Tanner, AL – Calhoun nursing students would be assured to know that their program is reviewed and accredited on a regular basis. The most recent by The Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN) concluded in February.
Sitting down with the nursing chair, Dr. Lynn Hogan, she stated “I feel like we’ve been preparing for this visit for eight-years, since our last visit”.
What does it take to get prepared? The nursing faculty evaluate the nursing data in a “Systematic Evaluation Plan” starting one-year out. This data encompasses three years of information. Dr. Hogan states, “if you didn’t document it, you didn’t do it.”
Identifying areas that need development is “the whole point” when it comes to the ACEN visit. Each area identified is then presented at faculty meetings to improve the program and the recording of the information.
“Every time a change is made within the program, a self-study report must be submitted. Depending on the size of the change will dictate the level of ACEN visit.”
When the Huntsville campus nursing program was added, ACEN made a special visit to evaluate faculty and resources to ensure everything available would support the program requirements.
Now the Calhoun Nursing Program can move forward. This past visit “Ensures we are meeting standards and have prepared and effective graduates that go on to be good nurses,” Hogan said.
A highlight of the visit was during the community meeting, in which no current students were allowed to attend, where potential employees identified Calhoun being the school they look for when hiring new nurses.
“That makes us very proud of our program, and of our students. For employers to affirm [a community college’s capabilities] is very rewarding,” Hogan said.