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NP Program Introduction

Nurse Practitioner Program Accreditation

CASN’s Nurse Practitioner (NP) Program1 Accreditation sets a national and international benchmark for nursing excellence. Through rigorous, peer-led evaluations, it strengthens curriculum quality, supports safe clinical practice, and enhances public trust. It also drives program growth, attracts top-tier applicants, and opens doors for graduates pursuing NP roles in Canada and the U.S.—while reinforcing the credibility of the NP profession.

Set the stage for long-term improvements

Canadian Association of Schools of Nursing (CASN) Accreditation provides a rigorous evaluation by highly skilled and accomplished nurse practitioners (NPs) from a well-established and reputable national accreditation bureau. CASN’s NP Program Accreditation helps NP programs ensure continuous monitoring and improvement that drives both enrollment from high-quality applicants and increased public confidence and support.

Expert-reviewed. Practice-ready. CASN sets the NP standard.

CASN’s NP Program Accreditation is the only approved program in Canada reviewed exclusively by NP educators, academics, and practitioners. This peer-led evaluation ensures comprehensive oversight of curriculum, scholarship, and resources—preparing graduates for safe, effective clinical practice while upholding the credibility and reputation of the NP profession.

Excellence in Education, Across Borders

CASN Accreditation is globally respected for its rigorous standards and commitment to nursing excellence—an essential credential for graduates pursuing NP roles in the U.S., where it’s recognized by leading institutions such as the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE).

Do you have a NP Program?

1 CASN defines a “Nurse Practitioner Program” as a graduate-level education pathway specifically designed to prepare registered nurses for licensure and practice as Nurse Practitioners. These programs focus solely on the NP role, which is one distinct category within advanced practice nursing.

We would be delighted to help you determine if CASN NP Program Accreditation is right for you. Please contact Layal Bou Abdo, Managing Director, Accreditation and Evaluation by e-mail at lbou-abdo@casn.ca.

Program Benefits

Benefits of CASN PN Program Accreditation

  1. Program quality enhancement to national standards
    • Approval from an advisory committee of NP program experts.
    • More than regulatory approval. Meets national benchmarks.
    • Updates based on evolving health/cultural landscape.
  2. Evaluation, affirmation, and constructive feedback from NP experts
    • What is done well. Why it is important. What can be improved.
    • Quality enhancing processes, approaches, and resources.
    • Evidence-based requests for greater support.
  3. Membership in an elite national accreditation program
    • Benefits, recognition, status, access to a national network.
    • National and international interprofessional collaboration.
    • Continuous monitoring and improvement.
  4. Optimized program outcomes
    • Increased enrollment of high-quality students.
    • Public confidence, support, and funding.
    • Graduates who are more competent, confident, safe, and retainable.

The Value of Accreditation

Achieving Eminence through Excellence

Benefits of CASN Program Accreditation

  • Enhances program quality
  • Promotes national standards
  • Attracts top students
  • Leverages requests for greater support
  • Strengthens curricular decisions
  • Thoughtful and constructive feedback
  • Fosters faculty reflection and analysis
  • Optimizes student outcomes
  • Provides recognition for your hard work and dedications

Looking for more information?
The Value of Accreditation

Visit the Value of Accreditation to learn about the benefits of CASN Program Accreditation.

Learn the Value of Accreditation
Testimonials

Hear directly from the educators and institutions who trust CASN Accreditation to elevate the quality of nursing education across Canada.

What Our Clients Say

How Does the Program Work?

The CASN NP Accreditation Program take approximately two (2) years to complete, and uses a rigorous, bilingual, peer-reviewed assessment process that follows these steps:

  1. Apply for your accreditation review
    • Application due 1-year prior to review
  2. CASN schedules a date and review team
  3. Prepare your self-study reports
    • Approx. duration: 6 months
  4. Pay your accreditation fee
  5. Prepare your visit schedule
    • Approx. duration: 1 month
  6. CASN holds a virtual pre-review meeting
    • Approx. duration: 1.5 hours
  7. CASN conducts the on-site or virtual visit with you
    • Approx. duration: 5 days
  8. CASN sends you the reviewer report
    • Approx. duration: 3 weeks after the visit
  9. Prepare your school response
    • Approx. duration: 1 month after the visit
  10. Receive your accreditation decision from the CASN Accreditation Bureau
    • Approx. wait time: 3 months

How Much Does CASN Accreditation Cost?

Accreditation fees are set by the CASN Board of Directors and approved by CASN Council. The exact cost is determined at the time of application based on the scope of the review. A rationale for the fees is provided, and schools may appeal if needed.

  • Accreditation Review Application Fee: $550 CAD (due one year prior to review)
  • Accreditation Fee: $7,050 CAD

Fees are for CASN member schools, in CAD, and are subject to change. They are based on one program within a single educational unit conducted in a virtual format. Non-member schools pay an additional accreditation support fee.

For in-person visits, schools are responsible for travel, accommodation, and meal expenses for the review team.

Schools may choose to accredit multiple programs (e.g., BScN, PN, NP, or bridging programs) at the same time, which may reduce overall costs. Fees for international schools are negotiated and outlined in a memorandum of understanding.

For detailed information, please contact Layal Bou Abdo, Managing Director, Accreditation and Evaluation by e-mail at lbou-abdo@casn.ca.

Accredited NP Programs

Accredited Canadian Nurse Practitioner (NP) Education Programs

Only Nurse Practitioner Programs successful in achieving accreditation status from the NP-CASN Accreditation Bureau (NP-CAB), 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 term without written CASN approval will result in legal action.

Looking for CASN Accredited NP programs?

