RELATES TO:
KRS
314.111
NECESSITY, FUNCTION, AND CONFORMITY:
KRS
314.131(1) authorizes the
Board of Nursing to promulgate administrative regulations to implement KRS
Chapter 314. KRS
314.111 requires nursing programs to be
approved by the board. This administrative regulation establishes evaluative
standards to assure that the programs of nursing provide the necessary
instruction and services to prepare graduates for licensure eligibility as
registered nurses or as practical nurses.
Section
1. Program of Nursing Accredited by a National Nursing Accrediting
Body.
(1)
(a)
1. A
prelicensure registered nursing or licensed practical nursing program that is
accredited by a national nursing accrediting body recognized by the United
States Department of Education shall be deemed to be in compliance with the
standards of
201 KAR 20:260 through
201 KAR 20:360.
2. A national nursing accrediting body shall
include:
a. The Accreditation Commission for
Education in Nursing (ACEN);
b. The
Commission for Nursing Education Accreditation (CNEA);
c. The Commission on Collegiate Nursing
Education (CCNE); or
d. Any other
national nursing accrediting body recognized by the United States Department of
Education.
3. The
accredited program shall comply with Sections 3 through 10 of this
administrative regulation.
(b) The board shall retain jurisdiction over
accredited programs and may conduct site visits or other investigations into
any allegation that may constitute a violation of
201 KAR 20:260 through
201 KAR 20:360. The board may
also conduct site visits in accordance with Section 5 of this administrative
regulation or when a national nursing accreditation board visits the
program.
(2) A
prelicensure program of nursing that is accredited by a national nursing
accrediting body recognized by the United States Department of Education shall
submit all correspondence and reports to and from the accrediting body to the
board within thirty (30) days of submission or receipt.
Section 2. Programs of Nursing Not Accredited
by a National Nursing Accrediting Body.
(1) A
program of nursing that is not accredited by a national nursing accrediting
body on the effective date of this administrative regulation shall:
(a) Obtain candidacy status with a national
nursing accrediting body within three (3) years; and
(b) Obtain full accreditation within four (4)
years of the effective date of this administrative regulation.
(2) A program of nursing that is
not accredited by a national nursing accrediting body on the effective date of
this administrative regulation shall submit a copy of all correspondence and
reports to and from the national nursing accrediting body within thirty (30)
days of submission or receipt.
(3)
A program of nursing that does not obtain or maintain accreditation from a
national nursing accrediting body may have its approval withdrawn by the board
pursuant to Section 7 of this administrative regulation.
Section 3. Reports and Evaluation.
(1) A program of nursing shall submit the
Annual Report of the Program of Nursing to the board regarding its compliance
with
201 KAR 20:260 through
201 KAR 20:360. It shall also
submit the benchmarks set out in Section 5(2)(f) of this administrative
regulation.
(2) To verify continued
compliance with
201 KAR 20:260 through
201 KAR 20:360, the program of
nursing shall submit progress reports or periodic supplemental reports,
completed questionnaires, surveys, and other related documents as requested by
the board.
(3) Pursuant to
201 KAR 20:260, Section 2(7)(a),
the faculty shall engage in an evidence based planning and evaluation process
that incorporates a systematic review of the program of nursing that results in
continuing improvement. This process shall result in an evaluation report that
is submitted to the board.
(4) Data
collection for the evaluation report shall be on-going and shall reflect
aggregate analysis and trending.
(5) The evaluation report shall include
specific responsibilities for data collection methods, individuals or groups
responsible, frequency of data collection, indicators of achievement, findings,
and outcomes for evaluating the following aspects of the program:
(a) Organization and administration of the
program of nursing;
(b)
Curriculum;
(c) Resources,
facilities, and services;
(d)
Teaching and learning methods including distance education;
(e) Faculty evaluation;
(f) Student achievement of program
outcomes;
(g) Graduation
rates;
(h) Licensure examination
pass rates;
(i) Employment rates of
graduates; and
(j) Clinical
resources, including laboratory and simulation.
