The National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission has announced that the NLNAC Board of Commissioners granted the Indiana University East School of Nursing Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) program continuing accreditation for eight years. The next re-accreditation visit is scheduled for spring 2017. The commissioners commented that one of the School of Nursing’s strengths is the significant involvement of nursing students in service to the community.

“Reaccreditation of our BSN program speaks highly of the program’s quality, curriculum standards, and student learning experiences. It is a stringent, voluntary process that involves review of our program by qualified peers who determine whether we are meeting the educational standards for post secondary education,” said Karen Clark, dean of the School of Nursing.

The NLNAC is a nationally recognized organization responsible for the specialized accreditation of post-secondary and graduate degree nursing education programs. According to the NLNAC, accreditation is a voluntary, self-regulatory process by which non-governmental associations recognize educational institutions or programs that have been found to meet or exceed standards and criteria for educational quality. Accreditation also assists in the further improvement of the institutions or programs as related to resources invested, processes followed, and results achieved.  The monitoring of certificate, diploma, and degree offerings is tied closely to state examination and licensing rules, and to the oversight of preparation for work in the profession.

“It is a high priority at IU East that all of our academic programs for which specialized accreditation exists receive that accreditation. We know our programs are of the highest quality; it is important that we get external and national validation of that fact. We also take seriously any suggestions that the visiting accreditation teams might have for improvements so that we can keep our programs at the leading edge of national trends in education,” said Larry Richards, executive vice chancellor for Academic Affairs at IU East.

In addition to nursing, IU East’s programs in business, education and social work are nationally accredited by their specialized accreditation associations. All of IU East’s programs are also accredited by the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Schools and Colleges.

For more information, contact the School of Nursing at (765) 973-8213 or visit online at www.iue.edu/nursing.