D&E celebrates double accreditation
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ELKINS -- The nursing program at Davis & Elkins College has two reasons to celebrate. The Nursing Pinning Ceremony kicked off the college's weekend of commencement events last Friday in the Myles Center for the Arts. That event came on the heels of the program recently receiving double accreditation from ACEN and NLN-CNEA.
Dr. Robert Phillips, Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs at Davis & Elkins College, said of the accreditation: "This is wonderful news for the college, the BSN program and our students. Earning initial accreditation status from NLN-CNEA required a great deal of leadership from Dr. Wu, and assistance and support from the entire Nursing faculty and staff.
"Their combined efforts were a perfect example of the teamwork and commitment that have been hallmarks of all of our nursing programs throughout the years.
"We're happy to accomplish this goal and look forward to working with the faculty, staff and our community partners to build an ever-stronger academic program that will contribute to the health and well-being of the residents of the local community, region and state of West Virginia."
Accreditation is a rigorous and voluntary review process for evaluating higher education institutions and their programs to determine whether they meet specific academic standards. This process is typically carried out by private and nonprofit organizations recognized by federal and state government agencies. Along with state nursing boards, nursing accrediting organizations determine whether nursing programs can have and maintain accreditation.
There are three main nursing accreditation bodies in the U.S. and its territories. The National League for Nursing Commission for Nursing Education Accreditation (NLN-CNEA) and Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN) are two of three nursing accreditation bodies. Both NLN-CNEA and ACEN accredit nursing education programs for every level of nursing, from associate level to doctorate, for domestic and international nursing programs.
The Davis & Elkins College BSN on campus program was approved by the West Virginia RN Board in 2019 and received initial accreditation from the NLN-CNEA in February 2023 and the ACEN in May 2023.
Dr. Huixin Wu, the Director of BSN Programs & Chair of the Division of Nursing, speaking on the accreditation said, "I want to thank the nursing faculty, nursing staff, nursing students, administration, and the whole D&E community for making this milestone achievement, especially before the first cohort of on-campus BSN graduates. To date, the D&E BSN programs, both on-campus pre-licensure and online post-licensure options, are the only dual-accredited BSN program in West Virginia."
Reba V. Harward, a Certified Nurse Midwife and Women's Health Nurse Practitioner for West Virginia University Medicine at The Center for Women's Health at St. Joseph's Hospital in Buckhannon, provided the keynote address during the pinning ceremony.
Harward is a 2016 graduate of Davis & Elkins College's Associate in Science Degree in Nursing. She then went on to earn her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from West Virginia University in June 2019 and; then, received her Master of Science in Nursing in 2020 from Frontier Nursing University in Hyden, Kentucky. She is an active member of the American Certified Nurse Midwife Association and focuses on securing an opportunity to provide individualized, safe, quality care that fosters a women's self-determination and ability to care for herself.