The Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE) has granted 10-year accreditation to SUNY Empire State College’s master’s program in nursing, a recognition that reinforces the program’s quality and integrity.
CCNE accreditation is a nongovernmental peer review process that helps ensure a nursing program meets nationally recognized standards of excellence. It signals that a nursing program optimally prepares its graduates for the workforce.
SUNY Empire’s graduate nursing program offers two specialty tracks, nursing education and nursing administration. SUNY Empire’s BSN program, which received CCNE accreditation in 2015, is due for its next accreditation visit in 2025.
The accreditation comes amid a growing demand for nurses across the nation and in New York state. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that 11 million additional nurses are needed to avoid further shortages in the healthcare industry. Employment opportunities for nurses are projected to grow at a rate of 15 percent—faster than all other occupations—through 2026. According to the American Journal of Medical Quality, there will be a shortage of more than 39,000 registered nurses in New York by 2030.
The accreditation further enhances opportunities recently created by the State University of New York establishing a $3 million SUNY Nursing Emergency Training Fund, which will help SUNY campuses expand program capacity so more students can enroll.
SUNY Empire School of Nursing and Allied Health Dean Kim S. Stote said the undergraduate and graduate nursing programs “have long been the gold standard in online nursing education. We continually assess the healthcare landscape and our students’ needs and continually adapt and improve our programs accordingly. CCNE accreditation at the graduate level underscores and validates the quality of the full continuum of programming we offer, from the bachelor of science in nursing degree to the master of science in nursing degree.”
Rebecca Hegel, SUNY Empire School of Nursing and Allied Health Program director said, “This wonderful achievement demonstrates the cumulative efforts of all faculty and staff in the School of Nursing and Allied Health. This accreditation lends itself to shaping our future nursing workforce.”