CASN Accredited Programs Directory

Visit the CASN Accredited Programs Directory to identify Nurse Practitioner (NP) programs are currently accredited by the NP CASN Accreditation Bureau (NP-CAB).

Find Accredited Programs

Is it Time to Get Accredited?

Accreditation Excellence

Let’s talk about your school, your students, where you are in terms of accreditation, and how we can work together to help your program stand out from the crowd!

Call 613-235-3150 x 162 or email Layal Bou Abdo <lbou-abdo@casn.ca> today!

Layal is CASN’s very knowledgeable and helpful Managing Director of Accreditation.

 

Application Process

Public and private schools that offer practical nursing program(s) who wish to have their program(s) reviewed must complete an application form that can be submitted electronically to the CASN national office. This program information is provided by the accreditation program staff to the reviewer team and includes relevant information such as the name of the school, the name of the organization granting the diploma, number of sites and other information about the special features of the program etc.

Download the NP Application Form

NP Program Background

CASN NP Accreditation Program Background

The Canadian Association of Schools of Nursing is the national accrediting body for nursing education in Canada. In 1987, the organization accredited its first undergraduate program and today, the accreditation of nursing education programs in Canada has become a core function of CASN accrediting graduate-level nurse practitioner programs.

Accreditation promotes excellence and is recognized worldwide as an important, objective method to assess professional education programs. Accreditation identifies strengths and opportunities for improvement that can guide decision making. The process provides administrators and faculty with information regarding areas that require development, modification and/or resources.

The program of accreditation sets forth overarching quality dimensions, standards, descriptors, and key elements against which nursing programs and their institutional units are assessed while also incorporating flexibility regarding the organizational structure and curriculum. This flexibility enables programs to be autonomous in their academic perspectives and responsive to their particular regional, social, professional, and institutional contexts.

The CASN accreditation program is built on the original philosophy and approach of previous programs. It undergoes regular review and change. This is consistent with a constant quality improvement approach. Recent changes to the accreditation program accommodate evolution of distance education, collaborative partnerships and new program models within a new framework and with expanded standards. The following table identifies some of CASN accreditation’s milestone dates.

Key NP Accreditation Program Milestones

  • 1987 – CASN institutes a national, voluntary accreditation process, supported by all members.
  • 1994 – CASN becomes a co-founder of the Association of Accrediting Agencies of Canada, a national association representing accrediting bodies of over 20 professions and other accrediting organizations.
  • 2018 – CASN begins piloting a nurse practitioner accreditation program.
  • 2019 – CASN completes the pilot nurse practitioner accreditation reviews and assembles a Nurse Practitioner-CASN Accreditation Bureau to make decisions about the pilot reviews.
  • 2020 – CASN evaluates the nurse practitioner accreditation program.

NP-CASN Accreditation Bureau

The NP-CASN Accreditation Bureau (NP-CAB) is an independent decision-making body for CASN’s accreditation reviews. It is composed of experienced NP nursing faculty from across the country.

Looking for More Information?

Download your copy of the NP Program Brochure.

For more information on our accreditation program, please contact Layal Bou Abdo <lbou-abdo@casn.ca>.

 

Standards and Framework

Accreditation Nurse Practitioner Program Standards and Framework

The CASN accreditation program for nurse practitioner programs of nursing is characterized by the following:

  • It is guided by core values and fundamental principles.
  • Quality dimensions provide overarching quality guidelines for accreditation standards, their descriptors, and key elements.
  • The standards are divided into two sets; one set applies to the school of nursing itself, referred to as the educational unit, and the other applies to the program of nursing, referred to as the education program.
  • The unit of an accreditation review is a single nurse practitioner nursing education program, assessed using the education program standards, and a single educational unit delivering the program, assessed using the educational unit standards.
  • Educational units and their nurse practitioner programs undergoing an accreditation review carry out a self-study against the key elements of the standards and provide evidence to demonstrate how they are meeting the standards.
  • Peer reviewers conduct an on-site or virtual visit and collect evidence through interviews, a review of documents, and observations to validate the self-study report.
  • The Nurse Practitioner CASN Accreditation Bureau (NP-CAB) is the decision-making body that determines the accreditation status and terms of the educational unit and education program under review. It functions independently and at arms length from the CASN Board of Directors and the CASN Council.

Core Values

Values underpinning CASN’s accreditation programs guide the review process itself and all those involved in the implementation of the accreditation programs, including the CASN Board of Directors, reviewers, members of the CASN accreditation bureaus, the accreditation advisory committees, and accreditation staff.

Download the Accreditation Nurse Practitioner Program Standards and Framework

Reviewers for NP Programs

Review Teams

An accreditation review includes an accreditation (on-site or virtual) visit conducted by a team of peer reviewers. The team is led by a team leader who is an experienced reviewer and acts as a first among equals. The number of reviewers on a team depends on the number of educational units and nursing education programs being assessed.

Role of Reviewers

Reviewers are critical to the success and credibility of the accreditation program. They collect and validate data assessing the educational unit and nursing education programs against the CASN Accreditation Standards and provide the CASN Accreditation Bureau with a written report of their findings. Reviewers also provide an oral report of their findings to the school being reviewed at the end of their accreditation visit. CASN reviewers are experienced educators, recommended by the heads of their respective school, and undergo CASN reviewer training. They represent CASN while participating in the accreditation process and sign a form guaranteeing their commitment to the accreditation policies and procedures, including professional and ethical conduct, confidentiality, and respect for the intellectual property of the program.

Selection of Reviewers

CASN solicits nomination of reviewers annually to maintain a pool of qualified, trained, anglophone and francophone reviewers. 

Looking for more information?

Accreditation Reviewers

Our dedicated reviewers play a vital role in upholding the quality and integrity of CASN’s accreditation programs.

Become a Reviewer