The Northern Wyoming Community College District nursing program has received full reaccreditation from the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing, a national agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation.
The Wyoming State Board of Nursing approves all nursing programs within the state, but accreditation is an additional, voluntary process that means a program is committed to a higher level of quality and excellence. Programs are evaluated within six standard categories – mission, faculty expertise, students, curriculum, resources and outcomes.
“Accreditation is the primary distinction of quality for a nursing educational program,” NWCCD Director of Nursing Louise Posten explained. ”With the accreditation process, we have standards of excellence that we have to meet, so we have to be constantly striving to not only deliver a great nursing education to our students but also commit to continuous quality improvement as well.”
According to Posten, students graduating from an accredited program are at a significant advantage when they are looking for employment or seeking higher education.
“Employers in our field definitely want to hire nurses who graduated from an ACEN-accredited program,” she said. “Accreditation is essential for our students to be able to move on in their education or get hired as nurses after graduation.”
The NWCCD nursing program will undergo reaccreditation again in 2027.
“This achievement would not have been possible without the hardworking nursing faculty and staff at Sheridan College and Gillette College, members of our advisory boards, administration, employers within our service area and the entire college community working together,” said NWCCD President Dr. Walter Tribley. “I’m incredibly proud of our nursing program for receiving this stamp of excellence.”
For more information about ACEN and the accreditation process, go to acenursing.org. To learn about NWCCD’s nursing program, visit www.sheridan.edu/nursing.
