ethical decision-making in all accreditation activities, and demonstrating open communication and timely
responsiveness to stakeholders.
 A culture of excellence is promoted through establishing clarity of purpose in the accreditation process with an
emphasis on fostering continuous quality improvement in nursing programs. The outcome of a culture of
excellence collaboratively instilled in nursing programs through participation in the accreditation process, is the
creation of a student-centered learning environment that prepares a caring and competent nursing workforce.

According to the US Department of Education (2012), accreditation is “the status of public recognition that an
accrediting agency grants to an educational institution or program that meets the agency’s standards and requirements (p.
4).” The Council of Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) expands upon this definition by describing the nature of the
accreditation process to be a collegial “standards-based, evidence-based, judgement-based, peer-based process” (Eaton,
2012, p.14). Public accountability and a goal of quality improvement are primary purposes of accreditation (Eaton, 2012).
 In 2004, the NLN released a seminal work, the NLN Hallmarks of Excellence in Nursing Education which were
created to provide schools of nursing with a framework they could use to continuously improve in their pursuit of
excellence in nursing education (Adams and Valiga, 2009). The Hallmarks of Excellence (2004) are relevant for
all types of institutions and programs and address quality indicators in the following components of nursing
education:
 1) students;
 2) faculty;
 3) curriculum;
 4) teaching/learning/evaluation strategies;
 5) resources;
 6) continuous quality improvement;
 7) innovation;
 8) educational research;
 9) environment; and
 10) leadership. From the original work on the Hallmarks of Excellence (2004), the Excellence in Nursing
Education Model (2006) was developed depicting eight core elements and the accompanying components
required to facilitate the achievement of program excellence: 
 1) clear program standards and hallmarks that raise expectations;
 2) well-prepared faculty;
 3) qualified students
 4) well-prepared educational administrators;
 5) evidence-based programs and teaching/evaluation methods
 6) quality and adequate resources;
 7) student-centered, interactive, innovative programs and curricula; and
 8) recognition of expertise. The Hallmarks of Excellence and the Excellence in Nursing Education Model are
further explicated in the NLN publication Achieving Excellence in Nursing Education (Adams and Valiga, 2009).
 Drawing upon the scholarly work of these three substantive NLN publications, the NLN CNEA Standards of
Accreditation provide a comprehensive framework for ensuring quality in nursing education programs across the
academic spectrum. The following paragraphs briefly address – from an organizational, professional, and
philosophical perspective – the significance of the standards’ elements in fostering quality in higher education,
and nursing education, in particular. The NLN CNEA Standards of Accreditation are unique in that, taken in their
totality, they create a culture and symphony of excellence committed to the formation of nursing professionals
rather than a listing of impersonal rules and data. These perspectives are integrated throughout the NLN CNEA
standards and quality indicators. The NLN CNEA Standards of Accreditation are applied to all types of nursing
programs, including distance education programs. 
 Standard I: Culture of Excellence – Program Outcomes Establishing clear program outcomes is an essential
first step in benchmarking and evaluating a nursing program’s success in achieving and sustaining a quality
educational environment for faculty and students. Program outcomes can be defined as the results achieved in
response to goals set by the program. For example, program goals and related outcomes may be developed
associated with faculty achievement; curriculum (end-of-program, level, or course outcomes); student learning
and achievement; and any other indicator of program quality that faculty determine to be important to the overall
success of the program. 
 Standard II: Culture of Integrity and Accountability – Mission, Governance, and Resources The
mission of the institution describes its purpose and provides a statement of how the institution views its
reason for existence and the students it seeks to serve. An institution’s mission will guide the goal
setting, decision-making, and actions that occur within the institution, articulating the values that the
institution holds as primary to educating students and supporting faculty and staff. The academic
nursing unit’s mission is aligned with the parent institution’s mission, and all nursing program goals,
 outcomes, and values espouse the institution’s mission, goals, and values, creating an organizational
climate that is congruent for students, faculty, and staff. The governance structures within the institution
and nursing units are designed to work collaboratively to support implementation of the institution and
program mission. Nursing faculty participate in and provide leadership at varying levels of governance
within the educational environment, considering the goals of the institution and nursing program (NLN,
2012). Student input and participation in institution and program governance is actively encouraged and
sought out by faculty and administration. This is accomplished in an environment that promotes
