The Ohio Board of Nursing has approved Kent State University’s associate degree in nursing program offered at four Kent State campuses – Ashtabula, East Liverpool and Tuscarawas and the Regional Academic Center at Twinsburg. The mission of the Ohio Board of Nursing is to safeguard the health of the public through effective regulation of nursing care.

The approval, which was announced on July 26 and will span five years, indicates that Kent State’s associate degree in nursing program is in full compliance with the rules of the Ohio Board of Nursing. Kent State’s associate degree in nursing program was the only one reviewed at the board’s meeting that successfully met all requirements of the Ohio Administrative Code.

“It is highly unusual for reviewers to find no issues of noncompliance,” says Susan Stocker, dean and chief administrative officer for Kent State University at Ashtabula. “This recent approval means that Kent State can continue to train more nurses to meet the needs of medical facilities in Northeast Ohio and beyond. I appreciate every faculty and staff member associated with this program for doing a tremendous job.”

There are nine rules set by the board that all pre-licensure nursing programs must meet: Organization and Administration; Qualifications of Administrators, Faculty, Teaching Assistants and Preceptors; Program Policies; Curriculum; Evaluation Plan; Program Contractual Relationships; Responsibilities for Faculty Teaching a Nursing Course; Responsibilities of Faculty, Teaching Assistants, and Preceptors in a Clinical Setting; and Program Records.

“We have been preparing for the Ohio Board of Nursing’s visit for more than a year now,” says Carol Drennen, senior program director for Nursing and Allied Health at Kent State Ashtabula, who served as coordinator for the board’s visit. “This approval is gratifying for all the administrators, faculty and staff members that were involved in the preparation process, and it is a testament to the great nursing program that we have at Kent State.”

Kent State’s associate degree in nursing program also is accredited by the National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission.

For more information about Kent State’s associate degree in nursing program, visit www.kent.edu/nursing/programs/adn.

For more information about the Ohio Board of Nursing, visit www.nursing.ohio.gov.