The Department of Nursing has been awarded 2 federal traineeship grants from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration, for the 2016-2017 academic year.   An Advanced Education Nursing Traineeship grant for $348,500.00 will support graduate students in our family nurse practitioner program.  These grant funds are divided among eligible students and applied directly to their tuition, thereby significantly reducing the financial burden for the students.  In addition, a Nurse Anesthetist Traineeship grant for $17,827.00 will support students in our nurse anesthesia program. Since 2000, the Department of Nursing has received over 3.5 million dollars from competitive federal grant programs through the US DHHS.

Mary Jane S. Hanson, PhD, CRNP, CNS, FNP-BC, professor, family nurse practitioner, and director of the graduate nursing and DNP programs, has been elected to the Board of Commissioners for the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE).   CCNE is an autonomous accrediting agency, contributing to the improvement of the public’s health, and recognized by the U.S. Department of Education to accredit nursing programs at the baccalaureate, master’s, and doctoral levels, including programs offering distance education.  As a specialized/professional accrediting agency, CCNE evaluates and makes judgments about the quality of baccalaureate and graduate programs in nursing located in colleges and universities that are accredited by an institutional accrediting agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.  The Board of Commissioners is the final authority on all policy and accreditation matters affecting CCNE.  The Board adopts standards and procedures for the CCNE accreditation process and has final authority over all accreditation actions.  The Board is comprised of 13 individuals who broadly represent CCNE’s community of interest and include nursing faculty, chief nurse administrators,  practicing nurses, and professional consumers.  CCNE currently accredits over 700 nursing programs across the country.

Check back in with us to for Department of Nursing news and hear about the successes of our students, faculty and programs! We are excited to have a place to share this news with all of you!