Article published October 13, 2009
Accrediting panel drops Owens RN program
Faculty, effectiveness standards not met
By MEGHAN GILBERT-CUNNINGHAM
BLADE STAFF WRITER
Owens Community College lost national accreditation for its registered nursing program from an organization that had recognized the program for 35 years.
The education level of its nursing faculty and inability to show effectiveness led to the loss of accreditation from the National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission.
There was "tremendous disappointment" after getting the notice, and the school is the process of reapplying for it, Owens Vice Provost Renay Scott said.
Accreditation through the national nursing commission is not required, but it is sought for the recognition of quality that it brings to a program.
Owens maintains full approval for both its registered nursing and practical nursing programs through the Ohio Board of Nursing, which regulates nursing education programs in the state.
"It communicates to other institutions who may not be as familiar with you that you meet a certain set of standards," Ms. Scott said. "This accreditation is important to communicate with institutions that we really are a program of quality like we know we are."Owens had been on a two-year period of accreditation with conditions after being notified of weaknesses in the faculty and educational effectiveness standards.
The commission's board of commissioners voted at its July 8-9 meetings to deny accreditation after Owens failed to rectify those issues during those two years.
Sharon Tanner, executive director of the National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission, declined to discuss the specifics behind Owens' losing its accreditation. But she did say it is "an unusual situation" for a program to be denied accreditation because usually a lot of time and resources are devoted to bringing the program into compliance in that conditional period.
"Nursing programs value accreditation," she said. "It has meaning to their graduates and their program."
The commission accredits more than 1,200 programs, Ms. Tanner said, and it helps students when they pursue advanced degrees or a competitive job.
The letter sent to Owens notifying the college of the accreditation denial noted that the college did not meet a requirement that all full-time and a majority of part-time faculty hold a graduate degree in nursing.
Another reason for the denial, the letter said, was a lack of evidence in showing education effectiveness through criteria such as the use of data for program decision making and evaluation of job placement rates.
Owens has made progress in those areas and is working to reapply for its accreditation, Ms. Scott said.
The college now has 100 percent of its full-time nursing faculty with master's degrees and has additional part-time employees with graduate-level degrees.
As for the educational effectiveness data, Ms. Scott said Owens did a poor job of communicating its progress.
The college has been recognized with regional accreditation in those areas, she said, and needs to describe that effort better.
Other area institutions accredited by the National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission include the University of Toledo, Mercy College of Northwest Ohio, Northwest State Community College in Archbold, and Monroe County Community College, according to the commission's Web site.
An Owens education is $123 per credit hour, or $2,972 a year for a full-time, in-state student.
That is significantly less than $8,000 a year at UT, $7,080 at Mercy College, $10,752 at Lourdes, and $4,143 at Monroe County Community College.
Although Ms. Scott said she hopes Owens' reputation for a strong program will help it through this period of no national accreditation, it appears students might be looking at their options.
Denise Hudgin, spokesman for Mercy College of Northwest Ohio, said the school had received calls from Owens students inquiring about its program.
"We are being inundated from Owens students just wanting information," she said. "We have an open house this Saturday and we have put out a call for more volunteers because we expect a large turnout."
Owens' nursing students were informed of the loss of accreditation through a letter last month and informational meetings held Friday on the Toledo-area campus and yesterday on the Findlay campus, Ms. Scott said.
There have been many questions how it will affect students individually. The response has varied between students not understanding what it means and those being angry about the situation, Ms. Scott said.
Owens also has communicated the situation with its community partners, hospitals, and clinical sites, she said.
"I think so often people choose places they go to school because of the reputation of the institution," she said. "I think Owens remains strong with our reputation. I think it's that reputation that's going to keep our nursing program strong while we pick ourselves up and get that back."
Staff writer Ignazio Messina contributed to this report.
Contact Meghan
Gilbert-Cunningham at:
mcunningham@theblade.com
or 419-724-6134.
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