By Jennifer Lollar
The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) School of Nursing has received the maximum 10 years of continuing accreditation from the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE) following an extensive self-study and fall 2019 accreditation site visit.
CCNE notified the School that all accreditation standards for its bachelor’s, master’s and Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Programs, as well as its post-graduate Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN) Certificate Program were met with no compliance concerns. This extends the School’s CCNE accreditation through June 30, 2030.
“This is testament to the extraordinary work of our faculty, staff, alumni and community of support in continuing to ensure that the UABSON academic programs meet the highest standards of nursing education and excellence that are synonymous with our nationally ranked programs,” said Dean and Fay B. Ireland Endowed Chair in Nursing Doreen C. Harper, PhD, RN, FAAN. “Our School has been educating expert clinicians, executive nurse leaders, deans and directors of nursing programs, nurse scientists, faculty, advanced-practice registered nurses, university presidents, board members and other professional leaders for 70 years, and the extension of our accreditation through June 2030 ensures we will continue to prepare future nurse leaders to meet today’s and the future’s global health care needs.”
“The CCNE accreditation further validates what we know – that UAB School of Nursing faculty and staff prepare nurses to be adept at the many aspects of health care delivery,” said Pam Benoit, UAB Senior Vice President of Academic Affairs and Provost. “UABSON nurses are trained to be masters of increasingly complex medical technology and stay abreast of the rapidly growing body of best-practice evidence. We are proud of our students and UABSON graduates and the health care they so expertly provide.”
The UAB School of Nursing has been accredited since 1952, has had national accreditation since 1957 and has had CCNE accreditation since 2000. The School offers innovative bachelor's, master's, and doctoral programs. Among these are the state’s premier and most honored PhD in Nursing degree and a DNP degree offering BSN, MSN and Nurse Anesthesia Pathways, more than 15 specialty and subspecialty nurse practitioner tracks, dual degree options, advanced nursing executive majors in administration and informatics, and an Accelerated Master's in Nursing Pathway (AMNP) for students who already have one degree but are seeking a career change to nursing.
For more on the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education or accreditation, visit www.ccneaccreditation.org.