ACEN accreditation perspectives: Distance education.

Many nursing programs implemented the use of distance education in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Faculty must consider the mission of the governing organization and the fiscal, physical, technological, and learning resources available while ensuring the quality of the education being provided when using any type of distance learning method of delivery. The purpose of this article is to discuss how selected 2017 ACEN Accreditation Standards and Criteria can assist the faculty in ensuring quality nursing education in distance education methods of delivery.

Responding to the pandemic: Nursing education and the ACEN.

The purpose of this article is to provide an overview of some of the ways in which nursing education programs and the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN) adapted to the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. Although the longer-term impacts of the pandemic cannot be known, it is clear that nurse educators rose to the challenge of educating nurses during a pandemic through rapid implementation of innovative teaching strategies and student support. The article also provides some guidance for ACEN-accredited nursing education programs regarding substantive changes that may be permanently implemented as a result of what programs learned during the pandemic.

International Nursing Program Accreditation.

The Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN) is committed to being a supportive partner in strengthening the quality of nursing education for all levels of nursing programs domestically and internationally. With a longstanding history of accreditation dating back 66 years, the ACEN accredited its first international program in 2004 adding international accreditation to its repertoire. Recognizing geographic, cultural, and national differences, the ACEN common core of Standards and Criteria equip faculty with autonomy to embrace unique attributes of their programs regardless of location, culture, and nationality. Further, the ACEN review process fosters self-evaluation, peer review, and the promotion of educational equity, access, and mobility. As a result, the number of international nursing programs pursuing and attaining accreditation with the ACEN has increased thus validating the inclusiveness and relevance of the ACEN Standards and Criteria. The purpose of this article is to highlight ways in which ACEN Standards and Criteria apply to domestic and international nursing programs.

Academic partnerships to increase nursing education capacity: centralized faculty resource and clinical placement centers.

The North Texas Consortium of Professional Nursing Programs and Practice Partners is a regional academic partnership of nursing education and practice organizational leaders working together to share innovative ideas and best practices and to improve efficiencies that impact nursing education. The region's 15 nursing schools produced 25% of the Texas graduates, or 1,782 graduates, in 2008-2009. Yet, 3,522 graduates are needed in 2013-2014 to meet the projected north Texas demand. Barriers to increasing enrollment and graduation numbers were the lack of sufficient faculty to meet demand and insufficient numbers of clinical placement sites. To increase the capacity for graduating the numbers of nurses needed, the region developed a three-pronged plan to overcome each of these barriers: expansion of partnership members and development of a regional computerized clinical placement center and faculty resource center. The academic partnership expanded its members to include the 15 schools of nursing, more than 50 hospitals, and the Dallas Fort Worth Hospital Council (DFWHC) Foundation for the purposes of governance of the two proposed computerized centers and strategic planning for increased capacity. The faculty resource center is a centralized, one-stop shop for those interested in teaching and those needing faculty. The Centralized Clinical Placement Center is expected to streamline the nursing student clinical placements process and monitor the numbers of students per site at a given time so as to ensure that placements are at capacity and that schools of nursing benefit fairly in placing students in specialty areas to meet course objectives.

Clinical evaluation and grading practices in schools of nursing: national survey findings part II.

To better understand how nurse educators evaluate and grade students' clinical practice, the Evaluation of Learning Advisory Council of the National League for Nursing conducted a survey of faculty (N = 1,573) in all types of prelicensure RN programs. This article describes the findings of that survey in relation to clinical evaluation and grading clinical practice. Nearly all faculty used a clinical evaluation tool to rate students' performance in the clinical setting (n = 1,534, 98 percent); most programs had the same basic tool in all courses, but modified to reflect the unique aspects of each course (n = 1,095, 70 percent). Faculty (n = 1,116, 83 percent) reported using pass/fail for grading in clinical courses rather than a letter or numerical grade.

Creating environments that foster academic integrity.

A number of studies related to academic dishonesty within the nursing student population have been published; however, little has been written in the nursing literature regarding academic integrity and means of promoting this value. In addition to the many short-term solutions to prevent cheating and dissuade academic misconduct that are offered, solutions that promote long-term affective changes underlying the acquisition of academic integrity are needed. This article provides a context for discussions related to academic integrity, explores issues facing faculty when dealing with this challenge, and offers short-term and long-term strategies for creating environments that foster academic integrity.