The Illinois Eastern Community Colleges/Olney Central College Nursing Program has been awarded full accreditation from the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN).
Theresa Marcotte, Associate Dean of Nursing and Allied Health, received notification last week that the ACEN Board of Commissioners has granted continuing, eight-year accreditation to the associate degree nursing program, which is offered at all four Illinois Eastern Community Colleges — Frontier Community in Fairfield, Lincoln Trail in Robinson, Olney Central in Olney and Wabash Valley in Mt. Carmel. The board’s decision follows an extensive review of program documentation and a site visit to the colleges last September.
“This is an exceptional honor that faculty and staff have worked hard to attain,” Marcotte said. “Accreditation means we adhere to a high level of nursing education standards and criteria to provide a quality, safe, and professional nursing workforce for our communities. All faculty and staff work to attain the highest level of professionalism and competencies to be a leader in nursing education in our area. This is a wonderful achievement and I’m grateful to work for an organization that values excellence in education. I also want to thank our non-nursing peers, administration, college foundations, District Office, and Board of Trustees who provide input and support through this process.”
OCC President Rodney Ranes praised Marcotte and Carla Burgener, administrative assistant to the Associate Dean of Nursing and Allied Health, for their work in preparing the accreditation argument as well as Department Heads Wanda Douglas, Angie Williams, Anne Hustad and Kathy Hudson.
“The faculty of nursing have established a rigorous, high-quality program both in the classroom and in clinical agencies, so that students can gain employment from agencies who actively seek out our graduates
based on their preparation coming out of the program,” Ranes said. “All the nursing faculty and staff worked diligently to meet the standards of accreditation and should be applauded. ACEN accreditation is difficult to meet, but is a standard for a good quality program. Nursing has met the criteria and this should be celebrated.”
The ADN program’s next evaluation visit is scheduled for Fall 2024.
