College of Nursing and Health Professions receives national program accreditation

Jan. 10, 2005--The College of Nursing and Health Professions at Arkansas State University has 13 degree programs that hold national individual program accreditation.

Accreditation signifies that each program has met national standards to prepare graduates to be effective contemporary practitioners. The accrediting agency defines the nature of the practice and determines practice expectations and demands placed on the students.

Recently, the National League for Nursing Accreditation Commission gave the maximum re-accreditation award of eight years to all programs in the nursing department. Programs in the department include the Associate of Applied Science in Nursing, the Bachelor of Science in Nursing and the Master of Science in Nursing.

The Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education gave the Master in Physical Therapy degree its maximum award of 10 years. The Physical Therapist Assistant Program was previously awarded accreditation from April 2002 until June 2012.

The Joint Review Committee on Education in Radiologic Technology awarded accreditation until Fall 2011 for the radiation therapy program. That group also reviews the Radiologic Technology program (accredited until 2006) and the Diagnostic Medical Sonography program (pending decision from April 2004 review). 

The Council on Social Work Education awarded accreditation to the Department of Social Work through June 2010. The Council on Academic Accreditation of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association gave the maximum award of eight years to the masters program in communication disorders.

The National Accrediting Agency for Clinical Laboratory Sciences awarded the Associate of Applied Science and the Bachelor of Science program accreditation until October 2008. The Council on Accreditation in Nurse Anesthesia will conduct its first accreditation site visit after the program graduates its first class students in May 2005.

As part of the approval process, programs undergo a comprehensive external review. This requires the development of large volumes of documentation written to specific criteria, on site visits by a team of external reviewers and a decision by a national commission of reviewers. 

For more information on program accreditation, please contact Susan Hanrahan, Dean of the College of Nursing and Health Professions, at (870) 972-3112.
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