NLN Commission for Nursing Education Accreditation (CNEA) Earns Recommendation for U.S. Department of Education Recognition

Washington, DC — The NLN Commission for Nursing Education Accreditation (CNEA), which promotes excellence and integrity in nursing education globally, has just earned a recommendation from the National Advisory Committee on Institutional Quality and Integrity (NACIQI) for recognition by the U.S. Department of Education. The recommendation now goes to the office of the Education Secretary for review and approval within 90 days.

The NACIQI provides recommendations to the U.S. Secretary of Education regarding accrediting agencies that monitor the academic quality of postsecondary institutions and educational programs for federal purposes. This recommendation by NACIQI means that the NLN CNEA was considered fully compliant with meeting the regulations required for earning initial recognition. The scope of the NLN CNEA's accreditation activities include the pre-accreditation and accreditation of nursing education programs in the United States, which offer a certificate, diploma or degree at the practical/vocational, diploma, associate, baccalaureate, masters, and doctoral levels, including those programs offered via distance education.

"I am pleased that the NLN CNEA has taken a big step in gaining initial recognition by the Department of Education," said NLN CNEA Executive Director Judith Halstead, PhD, RN, FAAN, ANEF. "We are proud to have received this positive recommendation from the NACIQI and salute our commissioners, committee members and on-site program evaluators for their fine work in helping us achieve this goal. We look forward to hearing from the office of U.S. Department of Education Secretary DeVos on the final status in the next 90 days."

"This is such an important achievement in the relatively brief history of the NLN CNEA. We have come a long way since the accreditation division was started in 2013," said NLN CNEA Board of Commissioners Chair Cathleen Shultz, PhD, RN, CNE, FAAN, ANEF, Professor Emeritus at Harding University College of Nursing in Searcy, Arkansas. "To date, the NLN CNEA has pre-accredited or accredited 95 programs across 32 states and our impact on influencing quality nursing education continues to grow. We are proud that the NACIQI recommendation demonstrates official affirmation for the work we are doing to provide quality accreditation services to nursing programs across the country."

For more information about the NLN CNEA, visit www.NLN.org/CNEA.

About the National League for Nursing
Dedicated to excellence in nursing, the National League for Nursing is the premier organization for nurse faculty and leaders in nursing education. The NLN offers professional development, networking opportunities, testing services, nursing research grants, and public policy initiatives to its 40,000 individual and 1,200 institutional members, comprising nursing education programs across the spectrum of higher education and health care organizations. Learn more at NLN.org Events | News Release Archive | NLN Press | NLN Vision Series (Position Statements)

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