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About Fresno State Msn Program

Fresno State announced today that the School of Nursing has regained accreditation of its master’s degree nursing program and was granted new accreditation of its online psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner certificate program as announced by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE) on June 4. This comes after the CCNE conducted a full review and site study in September 2019.

“I am thrilled at the news, as now more than ever it is strikingly clear how vital our nursing students are to the future well-being of our community,” said Dr. Saúl Jiménez-Sandoval, provost and vice president for Academic Affairs at Fresno State. “I’m very grateful for Interim Dean Jim Marshall’s leadership of the College of Health and Human Services at this time, and I’m truly appreciative to Dr. Sylvia Miller and the nursing faculty, who put their every effort into showcasing the excellence of our programs.”

Since receiving initial accreditation in 1968, the two-year master’s degree nursing program has produced over 1,500 graduates, 22 of whom graduated in May.

In June 2019, the School of Nursing was notified by CCNE that accreditation for the master’s degree program had been revoked as a result of a shortfall in satisfying certain documentation requirements of the CCNE.

At that time, all students in the program were given the option to remain in the program or take a leave of absence or withdraw completely from the program. Twenty-three students stayed with the program, with 22 of them completing all required coursework to earn their degrees this past May. Sixteen students are currently enrolled in the program for the 2020-2021 academic year.

Following the loss of accreditation, the School of Nursing took immediate action to resolve the matter, including working closely with the University’s assessment coordinator and hiring an outside consultant to help facilitate the preparation of materials needed for a successful site review.

Fresno State Nursing Program Reviews

“Faculty in the School of Nursing were committed to meeting the CCNE standards and more importantly, strengthening identified areas of concern,” said Dr. Sylvia Miller, chair of the School of Nursing. “The success of our students is vital to growing a health care workforce in the Central Valley and, with that, we are pleased to admit our newest cohort of the master’s program this coming fall 2020 semester.”

The master’s degree nursing program regained its accreditation by the CCNE for an additional five years, through June 2025.

In spring 2019, the University announced that the School of Nursing’s Certificate of Advanced Study – Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner post-graduate program was never officially accredited by the CCNE as previously marketed, due to an administrative error. The one-year online program, initially launched in 2009, has now been newly accredited by the CCNE for 10 years, through June 2030.

Students who previously earned their certificates were provided a five-year grace period by the American Nurses Credentialing Center to earn the same certificate from an accredited program.

Fresno State arranged to have the 60 affected former students complete the one-year online program through CSU San Marcos, at no cost to the students. By completing the program at CSU San Marcos, the former students will not be impacted.

During the CCNE’s site visit in September 2019, the baccalaureate degree program also underwent a routine site visit to continue its existing accreditation, which has now been renewed through June 2030.

This coming September, the School of Nursing’s new Independent Doctor of Nursing Practice program, currently accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges, will undergo a scheduled CCNE site review — a standard practice for all new degree programs. The former nursing doctoral program, California State University Northern California Consortium Doctor of Nursing Practice (in conjunction with San Jose State University) sunsetted, requiring a review of the new independent Fresno State Doctor of Nursing Practice program.

Fresno State Entry Level Masters Nursing

The School of Nursing graduates an average of 150 students each year from its baccalaureate, master’s and doctoral programs, many of whom stay and serve patients in the Central Valley.

At a Glance:

CCNE conducted a site review in September 2019 on three programs within the School of Nursing programs: the baccalaureate program, the master’s program and the psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner post-graduate certificate program, all of which were in different accreditation statuses.
Here are the outcomes of those reviews as follows:
The baccalaureate degree nursing program, which has remained accredited throughout this process, had its accreditation renewed through June 2030.
The master’s degree nursing program regained accreditation status, which it had lost in June 2019 as a result of a shortfall in satisfying certain documentation requirements of the CCNE. The master’s program regained accreditation through June 2025.
The online psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner post-graduate certificate program received initial accreditation, which it hadn’t previously had due to an administrative error, it was learned in spring 2019. This program is now accredited through June 2030.

Once CCNE completed its report, the nursing program was able to provide written responses on what steps it had taken — or would take — to address concerns. That was one of the documents the CCNE board reviewed before making its decision.

“In our response, we felt we had adequately addressed concerns they had raised,” she said. “…We were genuinely surprised regarding their decision to withdraw accreditation.”

The university decided not to appeal the CCNE’s board’s decision.

Hironaka-Juteau said officials determined the most timely option to restore accreditation to the master’s program — and have the least impact on students — is “to seek approval for an accreditation visit in September 2019 with the goal of restoring accreditation by May 2020.”

STUDENTS IN LIMBO
The accrediting findings were made public, upon request, on Monday when CCNE notified the U.S. Department of Education, among other agencies, about its action to withdraw the program’s accreditation.

Thus far, only five out of the 23 students enrolled have decided to continue in the program. The students have until July 15 to report whether they will stay. Those students have the option to continue in the program, take a leave of absence, or withdraw.

Fresno State officials on Wednesday said they are planning on hiring additional staff for the program.

Hironaka-Juteau wouldn’t say when CCNE first raised concerns about the program, but acknowledged exchanges with the accrediting body “over the past couple of years.”

Regarding the key element in the report about not having sufficient faculty, Hironaka-Juteau said “Based on the educational criteria for nurse practitioner programs, the faculty-to-student ratio for clinical supervision was not maintained appropriately. This was done in error and has since been corrected.”

Fresno State Nursing Program Acceptance Rate

In the fall of 2018, seven full-time faculty members taught in the nursing master’s program, and six full-time faculty taught in the spring. Full-time faculty are not only specifically assigned to the master’s program as they teach across program levels, which includes the bachelor programs as well, she said.

Jennifer Butlin, executive director of CCNE, said the earliest the program could regain its accreditation would be May 2020. If successful, the decision would be retroactive to the on-site evaluation scheduled for Sept. 9-11.

“The overall institution continues to be accredited by the (Western Association of Schools and Colleges) and that is the most important link for federal funding and student financial aid,” she wrote in an email.

Hironaka-Juteau said university officials are not aware of any loss of funding or penalties, but they are still checking with the Department of Education to see whether there will be any impact on the program from any federal funding sources.