Ball State's School of Nursing has received full accreditation from the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE).

The School of Nursing has been accredited by the National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission (NLNAC) since 1968. The faculty, however, recently elected to move the school's accreditation affiliation to CCNE. The school will have dual accreditation until the current NLNAC accreditation expires in December.

Linda Siktberg, director of the School of Nursing, said the exit report from the site visit, conducted Oct. 12-14, was outstanding, containing no deficits or areas of weakness.

"The site visit validates the quality of our program," she said. "It was a very positive experience for the School of Nursing."

Marilyn Buck, associate dean of the College of Applied Sciences and Technology, said accrediting bodies have two tasks when they accredit a program. The first task is to make sure the program has met minimal standards. The second is to look for weaknesses or deficits in the program and to make recommendations that would improve the program and make it stronger.

"In the case of Ball State's nursing program, the CCNE couldn't find any areas of deficit, which is quite rare," Buck said. "This program does such a good job of constantly evaluating itself and making changes when necessary that there were no areas of weakness found by the accrediting body."

Siktberg agreed that the nursing faculty are responsive to the suggestions of students and clinical agencies to better serve their needs when those suggestions will strengthen the program. She also said the administration has been responsive to changes in nursing, pointing to the purchase of such high-tech equipment as SimMan, a lifelike high-fidelity simulator that allows student nurses to practice life-saving skills such as cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).

Siktberg noted that during the visit the CCNE representatives met with administrators, faculty, staff, students, alumni and clinical agencies to discuss the program. Prior to the visit, nursing faculty had submitted a self-study to the CCNE.

Siktberg said the nursing faculty appreciated the flexibility of the CCNE accreditation process, which acknowledges that each nursing program is unique and tailored to meet the needs of its students.

"There is more than one way to educate a nurse," she said. "There are different methodologies that can be incorporated to reach the same outcomes. We appreciate the flexibility and the chance to be creative."

The next CCNE reaccreditation visit will take place in 2010.

(Note to editors: For more information, contact Siktberg at (765) 285-8718 or lsiktber@bsu.edu or Buck at (765) 285-5955 or mbuck@bsu.edu.)