Position Statements

The ACEN is recognized by the U.S. Department of Education (ED) as a specialized accrediting agency for nursing education programs and is recognized as a programmatic accrediting organization by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA). The ACEN accredits nursing programs at all levels of nursing education from practical nursing to a clinical doctorate in nursing, including those offered via distance education.

As a recognized accrediting agency, the ACEN is responsible for overseeing the quality and outcomes of its accredited programs. The ACEN requires that programs monitor and report their program outcomes, including program completion, licensure/certification examination pass rates, and post-graduation job placement rates. Nursing education programs prepare graduates for nursing practice at the degree-level of the program offered. Program completion serves as a crucial indicator of program quality. Program completion rates reflect how effectively a program meets student learning needs and delivers what students need and expect in order to be awarded the desired certificate, diploma, or degree. Furthermore, timely completion of a nursing program demonstrates fiscal responsibility and contributes to healthcare quality by ensuring students can enter the nursing workforce within a reasonable timeframe.

The ACEN defines program completion as on-time completion. Measuring on-time program completion begins at the time the student enters the first nursing course and ends when the student is awarded the final nursing degree, certificate, or diploma. Once a student is accepted into a nursing program, the program is expected to invest the time and resources necessary for students to be able to complete the program within the allotted timeframe as advertised by the program.

The ACEN Board of Commissioners is aware that students may not be able to complete the program of study on-time for a variety of reasons that nursing faculty cannot control. For example, students may need to step-out of the program for a period of time for a family situation or health concern; however, this does not mean that programs should not set high expectations for their students to complete on time. Currently, the 2023 ACEN Standards and Criteria do not set a minimum expectation for program completion rates. Instead, nursing education programs are required to set their own Expected Level of Achievement (ELA) for on-time program completion. The nursing program’s ELA should be established based on the unique characteristics of the student populations they serve. The ELA should be reasonable, realistic, genuine, as well as reflective of a quality nursing education program. A quality nursing education program is one that meets the learning needs of students and prepares them for entry into practice in a timely manner.  

Although nursing programs may serve students who have challenges completing programs on time due to sociocultural, or other considerations, programs must ensure that they provide robust student services and support that will assist students to achieve on-time completion. A responsible nursing education program should be concerned about the academic capacity of the student to succeed in the program of study as well as the financial costs and time commitments students will expend in completing the program. Many nursing programs have initiated services and programs to support the student’s academic achievement; however, programs must also be mindful that if the student does not complete in a timely manner, they will be paying additional tuition and delaying graduation, which will have a direct impact on the student’s ability to repay any student loans and to enter the workforce, generate income, and alleviate the nursing shortage.  

Per ACEN Policy #14 Reporting Substantive Changes, programs must submit a substantive change report to the ACEN when their program completion rates fall a certain percentage below the program’s established ELA. Despite recent on-time completion rate averages reported to the ACEN above 65%, there are some ACEN-accredited programs that have set their ELAs below 20% with some ELAs as low as 10%. The ACEN is concerned that programs set low ELAs to ensure consistently meeting and/or exceeding the program’s ELA and to avoid submitting a substantive change report as required by policy. However, setting an ELA below 50% is not reflective of a quality nursing education program.

Nursing programs are reminded that ACEN policies are not punitive. Policy #14 Reporting Substantive Changes was established to ensure the ACEN is fulfilling its responsibilities as a recognized accrediting agency and to ensure that the ACEN and the Board of Commissioners remain informed about programs accredited by the ACEN. The purpose of reporting a decline in outcomes is to ensure that the nursing faculty engage in ongoing, purposeful, and meaningful program evaluation and program improvement. When a nursing program does not meet its program completion ELA and it is required to submit a substantive change report per Policy #14, it is an opportunity for the program to demonstrate its engagement in program evaluation and to provide the ACEN with information about how the program is using the data for program improvement. Although the Board of Commissioners may, by policy, authorize a focused visit for a decline in outcomes any such decision is made based on a comprehensive review of the program’s substantive change report and the program’s analysis of the data and the actions taken for program improvement.      

While the ACEN does not currently require programs to monitor and track the reasons students do not complete on-time or to track the program’s ultimate completion rate, it is recommended that programs track and analyze data related to why students are not completing on-time as well as tracking those students who ultimately complete the program of study. Tracking and analyzing the program’s completion data should be used to identify those factors that can be mitigated by faculty and/or institutional policies and practices as well as identifying student factors that faculty cannot control. Tracking the reasons why students do not complete on time (e.g., transfer to another program, withdrawal for an illness) provides contextual information that is useful for both the program and the ACEN when reviewing the program’s outcomes and/or a substantive change submission. Similarly, analyzing data on students who ultimately complete the program of study provides faculty with information that can be used for program improvement, and it provides contextual information for the ACEN when it reviews program outcomes and a substantive change submission.

In summary:

• Program completion is an important metric of program quality.
• Programs should establish program completion ELAs that are reflective of a quality program where the program’s goal is to ensure that the majority (at least 50%) of students can complete the program of study on-time.
• ACEN policies are not punitive and are part of ACEN’s due diligence to monitor program quality and outcomes.  
• Programs should ensure that they are engaging in program evaluation and that they are using data for program improvement.
• Programs should also monitor and track the reasons students do not complete on time; faculty should also consider monitoring and tracking students who ultimately complete the program within the timeframe allowed by the institution.