(Temple Terrace, Fla.) – The baccalaureate degree program in Nursing at Florida College has received accreditation by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education, placing the Tampa area school among the 867 CCNE accredited colleges and universities nationwide.

The accreditation process formally began in November 2021, one year after the program received approval from the Florida Board of Nursing.

“In the state of Florida, a degree program must have students enrolled for the equivalent of one academic year prior to hosting an onsite evaluation,” explained Minerva Holk, MSN, EdD, Nursing Program Chair at Florida College.

From the time a program is accepted for accreditation candidacy, the school must proceed toward accreditation, and the applicant must submit a complete self-study document and host an onsite evaluation by CCNE within two years of the date of acceptance as a new applicant.

“We chose to do the site visit as soon as we could – before our first cohort graduated – so that they would graduate from a nationally accredited program,” she said.

While program accreditation isn’t required by Florida’s Board of Nursing, Holk said it’s often a requirement of clinical sites prior to establishing affiliation agreements. Many graduate programs also require students to come from accredited baccalaureate degree programs. FC’s four-year Nursing Program, which graduated its first class May 2023, currently includes 19 students in two cohorts, with plans to grow to 24 per cohort as additional clinical partnerships are established.

“I am so grateful for the faith students have had in our program during the accreditation process,” Holk said. “We felt a sense of duty to them and they trusted us, and this has been a journey of faith for everyone. We hope that this achievement will open more doors for affiliation agreements and bring more students to our program.”

 About CCNE
The baccalaureate degree program in nursing at Florida College is accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (http://www.ccneaccreditation.org). The CCNE is the autonomous accrediting arm of American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) and a nationally recognized accrediting agency that ensures the quality and integrity of baccalaureate, graduate, and residency/fellowship programs in nursing. CCNE began conducting accreditation reviews in 1998 and currently accredits 2,046 baccalaureate and graduate nursing programs at 867 colleges and universities in the United States and its territories. In 2009, CCNE began accrediting entry-to-practice nurse residency programs, and currently accredits 63 such programs.

About Florida College
Florida College is a fully-accredited, private, independent liberal arts college, providing a higher education with a biblical perspective. Located in the Tampa, Florida metro area, the comprehensive Florida College experience is designed to develop students spiritually, mentally, physically, and socially; to integrate into the students’ lives the Bible as the revealed word of God; and to prepare students for lives of service to their Creator and to humanity. For more information visit floridacollege.edu.