Fresno State’s nursing programs receive accreditation after troubled year
Two of Fresno State’s nursing programs were granted accreditation this spring, the university announced Tuesday, after a troubling time where one program lost its accreditation and the other was found to have never been accredited at all.
Fresno State’s online mental health nurse practitioner program is now accredited through June 2030, and the nursing master’s degree program is accredited through 2025.
In fall 2018, students and alumni found out the one-year online mental health program had not been accredited since its inception nearly a decade earlier. The university said it was due to an administrative error.
Sixty students had graduated from the post-graduate certificate program since 2009, the university said.
Those students were given a five year grace period by the American Nurses Credentialing Center to re-earn their certificate from an accredited program. Fresno State offered free completion of their degree through CSU San Marcos, the university said in a news release.
Master’s degree program
Shortly after the online program’s problem surfaced, the nursing master’s degree program had its accreditation revoked in June 2019.
According to a report requested by The Bee, the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE) found that the master’s program could not demonstrate it had enough faculty to accomplish its outcomes, and could not show certain documents and publications were accurate.
“Following the loss of accreditation, the School of Nursing took immediate action to resolve the matter, including working closely with the University’s assessment coordinator and hiring an outside consultant to help facilitate the preparation of materials needed for a successful site review,” the university said in a news release.
The program did not accept students in fall 2019, but 22 of the 23 students continued on in hopes the program would earn retroactive accreditation. Those 22 students graduated this May, and 16 master’s students are enrolled for the 2020-2021 year, the university said.
Since its initial accreditation in 1968, about 1,500 students have graduated from the program.
Accreditation process
The accreditation came after the CCNE made site visits in September 2019 to three programs in the School of Nursing. The bachelor’s degree program, which was not in any danger, had its accreditation renewed through 2030.
Since the School of Nursing’s former doctoral program has ended, the new Independent Doctor of Nursing Practice program will undergo a site review in September, which is standard practice for all degree programs, the university said.
About 150 students graduate each year from Fresno State’s School of Nursing programs.
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This story was originally published June 9, 2020 at 5:52 PM.