NLN Celebrates 20 Years of the Certified Nurse Educator (CNE®) Credential

NLN Celebrates 20 Years of the Certified Nurse Educator (CNE®) Credential

Over 18,000 Nurse Educators Have Earned the Coveted Designation for the Specialized Advanced Practice Role

Washington, DC – As the National League for Nursing today celebrates the milestone 20^th anniversary of the CNE®, there have been more than 18,000 Certified Nurse Educators since the program was launched at the NLN Education Summit in 2005. These are academic nurse educators who have passed one of the three academic nurse educator credentialing exams, which are written and administered through the NLN Certification Division.

The then-new certification formalized and honored the key role that academic nurse educators play in the preparation of the nation’s nursing workforce. They work across the spectrum of higher education and in affiliated health and hospital systems throughout the U.S. and across the world. In the past year alone, more than 900 nurse educators took the CNE® exam, joining the ranks of faculty who practice to the full scope of the role.

Brenda Morris, EdD, RN, CNE, chair of the NLN Certification Board of Commissioners, took note of other important aspects of the program’s growth, offering praise to retiring Senior Director of Credentialing Larry Simmons. “With Larry at the helm for the past 13 years, we have been able to expand CNE to an international credential through the introduction of live-proctored online testing that supplements in-person testing. In addition, he has overseen the development of more targeted offshoots of the original CNE credential. The National League for Nursing and nursing education community are deeply grateful to Larry for his outstanding service to nursing education.”

The NLN Certification Division now offers nurse educators the opportunity to earn one or more of three distinct certifications, highlighting instructional excellence in different educational settings and/or at different stages of a career in nursing education. A fourth certification is being developed with plans to launch in 2026:

• Certified Nurse Educator (CNE®): Created in 2005
• Certified Academic Clinical Nurse Educator (CNE®cl): Created in 2019 to recognize academic clinical nurse educators, preceptors, adjuncts, and anyone holding a title/position responsible for students’ clinical instruction 
• Certified Novice Nurse Educator (CNE®n): Created in 2021 to validate the knowledge of new faculty in demonstrating their early mastery of the role; for academic nurse educators with up to three years of experience
• And currently in development — the new Certified Practical/Vocational Nurse Educator (CNE®pv): Designed to recognize academic nurse educators who teach exclusively in programs and settings that prepare practical and vocational nurses
  

NLN President and CEO Beverly Malone, PhD, RN, FAAN, said, “The CNE program’s evolution tells a remarkable story, speaking to the appeal within nursing education of this distinctive badge of professional excellence. CNE certification also provides public recognition of the advanced academic degree and mastery of competencies required of all nurse educators.”

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