HISTORY, STRUCTURES, PURPOSE, NUMBER OF ACCREDITATIONS

The purpose of accreditation is to encourage excellence in nursing education according to fundamental qualities and standards established by academic nursing to best meet the need of the Canadian population for nursing health care.

In 1972, CASN assumed responsibility for accreditation of university nursing programs. In 1987, CASN instituted a national, voluntary process, supported by all members.

The CASN accreditation policies and procedures are set out in a document, which was reviewed and agreed to by all CASN member schools. The document is available to all schools and the public.

CASN is co-founder of the Association of Accrediting Agencies of Canada, a national association representing accrediting bodies of over 20 professions and other accrediting organizations.

CRITERIA

There are 4 broad Criteria that guide the accreditation process:

Relevance: the inter-relationship between the educational unit and nursing education programs’ mission and goals of nursing education and how these address current and emerging needs of society and respond to the context within which they operate.

Accountability: the relationships that the educational unit fosters with its partners, its environment, and develops within its learners to value responsibility for professional practice that is safe, ethical and legal.

Relatedness: the inter-connectedness of all components of an educational unit and its nursing education programs thereby promoting achievement of goals.

Uniqueness: the educational unit and its nursing education programs capitalize on having learners develop an appreciation of the unique characteristics of its environments.

NOTE : PLEASE SEE CASN POLICY ON INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

The CASN Accreditation Program is the property of CASN. Only Canadian Schools of Nursing that are CASN member Schools, are eligible to participate in a CASN Accreditation peer review, are eligible to receive “accredited" status from the CASN Board of Accreditation and if they are successful in achieving accreditation status, are eligible to use “graduate of an accredited program" or “accredited" in the School’s and program’s publications. Any other use of the latter terms without written CASN approval will result in legal action.