Following a rigorous evaluation and on-campus inspection, the Montgomery County Community College Nursing Program is pleased to announce it has once again received reaccreditation from the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN).

The decision allows the Nursing Program to graduate students that are eligible to take the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX-RN), which students must pass in order to become licensed registered nurses.

To be reaccredited, a nursing program must meet specific criteria and show continuous program evaluation and improvement as needed. Reaccreditation standards include a review of a program’s administration, faculty, students, curriculum, resources and outcomes. A program’s reaccreditation lasts for eight years, and MCCC was most previously reaccredited in 2011.

Nursing Program Director Dr. Linda Roy said the reaccreditation exemplifies the high standards already set in place at MCCC.

“It speaks to the excellence of the program,” she said. “The faculty is continuously looking at all aspects of programs in order to engage in improvement based on data.”

The Nursing Program is composed of 14 full-time faculty, a manager of the Simulation and Skill Suite and approximately 47 part-time faculty.

The program admits and graduates students three times per year, with 195 students enrolled during the spring semester. The program is required to keep track of each graduating class’s program outcomes, such as completion rates, NCLEX-RN first time pass rates, job placement rates and the ability of graduates to meet the program’s learning outcomes.

MCCC’s Nursing Program students led the way on the NCLEX-RN, with a first time pass rate of 96.27 percent. By comparison, the national first time pass rate is 88 percent and the Pennsylvania first time pass rate is 91.61 percent. In order for the Nursing Program to maintain approval status from the Pennsylvania State Board of Nursing students taking the exam must obtain a first time pass rate of 80 percent.

MCCC graduates go on to work in a variety of healthcare settings after graduation including area hospitals, rehabilitation centers, mental health facilities and home care operations, to name a few.

The Nursing Program’s process to reaccreditation began roughly 18 months ago, Roy said, as preparations got underway for a three-day accreditation visit by ACEN site visitors.

Last July, the Nursing Program faculty submitted a detailed report explaining how the program met each of the six above-mentioned ACEN standards. In addition, they posted that same information along with supporting documents for each standard to the learning management system, Blackboard, for site visitors to review documents ahead of their visit to MCCC’s Central Campus in Blue Bell Sept. 17- 19.

“They could verify each standard by reviewing the supporting documentation before they came,” Roy said. “When they were here, they only asked for one additional document.”

During their evaluation, site visitors reviewed every aspect of the entire MCCC institution from financial aid, to student services, to the library, parking and other facilities both for learning and student support.

“They interviewed College Administration leaders, deans, faculty, students and support services,” said Roy. “They observed classes, clinical sites, reviewed student files, contracts, they went through faculty files, to verify transcripts, licensure, CPR - it’s a long process.”

From there, the site visitors submitted their findings to an evaluation committee based in Atlanta, Ga. Then the final decision was made by the ACEN Board of Commissioners in March.

The reaccreditation, Roy said, is a result of the continuous hard work of the Nursing Program faculty.

“It’s a quality program,” she said. “Our faculty work really hard to maintain accreditation, and continually improve the program.”