MSN program earns accreditation from CCNE

Morehead State’s newest nursing program has earned accreditation from the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE).   

MSU’s Master of Science in Nursing-Family Nurse Practitioner with a Primary Care focus earned accreditation through CCNE following a site visit and evaluation by CCNE officials on September 24, 2018. The next site visit and evaluation are scheduled for September 2023. The accreditation will remain in effect until June 30, 2024, and the renewal process will occur every ten years. The commission voted to give MSU’s MSN program accreditation at its annual meeting in May.   

Dr. Lynn Parsons, chair of the MSU Department of Nursing, said the program had to meet four major CCNE standards to receive accreditation: mission and governance, institutional commitment and resources, curriculum and teaching-learning practices and assessment and achievement of program outcomes. Students graduating from accredited advanced practice registered nurse (APRN) programs transition more easily into doctoral degree programs. 

“Additional Family Nurse Practitioners (FNP) will augment health providers in the area and help manage ongoing health issues while simultaneously providing health promotion, patient and family education and disease prevention measures,” said Parsons. “The MSU APRN program anticipates graduating its first class in December 2019. Citizens of the Eastern Kentucky region will benefit by having additional APRN providers in rural, underserved, low socio-economic areas. Many people in our service region have chronic health issues, such as diabetes and hypertension. Additional FNPs will be a welcome addition to the provision of primary care for our citizens.”   

For more information on the MSN program at MSU, visit www.moreheadstate.edu/study/msn, email nursingdept@moreheadstate.edu or call 606-783-2296.