SUMMARY OF COMMISSION ACTION
Pratt Community College
Pratt, Kansas
Program Type: Associate
This is a summary of the action taken by the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN) at its meeting on July 9-10, 2015.
The Board of Commissioners voted to deny continuing accreditation to the associate nursing program. This decision is based on the ACEN policy that continuing accreditation is denied to programs on warning that are found to be in continued non-compliance with any Accreditation Standard.
Evidence of Non-Compliance by Accreditation Standard and Criterion
Standard 2 Faculty and Staff, Criteria 2.2, 2.4, and 2.5
- A minimum of 50% of the part-time faculty are not credentialed with a graduate degree with a major in nursing.
- There is a lack of evidence that preceptors are academically and experientially qualified, oriented, mentored, and monitored and have clearly documented roles and responsibilities.
- There is a lack of evidence that the number of full-time faculty is sufficient for the achievement of the student learning outcomes and program outcomes.
Standard 3 Students, Criteria 3.2, 3.3, and 3.4
- There is a lack of evidence that public information is accurate, clear, consistent, and accessible, including the program’s accreditation status.
- There is a lack of evidence that changes in policies, procedures, and program information are clearly and consistently communicated to the students in a timely manner.
- There is a lack of evidence that student services are commensurate with the needs of nursing students, including those receiving instruction using alternative methods of delivery and those at all locations.
Standard 4 Curriculum, Criteria 4.2, 4.3, 4.7, 4.9, and 4.12
- There is a lack of evidence that the student learning outcomes are used to organize the curriculum, guide the delivery of instruction, direct learning activities, and evaluate student progress.
- There is a lack of evidence that the faculty regularly review the curriculum for rigor and currency.
- There is a lack of evidence that evaluation methodologies reflect established professional and practice competencies and measure the achievement of the student learning outcomes.
- There is a lack of evidence that practice learning environments support the achievement of the student learning outcomes and program outcomes.
- There is a lack of evidence that learning activities, instructional materials, and evaluation methods are appropriate for all delivery formats and consistent with the student learning outcomes.
Standard 6 Outcomes, Criteria 6.1, 6.2, 6.3, 6.4.1, 6.4.3, and 6.4.4
- There is a lack of evidence that the systematic plan for evaluation of the nursing education unit emphasizes the ongoing assessment and evaluation of the student learning outcomes, the program outcomes, and the role-specific graduate competencies.
- There is a lack of evidence that evaluation findings are aggregated, trended, and sufficient to inform program decision-making for the maintenance and improvement of the student learning outcomes.
- There is a lack of evidence that evaluation findings are shared with the communities of interest and consistent documentation is maintained.
- The program’s three-year mean for the licensure examination pass rate has not been at or above the national mean for the same three-year period.
- The expected level of achievement for graduate satisfaction has not been consistently met.
- There is a lack of evidence that graduate satisfaction has been assessed in a systematic and ongoing manner
- The expected level of achievement for employer satisfaction has not been consistently met.
- There is a lack of evidence that employer satisfaction has been assessed in a systematic and ongoing manner.
The associate program has the right to forward comments regarding the Commission decision to the ACEN by September 2, 2015. The ACEN will forward to the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Education any comments submitted by the associate nursing program.