Code of Massachusetts Regulations › 244 CMR - BOARD OF REGISTRATION IN NURSING › Title 244 CMR 6.00 - Approval of Nursing Education Programs, Standards and Procedures › Section 6.04 - Standards for Nursing Education Program Approval

Current through Register 1525, July 5, 2024
Out-of-state nursing education programs must comply with the
				following standards to the extent specified in
				244
				CMR 6.03(2). In-state
				nursing education programs must comply with all of the following
				standards:
(1)
Program
			 Accreditation, Mission and Governance
.
(a) The program shall be affiliated with a
			 parent institution that has and maintains its accreditation.
(b) The program shall obtain and maintain
			 program accreditation as follows:
1. A program
			 that receives written notice of Full approval status dated before July 1, 2016,
			 and has never obtained program accreditation, shall obtain program
			 accreditation candidacy on or before December 31, 2022 and program
			 accreditation on or before the December 31, 2025.
2. A program that receives written notice of
			 Initial approval status shall apply for and obtain program accreditation within
			 the time period specified in the notice.
3. Except as provided in
			 244
			 CMR 6.04(1)(b)1. and 2.,
			 programs receiving written notice of Full approval status shall maintain
			 program accreditation at all times.
(c) Accredited nursing education programs
			 must submit to the Board a copy of accreditation-related correspondence with
			 the program's Board-recognized accrediting agency in nursing within 15 days of
			 receipt.
(d) A program shall have a
			 published mission or philosophy, or both, and nursing education outcomes, which
			 shall be consistent internally and with those of its parent institution, or
			 with differences that are justified by the program outcomes.
(e) The parent institution shall appoint an
			 Administrator, qualified under
			 244
			 CMR 6.04(2)(a), on a
			 full-time basis and shall provide adequate resources to effectively administer
			 the program.
(f) The Administrator,
			 faculty and students shall participate in the governance of the parent
			 institution and the program, as appropriate, for the accomplishment of the
			 goals of the parent institution and nursing education outcomes.
(g) Faculty shall develop, implement and
			 evaluate policies which are consistent with the policies of the parent
			 institution, or with differences that are justified by the nursing program
			 outcomes.
(h) Faculty shall develop
			 and implement a plan for systematic evaluation. The plan shall include, but
			 need not be limited to, measurable expected levels of achievement, evaluation
			 methodologies, frequency of evaluation, responsible person(s), aggregated and
			 trended data and other findings, actual outcomes and resulting actions. The
			 results of the evaluation shall be used for the development, maintenance and
			 revision of the program.
(i)
			 Faculty shall:
1. provide instruction, advice
			 and oversight; and
2. evaluate
			 student acquisition of nursing competence.
(j) The Administrator shall respond to Board
			 requests for information.
(k) The
			 program shall, within seven business days, notify the Board in writing of a
			 change in administrative personnel within the program, or a change in the chief
			 executive officer of the parent institution, or both.
(l) The program shall have a written policy
			 for the maintenance and retirement of school, faculty, student and graduate
			 records.
(m) The program shall
			 publish information about the program including, but not limited to: program
			 approval and accreditation status, number of graduates in each class, the
			 annual NCLEX pass rate for first time writers and transferability of credits
			 from other educational institutions (transfer credit policy). The program shall
			 ensure accuracy, consistency and integrity of the information about the program
			 in its publications, including catalogs and websites.