RN to B.S. in Nursing Re-accredited, M.S. in Nursing Achieves Initial Accreditation

‌(SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Nov. 23, 2015) SUNY Empire State College’s RN to B.S. in Nursing program and its M.S. in Nursing Education have earned 10-year re-accreditation and five-year initial accreditation by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education.

Formally recognized by the U.S. Department of Education as a national accrediting organization, CCNE ensures the quality and integrity of baccalaureate, graduate and residency programs in nursing.

“National accreditation and quality assurance go hand-in-hand,” said Merodie A. Hancock, president of the college. “Earning CCNE accreditation for the graduate nursing program, and re-accreditation for the undergraduate nursing program, is a significant national honor for SUNY Empire and also is a reflection of the dedication, hard work, talent, skill and success of the college’s nursing faculty and staff in curriculum development and delivery. More importantly, the efforts of SUNY Empire educators are best reflected every day by the college’s students and alumni, as they promote the health of their patients, educate other health-care providers and volunteer to serve with nonprofit and governmental organizations. As a result, the quality of life for the people and communities they serve is greatly enhanced. My congratulations go to all those who contributed to achieving this significant goal.”

“SUNY Empire completed the rigorous, peer-reviewed CCNE accreditation process and passed with flying colors,” said Bridget Nettleton, dean of the college’s School of Nursing. “Both the graduate and undergraduate programs met all standards and criteria with, in the language of the accrediting body, ‘no issues or concerns,’ which are very important indicators of quality assurance. To the SUNY Empire team who worked hard, I am grateful for their hard work and success and share in the pride of your significant, national accomplishment and recognition.”

About the SUNY Empire State College School of Nursing

The quality of the college’s School of Nursing programs and its students also were recognized by Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing. STTI welcomed the college and several graduate and undergraduate students as members of its Tau Kappa at-large chapter in 2014.

Individual student membership is by invitation to baccalaureate and graduate nursing students who demonstrate excellence in scholarship and to nurse leaders exhibiting exceptional achievements in nursing.

For students enrolled in the School of Nursing, most learning takes place online. Clinical components are completed in the students’ home communities as they work with professional clinicians in a health care facility.

Undergraduate enrollment in the college’s nursing program has increased more than 500 percent since 2010, growing from 161 to nearly 1,100 students.

The college first began admitting graduate students in 2014 and enrollment now stands at nearly 100 students.

About SUNY Empire State College

Empire State College, the nontraditional, open college of the SUNY system, educates more than 20,000 students worldwide at eight international sites, more than 35 locations in the state of New York, online, as well as face to face and through a blend of both, at the associate, bachelor’s and master’s levels.

The average age of an undergraduate student at the college is 35 and graduate students’ average age is 40.

Most Empire State College students are working adults. Many are raising families and meeting civic commitments in the communities where they live, while studying part time.

In addition to awarding credit for prior college-level learning, the college pairs each undergraduate student with a faculty mentor who supports that student throughout his or her college career.

Working with their mentors, students design an individual degree program and engage in guided independent study and course work onsite, online or through a combination of both, which provides the flexibility for students to choose where, when and how to learn.

Students have the opportunity to enroll five times during the year.

The college’s 77,000 alumni are active in their communities as entrepreneurs, politicians, business professionals, artists, nonprofit agency employees, teachers, veterans and active military, union members and more.

The college was first established in 1971 by the SUNY Board of Trustees with the encouragement of the late Ernest L. Boyer, chancellor of the SUNY system from 1970 to 1977. Boyer also served as United States commissioner of education during the administration of President Jimmy Carter and then as president of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.

More information about the college is available at www.esc.edu.

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Media contact: David Henahan, director of communications

518-587-2100, ext. 2918

David.Henahan@esc.edu