UA NURSING SCHOOL APPROVAL CONTINUED BY STATE NURSING BOARD

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — The University of Arkansas Eleanor Mann School of Nursing has completed review by the Arkansas State Board of Nursing and has been granted continued approval until 2009. After a comprehensive examination of the program and interviews with administrators, faculty and students, the nursing board found the Mann School met all criteria and continued approval for the maximum term.

"The state board review confirms the high quality of the professional preparation offered by the Eleanor Mann School of Nursing," said Tom Kippenbrock, director of the school. "I am particularly proud of the positive recognition of our faculty and students."

The nursing board reported that the faculty of the Mann School "are creative, student focused and futuristic in the plans for the program" and that students are mature and professional.

In response to the demand for nurses, the faculty of the Mann School obtained university support to expand admissions, and in fall 2003 enrolled 61 new students, a 74 percent increase from the previous year.

Recent graduates have performed well on the National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses, the final step in the nurse licensure process. In 2003, 95.7 percent of candidates from the Eleanor Mann School of Nursing passed the examination, as compared with an 87.9 percent pass rate for the state and 87 percent nationally.

Kippenbrock explained that in order to be licensed, nurses in Arkansas must graduate from a program that has been approved by the Arkansas State Board of Nursing. The Mann School has been approved by the nursing board since the school first awarded the bachelor of science in nursing degree in 1996. It was the first nursing program in Arkansas to be fully accredited by both the National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission and the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education.