nursing students with dummy

News Release

Accreditation continues for LC State nursing program

LEWISTON, Idaho – The Lewis-Clark State College baccalaureate degree program in nursing has been granted continued accreditation for another 10 years by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CNNE), the organization has announced in a letter to the college.

The CCNE Board of Commissioners granted accreditation through June 2031 at its board meeting in May after determining LC State’s program met the four accreditation standards. The board additionally reported it found no compliance concerns with respect to the key elements.

CCNE began its accreditation evaluation last September virtually where it reviewed the program. The review focused on the four standard areas of program quality – mission and governance, institutional commitment and resources, curriculum and teaching-learning practices, and assessment and achievement of program outcomes. After conducting interviews with faculty, students, and other stakeholders, and reviewing the program self-study and other reports, the CCNE Board granted accreditation for another 10 years.

“We are excited to receive notification of continued accreditation through CCNE,” said Krista Harwick, chair of the Nursing & Health Sciences Division at LC State. “The accreditation determination for the maximum 10-year period validates success of the BSN program and demonstrates the program meets all required standards for preparing a baccalaureate nurse graduate. With the multiple tracks we offer to earn the BSN degree, we are able to meet the needs of students pursuing nursing education and to prepare them with the skills necessary to be excellent nurses.”

The CCNE, as required by the U.S. Department of Education, is required to make an onsite verification visit to all programs that hosted a comprehensive virtual evaluation during the COVID-19 pandemic and will visit LC State later this year.

LC State is required to provide a continuous improvement progress report in 2026 that shows the program’s ongoing compliance with CCNE standards.

The nursing program is one of the most popular programs at the college. LC State offers a Bachelor of Science in nursing, with tracks for traditional pre-licensure students, as well as LPN to BSN, CC to BSN, and RN to BSN students. The college also is offering a graduate level 13-credit nursing management and leadership certificate, which starts this fall. It’s the first graduate program at LC State.

For more information on the nursing program and the Nursing & Health Sciences Division at LC State, visit www.lcsc.edu/nursing.