Glen Oaks Community College has received ACEN (Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing) national accreditation for its nursing program.
Sara Birch, GOCC’s dean of health sciences, received official notice after over three years of preparation, submissions, and a visit from ACEN evaluators.
“This is the news we’ve been hoping for all along,” said Birch. “Having the ACEN accreditation increases the value of our program. Since this is our initial accreditation, it is for a five-year period after which the program will be reevaluated as part of the continued accreditation process.”
“The ACEN process involves documenting how our program meets specific standards in six areas, each with numerous components,” said Birch. “A lot of Glen Oaks faculty and staff have worked very hard to achieve this status. Employers value hiring graduates from ACEN accredited programs.”
The nursing accreditation team submitted a self-study report in late 2022, and in early 2023, a team of ACEN reviewers visited campus and held interviews with students, faculty, staff, administrators, and the general community to clarify and verify the accuracy in evaluation of the program.
The project was initiated by the Michigan Board of Nursing in 2020 and requires that all programs in the state achieve national accreditation status by Jan 1, 2025.
Glen Oaks is now one of 15 of the 28 community colleges in the state that is ACEN accredited.