(6) If a program of nursing utilizes distance
education for didactic instruction, it shall evaluate and assess the
educational effectiveness of its distance education program to ensure that the
distance education program is substantially comparable to a campus based
program.
(7) The evaluation report
shall provide evidence that the outcomes of the evaluation process are used to
improve the quality and strength of the program.
Section 4. Benchmarks. The board shall
utilize the following benchmarks to evaluate a program of nursing. Except for
the pass rate, the benchmarks shall be calculated annually from July 1 to June
30. The board shall calculate the pass rate for a program of nursing on an
annual basis from January 1 to December 31 for all first time takers of the
NCLEX.
(1) The pass rate for first time takers
of the NCLEX who tested within twelve (12) months of the program completion
date as reported on the Certified List of Kentucky Program of Nursing Graduates
or the Certified List of Out-of-state Program of Nursing Graduates incorporated
by reference in
201 KAR 20:070;
(2) The faculty turnover rate. A faculty
member whose employment ends on or before June 30 of any year shall be counted
in that year's calculation;
(3) The
program administrator turnover rate;
(4) The graduation rate;
(5) The faculty grievance rate; and
(6) The student grievance rate.
Section 5. Site Visits.
(1) The board may conduct site visits at any
time.
(2) The following situations
may be cause for a site visit to determine if the standards of
201 KAR 20:260 through
201 KAR 20:360 are being met:
(a) Denial, withdrawal, or change of status
by a national nursing accrediting agency;
(b) Providing false or misleading information
to students or the public concerning the program;
(c) A written complaint received from
faculty, students, or the general public relating to a violation of
201 KAR 20:260 through
201 KAR 20:360;
(d) A change in physical
facilities;
(f) A change in any of the benchmarks listed
in Section 4 of this administrative regulation as follows:
1. A pass rate as calculated by Section 4 of
this administrative regulation that:
a. Is
less than an average of eighty (80) percent for three (3) consecutive years;
or
b. Varies above and below eighty
(80) percent from year to year over the previous five (5) years;
2. A faculty turnover rate greater
than thirty (30) percent for two (2) consecutive years;
3. A program administrator turnover rate of
more than three (3) individuals in five (5) years;
4. A graduation rate of less than sixty (60)
percent of the original admitted cohort of newly-enrolled students within the
standard length of the program of nursing. The graduation rate shall be
calculated by comparing the number of students who started in each graduating
cohort within the reporting period to those who graduated on time from the
cohort. The graduation rate calculation may exclude students who have left the
program of nursing due to documented extenuating circumstances, such as
hospitalization, long-term illness, family obligations, relocation, financial
barriers, or decisions to change majors or transfer to another
institution;
5. Twenty-five (25)
percent or more of the total number of nursing faculty who file grievances or
appeals that are substantiated; or
6. Substantiated student grievances and
appeals of more than ten (10) percent of the student population enrolled in the
nursing program each year; or
(3) A program of nursing that
fails to meet one (1) or more benchmarks for a year shall submit a report that
examines the factors that contributed to the failure to meet and shall provide
a description of the corrective measures to be implemented.
(4)
(a) The
board shall annually compile information on how the programs of nursing met the
benchmarks. This information shall be published on the board's Web site at
www.kbn.gov.
(b) A program of
nursing shall post a link to the information compiled pursuant to paragraph (a)
of this subsection on the program of nursing's Web site. The link shall be easy
to locate on the program's home page.
Section 6. Action Following Site Visit.
(1)
(a)
Following a site visit and prior to board consideration, a draft of the site
visit report shall be made available to the program administrator for review
and correction of factual data.
(b)
The program administrator shall be available during the discussion of the
report at the board committee to provide clarification.
(c) If the site visit results in a finding of
non-compliance with
201 KAR 20:260 through
201 KAR 20:360 by the program of
nursing, a letter shall be sent to the program administrator regarding any
requirements to be met.
