Frontier School of Midwifery and Family Nursing News

Frontier Nursing Service Quarterly Bulletin, Summer 2004 by Stone, Susan

Accreditation Preparation

The long awaited site visit from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) occurred July 25 through July 28, 2004. The purpose of this semiannual event was to conduct the final evaluation of our School to determine whether full accreditation in the SACSCOC would be granted.

The commission on Colleges for the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools is the regional body for the accreditation of higher education institutions in the Southern states (Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia) and Latin America that award associate, baccalaureate, master's or doctoral degrees. Accreditaion by the Commission on Colleges signifies that an institution has a purpose appropriate to higher education and has resources, programs, and services sufficient to accomplish and sustain that purpose. Accreditation indicates that an institution maintains clearly specified educational objectives that are consistent with its mission and appropriate to the degrees it offers, and that is successful in achieving its stated objectives.

SACS. Principles of Accreditation: Foundation for Quality Enhancement December 2001 www.sacscoc.org

The team who came to visit our School included Dr. Susan S. Gunby, Dean & Professor, Mercer University, Atlanta, Georgia; Dr. Gerard A. Dizinno, Assistant to the President for Planning & Institutional Research, St. Mary's University, San Antonio, Texas; Ms. Leonora (Lee) S. Horton, Program Director, Nurse-Midwifery Program, Medical University of South Carolina College of Nursing, Charleston, South Carolina; Ms. Jackie Hutcherson, Interim Director, Nurse Midwifery Education Program, East Carolina University School of Nursing, Greenville, North Carolina; Mr. Steve Lee, Vice-President for Business Affairs, University of Mobile, Alabama; Dr. Rose Y. Temple, President, Baptist Memorial College of Health Sciences, Memphis, Tennessee, and Dr. Ann B. Chard, Associate Executive Director, Commission on College, Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Decatur, Georgia.

The Team stayed at Wendover and visited the School during the day. They examined all areas of our School operations interviewing Board members (John Foley and Dr. Michael Carter), administration, faculty, staff and students. They toured the facility. At the conclusion of the visit, we held a meeting in the Mardi Cottage Classroom. All students, faculty, staff and Board member, Dr. Michael Carter, were present. Each team visitor gave a report on the specific areas they had examined. The conclusion was that we had met all the specified criteria and they had no recommendations. There was much cheering and clapping at the result. In fact, we even walked down to the Chapel and rang the bell so that all of Hyden would know we were celebrating.

The next step is for review to be presented to the Commission at its meeting on December 6,2004. The final decision will be made at that meeting. I want to extend my greatest appreciation to everyone who worked so hard to make this a successful visit.

The work is not finished yet. We are currently preparing our self-studies for the National League for Nursing Accreditation Commission (NLNAC) and the American College of Nurse-Midwives Division of Accreditation (ACNM DOA). These organizations will be doing focused reviews of our programs. A collaborative site visit is scheduled for October 4-6,2004. Two site visitors from NLNAC and three site visitors from ACNM DOA will be visiting. We are seeking NLN accreditation for our Master of Science in Nursing Degree, which will cover both tracks, the CNEP and CFNP. CNEP has been accredited by the ACNM since 1990; this is a scheduled re-accreditation site visit.

As part of ongoing efforts to make the accreditation process responsive to a broad range of constituents, the National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission invites third party comments on programs being reviewed for initial accreditation. This means that anyone who is reading this article is invited to submit any comments about the FSMFN Master of Science in Nursing Program. These comments may be submitted either directly to the National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission at 61 Broadway, 33rd Floor, New York, NY 10006 or they may be submitted directly to Dr. Susan Stone, President & Dean of FSMFN, 195 School Street, Hyden, Kentucky 41749. Any comments submitted directly to me will be shared with the program evaluators. We will also set aside time during the site visit for anyone who would like to come and meet with the site visitors to provide comments about the Master of Science in Nursing Program. The time for this meeting will be Tuesday afternoon October 5,2004, at 3 pm at the Morton Gill Building on campus. Thanks to everyone for all of their assistance and support as we go through this accreditation process. I know that the quality of the education that we provide at FSMFN is better than ever as a result of all of our work.