Nursing program prepares
for continuing accreditation site visit
PRESQUE ISLE — Public comments are being sought by the National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission, Inc. (NLNAC), as the organization makes final preparations to conduct a continuing accreditation site visit for the associate degree nursing program at Northern Maine Community College.
In anticipation of a visit by a team of peer reviewers from NLNAC between Feb. 28-March 3, interested individuals are encouraged to submit comments at a public forum planned as part of the site visit Wednesday, March 2 at 3 p.m. in the Hunt Multimedia Classroom in the Christie Building on the NMCC campus.
The upcoming site visit follows an extensive self-study process undertaken by the nursing and allied health department at NMCC. The self-study report prepared by the college is the primary document used by the site visit team, the evaluation review panels, and the Board of Commissioners of NLNAC to understand the nursing program.
The purpose of the accreditation visit is to evaluate the nursing program by clarifying, verifying, and amplifying information presented in the self-study report. In the four days the visiting team is in northern Maine, the group will speak with various constituencies involved with and impacted by the NMCC nursing program. Members will spend their time on the NMCC campus, as well as visit clinical sites in the community and the off-campus centers in Madawaska and Houlton, where NMCC delivers its associate degree nursing program using distance technology.
“The upcoming visit is a very important part of the process,” said Kimberly Esquibel, chair of the nursing and allied health department at NMCC. “It will both provide us the opportunity to demonstrate and highlight information presented in the self-study report we prepared and allow for interaction with the site visitors and all concerned in the process, including students, faculty, staff, administrators and interested community members.”
NLNAC is responsible for the specialized accreditation of nursing education programs (clinical doctorate, master’s degree, baccalaureate degree, associate degree, diploma, and practical nursing program). The organization is nationally recognized as a specialized accrediting agency for both post-secondary and higher degree programs in nursing education. NLNAC accredits all types of post-secondary and higher degree education nursing programs.
NMCC was initially accredited by NLNAC in March of 1986. The college last received a continuing accreditation site visit in February 2003 and was notified of its status in July of that year.
Community members interested in submitting comments are encouraged to attend the March 2 public forum.
