PANOLA NURSING PROGRAM NATIONALLY ACCREDITED

Nearly all nursing schools desire national accreditation, but only the departments of highest caliber achieve the distinction.  The Associate Degree Nursing program of Panola College recently completed the two-year process to gain national accreditation from the National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission, Inc. located in New York. 

NLNAC is recognized as the leading national organization to accredit nursing schools and is required to meet specific standards established by Congress. The accreditation process at Panola College was begun in 2001 under the direction of Dr. Barbara Cordell.  The faculty worked hard to revise the entire nursing curriculum, design a top notch evaluation program, and increase the pass rate of the graduates on the National Licensure exam. The pass rate for the last two years has been 100%

A self-study was submitted to the NLNAC in August of 2003 and the NLNAC conducted a site visit in February 2004.  Each of twenty-three criteria described in the self-study were examined in depth and verified by the site visitors.  The Commission met on July 14, 2004 in New York and voted for full accreditation valid for five years.  The faculty and staff of the department are very proud to have achieved this national recognition.  “We believe it will improve our reputation, our recruiting efforts, and assure employers that our graduates are competent practitioners of nursing” says Dr. Cordell.

The benefits of accreditation include recognition of evaluation and quality improvement, validation for faculty, and the facilitation of transfer or credit among other factors.  “I am proud of this national recognition for Panola College’s outstanding Registered Nursing Program.  NLNAC accreditation provides our graduates with additional opportunities for employment,” said Dr. Gregory Powell, President of Panola College.

Photo:

The faculty and staff of the ADN program are shown holding copies of the self-study document and the certificate of accreditation.

Seated l-r: Peggy Medvedev, Billie Huff, Dr. Barbara Cordell, Director, Joslyn Sullen

Standing l-r: Elizabeth Wells, Dawn Johnson, Karen McClellan, Bernice Cole, Secretary, and Dr. Melinda Grayson