| Types of Accreditation | | | Definitions
Two types of accreditation are common, institutional and specialized.
Institutional Accreditation “evaluates the program of an institution and makes a determination of the institution as a whole" (Nash & Johnson, 1982, p. 1).
Specialized Accreditation “evaluates and accredits specialized programs of instruction within the institution" (Nash & Johnson, 1982, p. 1).
Stage 1 Accreditation/prior to 2005 known as Candidacy -- is a formative Accreditation review applied to new programs or to new partners during the first years of implementation of a program but before the first students graduate.
Stage 2 Accreditation – a process that builds onto Stage 1 Accreditation and occurs after new programs or new partners have graduated their first class. This stage is similar to Accreditation for established school(s) of nursing. This level of Accreditation – is given to those baccalaureate nursing programs that have been assessed by the Board of Accreditation to meet CASN’s predetermined standards of excellence in nursing education.
What is candidacy (1995 CASN Accreditation Program): what is Path A, Stage One (2005 CASN Accreditation Program)?
In the 1995 CASN Accreditation Program, candidacy is the term for a pre‑accreditation review that is applied to new programs or to new partners during the first years of implementation of a program. In the new 2005 CASN Accreditation Program, Path A, Stage One is the term for a pre-accreditation review recommended for new Schools of Nursing, new partnerships offering nursing education programs, or new nursing education programs. This path offers the opportunity for both a formative review (Stage 1 Accreditation) of the program or partnership during initial implementation, and a summative review (Stage 2 Accreditation) once the program has graduated students.
The purpose of a candidacy review (1995) or Path A review (2005) is to assess whether the program is developing according to plan and the CASN position statement on education, and whether it will eventually meet the accreditation standards.
What is Path B (2005 CASN Accreditation Program)?
In the new 2005 CASN Accreditation Program, Path B applies to existing School(s) of Nursing with ongoing nursing education program(s) which has/have graduates from the program. Typically, the School(s) of Nursing holds/hold current accreditation status from CASN. In Path B, there is one level of review, Accreditation. | | |
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