A similar review is required after the first students have graduated. Accreditation provides quality assurances concerning educational preparation through continuous self-study and review. The ultimate goal of accreditation is to improve the quality of nurse anesthesia education and provide competent practitioners to health care consumers and employers. Graduation from an approved program is one prerequisite of eligibility for national certification and a consideration used by governmental funding and licensing agencies, employers and potential students. The Council on Accreditation publishes this list of accredited nurse anesthesia programs on an annual basis as information for the public, other agencies and prospective students.
Accreditation signifies that programs have completed successfully the accreditation process.
Accreditation may be awarded for periods of one to ten years. Probation signifies serious deficiencies that jeopardize the quality of the educational process. Examples are the failure of a program to respond by the specified date to a summary report which identifies serious deficiencies or failure to submit a self-study or a progress report by the due date. Revocation of accreditation signifies a program does not present sufficient evidence of educational quality nor intent to comply with the standards and criteria.