Nurse Educator Certificate Program

The Canadian Nurse Educator Certificate Program fosters excellence in the academic nurse educator role and provides recognition and merit for the specialized knowledge, expertise, and competencies of this role in Canada.

The aim of the program is to foster excellence in the academic nurse educator role and to provide recognition and merit for the specialized knowledge, expertise, and competencies of this role in Canada. Upon successful completion of all three modules, participants will be prepared to write the comprehensive final exam. Participants who are successful on the comprehensive final exam are awarded the designation Canadian Certified Nurse Educator (CCNE). The CCNE is an important marker of professional excellence for nurse educators in Canada. The CCNE certification exam entitles the successful exam writers to the right to use the CCNE professional designation for 5 years.

The program is designed for the following participants:

  • nurse educators teaching in nursing programs (LPN, RPN, or RN programs)
  • clinical nurse educators
  • graduate students interested in an academic career

Participants must be a registered nurse in their jurisdiction. A graduate degree in nursing is recommended but not required.


The program is held online via Zoom and Moodle.

  • Participation in the live module webinars.
  • Module discussion forums.
  • Submission of an electronic portfolio.
  • Successful completion of the final online examination.

Please note that to complete the course requirements, you will require access to an online academic library system to retrieve required course readings.

Cost per Module

  • $500 per module for participants from CASN member schools.
  • $550 per module for non-member participants.

Registration includes the following:

  • Four 2-hour live webinars.
  • Instruction from, correspondence with, and support from a highly qualified nurse educator.
  • Discussion forums.
  • Final online exam.
  • Certificates of successful completion.

Please note that the course is offered in English, and registration is limited. The registration fee does not include the cost of the required course text. Participants are responsible for purchasing the required text.

Page-Cutrara, K., & Bradley, P. (Eds.). (2020). The Role of the Nurse Educator in Canada. Canadian Association of Schools of Nursing.

Dr. Shelley Cobbett (she/her), RN BN GnT, MN EdD, has been a nurse educator for over 37 years. She began her nursing career as a diploma prepared RN in 1984, with staff nurse experience in the ER, pediatrics, and maternal child nursing. She then went on to earn a BN (1988) and MN (1995) from Dalhousie University and completed a Gerontology Diploma from Mount St Vincent University (1991). Her doctoral studies in education focused on curriculum development, implementation in the online and face-to-face environment, and program evaluation. She was a past recipient of CASN’s Excellence in Nursing Education Award as well as the Change One Thing Challenge Award for creative teaching methodologies. Most of her research for the past 20 years has been related to the scholarship of teaching and learning, face-to-face, online, hybrid, and virtual simulation, and student experiences of learning in various modalities within an active learning paradigm. Dr. Cobbett is currently an Adjunct Assistant Professor, Dalhousie University School of Nursing, and continues to provide consultation services for various organizations in relation to curriculum development, implementation, active learning, and comprehensive program evaluation. 

Dr. Stephanie Atthill, PhD, RN, is an experienced nurse educator and curriculum specialist based in Barrie, Ontario. She is a professor and program coordinator in Georgian College’s undergraduate nursing programs, where she has played a key role in curriculum design, program development, and the launch of the college’s standalone nursing degree. Dr. Atthill earned her BScN from McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, and completed her PhD at Western University in London, Ontario, where she specialized in the education stream of study. Her doctoral research examined informatics competency development in undergraduate nursing curricula. She now focuses her scholarly work on simulation pedagogy, cultural humility in nursing education, and the role of clinical externship programs in supporting students’ transition to practice. In addition, she serves as an Adjunct Researcher at the Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre, collaborating on practice‑informed research initiatives. Committed to advancing high‑quality undergraduate nursing education, Dr. Atthill’s work emphasizes evidence‑based curriculum design, thoughtful application of learning theory, and the development of meaningful, inclusive learning environments. She brings expertise in course design, evaluation strategies, and learner‑centred pedagogy, ensuring that educational approaches are grounded in contemporary best practices. She has disseminated her research through peer‑reviewed publications and conference presentations and has received grant funding to support her ongoing studies in nursing education and transition to practice. 

Dr. Edward Cruz is an Associate Professor (Tenured) and Associate Dean of Undergraduate Programs at the Faculty of Nursing, University of Windsor, Ontario, Canada. He holds the Canadian Certified Nurse Educator (CCNE) designation and is a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Nursing, the first Filipino-Canadian to receive this honour. A Philippine-educated registered nurse who navigated the internationally educated nurse (IEN) credentialing process firsthand upon immigrating to Canada, Edward brings a deeply personal and scholarly perspective to nursing education and workforce integration. Edward has been a long-standing contributor to CASN/CNEI, serving as an instructor for the Nurse Educator Certificate Program, a course developer and facilitator for preceptorship education modules, an accreditation reviewer for domestic and international nursing programs, and a member of the Advisory Committee on Accreditation Policy. He is a recipient of multiple teaching awards, and has experience teaching in diploma, baccalaureate, and graduate level education. 

Cancellations

  • Registrations that are cancelled up to 1 week before the start of the course will be refunded minus a $50 administrative fee.
  • Registrations that are cancelled with less than 1 week’s notice will not be refunded, though the participant will have the option to defer the cost of the course to apply to another CNEI/CASN course.
  • There will be no refunds issued once the course begins.
  • CASN reserves the right to cancel this course if it does not meet minimal group requirements.