collegial dialogue, ethical behavior, and values development (NLN, 2004). Decisions regarding
institution and program resource allocation are made from a mission-focused perspective and with the
intent to insure adequate resources for the pursuit of quality within the nursing program (Mosely, 2009).
 Standard III: Culture of Excellence and Caring – Faculty Well-prepared faculty are essential to
fostering quality learning experiences in academic programs, as it is the faculty’s expertise and
creativity that determine the program’s potential for creating excellence in the learning environment
(Halstead, 2009). Defining the appropriate faculty complement (i.e., teachers, clinicians, and
researchers) for a nursing program is dependent upon the institution’s mission (NLN, 2004), and thus
will vary amongst institutions and programs. To maintain competence as a nurse educator, faculty
pursue continuous quality improvement in the role and commit to lifelong learning (NLN, 2005, 2012).
Faculty are provided with opportunities and resources by the institution and program to engage in
professional development and maintain role effectiveness.
 Standard IV: Culture of Excellence and Caring – Students A student-centered learning environment
is cultivated within the program and student diversity is recognized and embraced within a supportive
environment. Qualified students are admitted to the program and retained, and a record of students
successfully achieving the learning outcomes of the nursing program is apparent. A system of student
supporStandard V: Culture of Learning and Diversity – Curriculum and Evaluation Processes Faculty
hold the responsibility for ensuring that the program curricula is contemporary, evidence-based, and
flexible (Speakman, 2009). Built upon a foundation of professional standards, the curricula must be kept
up-to-date to reflect community and societal needs, and nursing and health care trends (NLN, 2012).
The input of communities of interest is solicited regularly to inform curricular decision-making and
revisions, and maintain the relevance of the curricula. The NLN’s evidence-based Education
Competencies Model (2010) provides a broad-based framework that can guide the development of
curricula of all types of programs, ranging from pre-licensure nursing education to practice doctorate
education. Focused on four general program outcomes related to enhancing human flourishing,
demonstrating sound nursing judgment, developing a professional identity, and exhibiting a spirit of
inquiry, the model further defines and elaborates upon six integrating concepts: context and
environment; knowledge and science; personal and professional development; quality and safety;
relationship-centered care; and teamwork (NLN, 2010).
 Each of these integrating concepts have been explicated into three forms of apprenticeships that are
necessary to the formation of a professional and assist learners to develop their nursing practice –
knowledge, practice, and ethical comportments – drawn from the work of Benner et al (2009). The NLN
Education Competencies Model is an academic model and useful guide to faculty who are designing and
revising curricula for all types of nursing programs. The teaching/learning/evaluation processes that are
implemented within the curricula are designed to facilitate “…students’ abilities to think critically,
reflect thoughtfully, and provide culturally-sensitive, evidence-based nursing care to diverse
populations” (NLN, 2009, p. 153).
 The teaching/learning/evaluation strategies are varied, innovative, evidence-based, and facilitate
interaction between faculty, students, and others involved in the teaching-learning process (NLN,
2004).t exists within the institution and nursing unit with a goal of meeting individualized learning
needs and fostering student success. The learning environment is created to facilitate the professional
development of students and socialize them to the nursing role for which they are being prepared (NLN,
  The NLN CNEA five Standards of Accreditation provide a national and global quality assurance
framework through which nursing programs of all types, including distance education programs, can act
to implement and achieve excellence in nursing education.
 CONCLUSION

Accreditation plays a critical role in nursing education, ensuring that programs meet the highest standards of
quality and preparing students for successful careers in healthcare. Whether you’re pursuing a nursing course
in Kolkata or considering studying elsewhere, enrolling in an accredited program is essential for securing your
future as a qualified nurse.
Accredited nursing programs offer numerous benefits, from eligibility for licensure to better job prospects and
access to financial aid. As the healthcare industry continues to evolve, accreditation ensures that students are
receiving the best possible education, preparing them to meet the challenges of modern nursing and deliver
high-quality patient care.

REFERENCES

 https://ecaqa.org/doxs/ENG/Standards%20for%20Nursing%20Programme%20Accreditaion%20
-%20ECAQA%202017.pdf
 https://www.nln.org/docs/default-source/uploadedfiles/accreditation-services/cnea-standards-
final-february-201613f2bf5c78366c709642ff00005f0421.pdf
 Eaton, J. S. (2012). An overview of U. S. accreditation. Washington, DC: Council for Higher
Education Accreditation.
 Halstead, J. A. (2009). Well-prepared faculty: Needed to achieve excellence in nursing education.
In Adams, M. & Valiga, T. (Eds.), Achieving excellence in nursing education (pp. 29-42).