Westminster College nursing program granted accreditation

Westminster College’s nursing program has been granted the full five-year accreditation by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE), the nation’s leading accrediting agency for nursing programs at the bachelor’s, master’s and residency levels.

The accreditation status follows a November 2020 successful virtual site accreditation visit with an evaluation team composed of three CCNE-appointed nursing education leaders.

“Our nursing faculty and staff have worked diligently toward CCNE accreditation since the inception of our nursing program in 2017,” said Westminster College President Dr. Kathy Brittain Richardson. “We are very proud of our nursing program and this accreditation validates all of their hard work and dedication, as well as the quality and rigor of our nursing curriculum.”

Students enrolled in the College’s nursing program benefit from a collaborative agreement between Westminster and the UPMC Jameson School of Nursing. First-year students take pre-nursing and liberal arts courses at Westminster and matriculate to UPMC Jameson’s School of Nursing. For years two and three, students follow the UPMC Jameson program while earning credits at Westminster toward the Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN)degree. At the completion of the UPMC Jameson program, students test for the licensing examination for registered nurse (RN) licensure. During the fourth year, students complete higher level nursing courses at Westminster to earn the BSN.

“I am so proud that our RN-BSN Program is now fully accredited by CCNE,” said Dr. Tricia Ryan, assistant professor and chair of the Department of Nursing. “I greatly appreciate all the hard work from all the faculty, staff, administration, nursing students, our UPMC Jameson School of Nursing partner and the Nursing Advisory Board. Without all of these dedicated people, the vision of a successful nursing program at Westminster five years ago may not have come to fruition.  It is rare that a program can celebrate full initial accreditation without any compliance concerns.  That is a true testament to the tremendous support for the RN-BSN Program. The program’s future is very bright!”

Ten students from the program’s first cohort recently earned their BSN degrees at Westminster’s spring commencement in May. Twenty-seven rising seniors from the second cohort graduated from the UPMC Jameson School of Nursing in May. They will return to Westminster’s campus in the fall to complete their BSN degree requirements.
 
To learn more about Westminster’s nursing program, please visit www.westminster.edu/nursing or contact Ryan at ryantl@westminster.edu or 724-946-7470.

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