(d) The
board shall notify the program of nursing of the time frame within which it
shall meet the requirements. The board shall verify that the requirements have
been met.
(2)
(a) If the program of nursing is unable to
meet the requirements in the time set by the board, it may request additional
time. The board, in its discretion, may grant or deny this request based on the
rationale for the request.
(b) If
the board denies the request for additional time, it shall begin the process
established in Section 7 of this administrative regulation.
Section 7. Withdrawal
of Approval.
(1) If, in the opinion of the
board, the standards established by
201 KAR 20:260 through
201 KAR 20:360 are not being met,
the board shall send notice to the program administrator of the affected
program of nursing of its intent to withdraw approval. The notice shall be sent
return receipt requested.
(2) When
making this determination, the board shall consider the following factors:
(a) The number and severity of the
deficiencies;
(b) The length of
time in which the deficiencies have existed; and
(c) Any exigent circumstances.
(3) Within thirty (30) days of
receipt of the notice, the program administrator of the affected program may
request an administrative hearing pursuant to KRS Chapter 13B. If an
administrative hearing is not requested, program approval shall be withdrawn
and the program shall be closed. A closed program shall comply with subsection
(5) of this section.
(4)
(a) If a program of nursing requests an
administrative hearing, that hearing shall be held within sixty (60) days of
the request.
(b) The hearing shall
be held before a hearing officer or before the full board.
(5)
(a) A
program of nursing whose approval has been withdrawn by the board shall be
removed from the official approved status listing upon the effective date of
the decision. Students currently enrolled in the last semester or quarter of
the program may complete the program. If the student graduates, he or she may
apply for licensure and make take the licensure examination. Any other student
shall not be allowed to apply for licensure or take the licensure examination,
unless the student graduates from another approved program of
nursing.
(b) The program of nursing
that has been closed shall assist a currently enrolled student to transfer to
an approved program of nursing.
Section 8. Voluntary Closure of a Program.
(1) A governing institution seeking to close
a program of nursing shall submit written notification to the board at least
six (6) months prior to the planned closing date.
(2) A governing institution may choose one
(1) of the following procedures for closing a program of nursing as established
in paragraph (a) or (b) of this subsection.
(a) The governing institution shall continue
the program of nursing until the last class enrolled has graduated.
1. The program shall continue to meet the
standards until all students enrolled in nursing courses have graduated or
transferred.
2. The official
closing of the program shall be the date on the degree, certificate, or diploma
of the last graduate.
3. The
governing institution shall notify the board in writing of the official closing
date.
(b) The governing
institution shall close the program following the transfer of students to other
approved programs.
1. The program shall
continue to meet the standards until all students have transferred.
2. The names of students who have transferred
to approved programs and the date of the last student transfer shall be
submitted to the board by the governing institution.
3. The date of the last student transfer
shall be the official closing date of the program.
(3) Custody of records.
(a) The governing institution that continues
to operate shall retain responsibility for the records of the students and
graduates. The board shall be advised of the arrangement made to safeguard the
records.
(b) The governing
institution that ceases to exist shall transfer the academic transcript of each
student and graduate to a third party vendor approved by the Council for
Postsecondary Education for safekeeping.
Section 9. Change in Ownership or
Organization of the Governing institution.
(1)
The governing institution shall notify the board in writing of any intent to
transfer administrative authority or ownership. The new administrative
authority or owner shall inform the board of its plans for immediate and future
operation.
(3) Following this site visit, approval of
the program of nursing shall continue under the new ownership or administrative
authority if the approval standards continue to be met.
Section 10. Incorporation by Reference.
(1) "Annual Report of the Program of
Nursing", 5/23, Kentucky Board of Nursing, is incorporated by
reference.
(2) This material may be
inspected, copied, or obtained, subject to applicable copyright law, at the
Kentucky Board of Nursing, 312 Whittington Parkway, Suite 300, Louisville,
Kentucky 40222, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. This material is
also available on the board's Web site at
https://kbn.ky.gov/document-library/Pages/default.aspx