OAR 851-021-0015
Periodic Evaluation of Nursing Education Programs
(1)
Nursing Program Survey Request: The nursing program may request a survey or site visit at any time. Such request must be in writing and must include the purpose(s) for the visit.(2)
Periodic Evaluations related to possible non-compliance with standards: The Board may require survey visits or interim progress reports at any time to determine if the minimum standards for nursing programs are being met. These situations may include, but are not limited to the following:(a)
Reports relating to violations of OAR 851-021-0040 (Standards for Approval: Organization and Administration) through 851-021-0070 (Standards for Approval: Evaluation);(b)
Denial, withdrawal or change of program or institution accreditation status by an accrediting agency recognized by the U. S. Department of Education;(c)
Knowingly providing false or misleading information to Board representative, students or the public concerning the nursing program;(d)
Violation of Board rules;(e)
Inability to secure or retain a qualified director or faculty, resulting in substandard supervision and instruction of students;(f)
Failure to achieve NCLEX pass rate standards per OAR 851-021-0018 (NCLEX® Standards); and,(g)
Evidence of non-compliance with remediation plan by programs with deficiencies or violations.(3)
Survey Visits to Determine Continued Approval:(a)
All nursing education programs without national nursing accreditation are required to demonstrate continuing compliance with the Standards for Approval at least every eight years for continued approval.(b)
Programs that have received national accreditation may be surveyed in conjunction with the national nursing accreditation body survey visits. The Board representative must write a separate survey report. Continued approval may be granted for up to ten years when the program has received national accreditation for ten years.(c)
The survey visit must be made by a representative(s) of the Board on dates mutually acceptable to the Board representative and the program.(d)
A program must submit a narrative self-evaluation report(s) that provides evidence of compliance with the Standards for Approval at least one month prior to the scheduled survey visit:(A)
The self-evaluation report prepared for the national nursing education accreditation body may be substituted in lieu of the Board’s survey report if a national accreditation survey is scheduled for that year; and,(B)
If the national self-evaluation report is submitted in lieu of the Board’s survey report, the program must submit an addendum to the self-evaluation report that addresses the Standards for Approval and that provides a guideline as to where the Standards are discussed in the self-evaluation report.(e)
The program may be asked to participate in scheduling survey visit activities.(f)
During the survey visit the Board representative may review and analyze various sources of information regarding program performance, including, but not limited to:(A)
Periodic Board of Nursing survey visits, as necessary;(B)
Results of ongoing program evaluation; and,(C)
Other sources of evidence regarding achievement of program outcomes including, but not limited to:(i)
Student retention, attrition, and on-time program completion rates;(ii)
Sufficient and adequate type and number of faculty, faculty competence and faculty retention and turnover;(iii)
Number and percentage of faculty with approval by exception;(iv)
Adequate laboratory and clinical learning experiences;(v)
NCLEX pass rates per OAR 851-021-0018 (NCLEX® Standards);(vi)
Trend data and action planning related to NCLEX performance;(vii)
Trend data and action planning related to employer and graduate satisfaction;(viii)
Performance improvement initiatives related to program outcome; and,(ix)
Program complaints and grievance review and resolution.(g)
Nursing programs shall be evaluated by use of a rubric to guide in the timing of the next site survey.(A)
Board representative retains authority to suggest the number of years granted for approval regardless of score.(B)
The final decision is made by the Board.(h)
Each standard is evaluated as “met”, “partially met” or “not met.” The surveyors’ comments are included for most standards and in every case when a standard was partially met or not met.(A)
Standards partially met are deemed sufficiently met to merit the recommendation for approval.(B)
“Recommendations” in the summary of the report are intended as advisory to the nursing program and college. “Advisory” means that the recommendations, or alternative means to meet the same standard, are intended to be corrected and implemented before the next survey, but do not require a formal report to the Board.(C)
Any failure to address previously-identified survey recommendations may result in a deficiency.(D)
If the Board determines that a deficiency exists, notice will be given in writing to the controlling body, specifying the deficiency(ies) and prescribing the timeframe within which the deficiency(ies) must be corrected.(E)
Any violation of standards or failure to address previously-identified survey deficiencies in the time prescribed by the Board may result in closure as established in OAR 851-021-0020 (Denial or Withdrawal of Approval).(i)
Continuing approval will be granted upon the Board’s verification that the program is in compliance with the Board’s nursing education administrative rules and has the continued support of the parent institution or governing body to maintain compliance as specified in OAR 851-021-0045 (Standards for Approval: Nursing Faculty).(j)
The surveyor may share initial recommendations, deficiencies, and violations with the program at the end of the site survey, with the understanding that all are in draft format until final modification or approval by the Board.(k)
A draft of the survey visit report may be made available to the program for review and corrections in factual data before review by the Board.(l)
The administrator or designee(s) of the program may be invited to be present during the presentation of the survey report to the Board.(m)
Following the Board’s review and decision, written notification regarding approval of the program, or notice of deficiencies or violations that must be corrected within a specified time frame must be sent by the Board representative to the administrator of the nursing education program within 30 business days.(n)
An approved nursing program that becomes accredited by a national nursing accreditation body between OSBN survey visits, may have the next scheduled survey visit adjusted to provide for the next review to align with the accreditation review cycle.
Source:
Rule 851-021-0015 — Periodic Evaluation of Nursing Education Programs, https://secure.sos.state.or.us/oard/view.action?ruleNumber=851-021-0015.