Course Content

  • Participants are responsible for access to any course materials, including articles and textbooks.
  • There will be no make-up assignments accepted.
  • Assignments will not be re-marked.
  • Late submissions will not be accepted, unless under exceptional circumstances.

Please see our complete academic policies.

If you have any questions or would like more information about the course, please contact education@casn.ca.


Module 1: Teaching-Learning Philosophies and Theories

Dates

Section A: Thursdays, starting September 17, 2026

  • Registration opens June 16, 2026
  • Instructors: Patricia Bradley and Edward Cruz

Section B: Wednesdays, starting January 20, 2027

  • Registration opens October 14, 2026
  • Instructors: Shelley Cobbett and Karin Page-Cutrara

Section C: Wednesdays, starting June 2, 2027

  • Registration opens March 17, 2027
  •  Instructors: Stephanie Atthill and Edward Cruz

Time Frame

8 weeks total (4 synchronous weeks, 2 asynchronous weeks, one exam, and 1 week for the e-portfolio submission).

Module Competencies

By the end of this module, participants will have met the following educator competencies:

  • Integrates learning theories to create optimal conditions for the development of knowledge, skills, attitude, and judgement.
  • Aligns personal teaching and learning philosophy with academic perspectives.
  • Distinguishes between scholarship and scholarly activities.
  • Critically appraises scholarly work on teaching and learning.
  • Demonstrates rigorous and reflective thinking related to teaching and learning.
  • Generates meaningful insights regarding teaching and learning through the synthesis of existing knowledge.

This module is one of three modules making up the CASN Nurse Educator Program. Participants who complete all three modules in the program and pass the comprehensive exam covering the content of the three modules will be awarded a CASN Nurse Educator Program Certificate. Participants who successfully fulfill the requirements for this module will receive a document recognizing that they have completed Module 1 of the program.


Module 2: Curriculum and Design

Dates

Section A: Thursdays, starting January 21, 2027

  • Registration opens October 14, 2026 
  • Instructors: Patricia Bradley and Edward Cruz

Section B: Wednesdays, starting March 31, 2027

  • Registration opens January 6, 2027
  • Instructors: Stephanie Atthill and Shelley Cobbett

Time Frame

8 weeks.

Module Competencies

By the end of this module, participants will have developed the following educator competencies:

  • Applies theoretical and research based knowledge to course development.
  • Describes a variety of theoretical approaches for developing curriculum.
  • Identifies a variety of theoretical models for developing programs.
  • Articulates links between courses, curricula and programs.
  • Formulates program and course goals, objectives, competencies, and outcomes.
  • Embeds evaluation in course design.
  • Describes approaches to curriculum evaluation.
  • Describes approaches to program evaluation.
  • Develops a variety of assessment instruments to evaluate outcomes.
  • Distinguishes between scholarship and scholarly activities.
  • Critically appraises scholarly work on teaching and learning.
  • Demonstrates rigorous and reflective thinking related to teaching and learning.
  • Generates meaningful insights regarding teaching and learning through the synthesis of existing knowledge.
  • Articulates a plan for public dissemination of scholarly work.
  • Uses a variety of approaches to provide constructive, thoughtful, timely feedback to learners.
  • Shares teaching expertise with colleagues and others.
  • Develops interprofessional educational experiences for learners.
  • Creates learning environments that foster engagement in global settings.

This module is one of three modules making up the Canadian Nurse Educator Certificate Program. Participants pass the comprehensive exam will be awarded the Canadian Certified Nurse Educator (CCNE) designation. Participants who successfully fulfill the requirements for this module will receive a soft copy of a certificate recognizing that they have completed Module 2 of the program.


Module 3: Teaching-Learning Strategies

Dates

Section A: Wednesdays, starting September 16, 2026

  • Registration opens June 16, 2026
  • Instructors: Stephanie Atthill and Shelley Cobbett

Section B: Thursdays, starting April 1, 2027

  • Registration opens January 6, 2027
  • Instructors: Patricia Bradley and Edward Cruz

Time Frame

8 weeks.

Module Competencies

By the end of this module, participants will have developed the following educator competencies:

  • Employs strategies to engage learners in diverse settings.
  • Uses a variety of approaches to provide constructive, thoughtful, timely feedback to learners.
  • Shares teaching expertise with colleagues and others.
  • Creates learning opportunities for diverse learners and learning styles.
  • Develops a variety of assessment instruments to evaluate outcomes.
  • Implements learner-focused formative evaluation strategies.
  • Implements learner-focused summative evaluation strategies.
  • Implements a variety of learner-centered teaching strategies.
  • Uses a variety of strategies to evaluate learners across multiple domains.
  • Distinguishes between scholarship and scholarly activities.
  • Critically appraises scholarly work on teaching and learning.
  • Demonstrates rigorous and reflective thinking related to teaching and learning.
  • Generates meaningful insights regarding teaching and learning through the synthesis of existing knowledge.
  • Articulates a plan for public dissemination of scholarly work.
  • Recognizes the ethical dimensions of the teacher–learner relationship.
  • Develops interprofessional educational experiences for learners.
  • Creates learning environments that foster engagement in global settings.

This module is one of three modules making up the Canadian Nurse Educator Certificate Program. Participants who pass the comprehensive exam will be awarded the Canadian Certified Nurse Educator (CCNE) designation. Participants who successfully fulfill the requirements for this module will receive a document recognizing that they have completed Module 3 of the program.