Purpose of the Accreditation of Schools of Nursing · To promote and support the ongoing development of baccalaureate and graduate nursing programs in CASN member institutions through a process of external peer review.· To recognize programs that have been reviewed and judged to have met specified standards.
Definition of Accreditation
Accreditation involves an objective method of assessment through a third party, peer review of an institution’s and program’s structures, processes and outcomes in terms of strengths, vulnerabilities and opportunities for improvement. An institution that has sought and received accreditation of its program(s) by an official accrediting agency provides the public with a measure of assurance of the quality, outcomes, and value of its program(s).
Accreditation and Approval
It is important here to distinguish between accreditation and approval of nursing programs. Approval is concerned with protection of public interests by ensuring that the program prepares students to meet the entry to practice requirements established by the regulatory body in the school’s jurisdictional area. Approval is compulsory. Accreditation promotes quality in nursing education standards and is national in scope. It is concerned with the evaluation of educational units and educational programs in relation to standards of excellence. Excellence in health professional education incorporates expectations that graduates will be well prepared to meet the requirements determined by the professional and regulatory associations. Some jurisdictions in Canada have chosen to use the accredited status of a nursing program as the basis for approval. In others, CASN accreditation is integrated with the regulatory body approval assessment in a blended process. Finally, there are jurisdictions where accreditation is voluntary and separate from the approval process. Most schools of nursing in Canada currently hold CASN accreditation status. For specific information about individual programs, refer to the List of Accredited Programs (below).Accreditation of International Nursing ProgramsCASN has a pilot project in which it is providing accreditation reviews to selected international schools. Accredited Programs The following schools have baccalaureate nursing programs with CURRENT accredited status. Only nursing programs successful in achieving accreditation status from the CASN Accreditation Bureau and within the term limit of the accreditation status granted are eligible to state that they are a “CASN accredited program". Any other use of the latter terms without written CASN approval will result in legal action. CASN’s accreditation program accredits the institutional unit as a whole separately from the specialized programs supported by the unit. The following is a list of accredited units and their programs as of June 30 2011. This list is updated on a constant basis.
Canadian Programs
1. Alberta
University Baccalaureate Nursing Programs A - University of Calgary University and College Collaborative Baccalaureate Nursing Programs A - University of Calgary and Medicine Hat College
2. British Columbia
University and College Baccalaureate Nursing Programs A - Kwantlen Polytechnic University
A -Trinity Western University
A - University of British Columbia
A - Douglas College Collaborative for Academic Education in Nursing (CAEN) A - University of British Columbia Okanagan
A - Thompson Rivers University
A - Vancouver Island University with North Island College
A - University of Victoria with Aurora College, Camosun College, College of the Rockies and Selkirk College 3. Ontario
University of Baccalaureate Nursing Programs A - Brock University
A - Lakehead University
A - Université Laurentienne, French Program
A - Laurentian University, English Program
A - McMaster University
A - Queen’s University
A - Ryerson University
A - University of Ottawa
A - University of Toronto
A - University of Western Ontario
A - University of Windsor University and College Collaborative Baccalaureate Nursing Programs A - Brock University with Loyalist College
A - Lakehead University with Confederation College
A - Laurentian University, Northern College, Cambrian College and Sault College
A - Laurentian University and St. Lawrence College of Applied Arts and Technology
C - Laurentian University with Collège Boréal
A - Nipissing University with Canadore College
A - McMaster University, Mohawk College and Conestoga College
A - Ryerson University, Centennial College and George Brown College
A - Trent University with Fleming College
A - Humber College with University of New Brunswick
A - University of Ontario Institute of Technology with Durham College
A - University of Ottawa, Algonquin College and La Cité collégiale
A - University of Western Ontario with Fanshawe College
A - University of Windsor, Lambton College and St. Clair College
A - York University, Georgian College and Seneca College 4. New Brunswick
University Baccalaureate Nursing Programs A - Université de Moncton
A - University of New Brunswick University and College Collaborative Baccalaureate Nursing Programs A - University of New Brunswick with Humber College 5. Newfoundland and Labrador
University Baccalaureate Nursing Programs A - Memorial University Collaborative Baccalaureate Nursing Program A - Memorial University with the Centre for Nursing Studies and Western Regional School of Nursing 6. North West Territories
Collaborative for Academic Education in Nursing (CAEN) A - Aurora College with University of Victoria 7. Nova Scotia
University Baccalaureate Nursing Programs A - Cape Breton University
A - Dalhousie University
A - St. Francis Xavier University Collaborative Baccalaureate Nursing Programs A - St. Francis Xavier with Cape Breton University, School of Education, Health and Wellness 8. Prince Edward Island
University Baccalaureate Nursing Programs A - University of Prince Edward Island 9. Quebec
University Baccalaureate Nursing Programs A - McGill University
A - Université Laval
A - Université de Montréal
A - Université du Québec en Outaouais
A - Université de Sherbrooke 10. Saskatchewan
Nursing Education Programs
A - University of Saskatchewan and Saskatchewan Institute of Applied Science and Technology
International ProgramsCollaborative Baccalaureate Nursing ProgramsA-University of Calgary – Qatar Nursing Program |