Ariz. Admin. Code § R4-19-201 - Organization and Administration

A. The parent institution of a nursing program shall:

1. Be accredited as a post-secondary institution, college, or university, by an accrediting body that is recognized as an accrediting body by the U.S. Department of Education.

2. Hold Arizona Private Post-secondary board approval status, if applicable.

3. Submit evidence to the board of continuing accreditation after each reaccreditation review or action.

4. Operate any RN or PN program under its post-secondary accreditation if the parent institution holds both secondary and post-secondary accreditation.

5. Notify the Board within 15 days of any change or pending change in institutional accreditation status or reporting requirements.

6. Provide adequate fiscal, physical, learning resources and adequate human resources to recruit, employ and retain sufficient numbers of qualified faculty members to support program processes and outcomes necessary for compliance with this article.

7. Center the administrative control of the nursing program in the nursing program administrator and shall provide the support and resources necessary to meet the requirements of R4-19-203 and R4-19-204.

8. Ensure that the nursing program is an integral part of the parent institution and shall have at a minimum equivalent status with other academic units of the parent institution.

9. Appoint a sole individual to the position of nursing program administrator, and fill any program administrator vacancies within 15 days.

10. Notify the Board of any changes in program administrator within 30 days and ensure that the individual appointed meets the requirements of, and fulfills the duties specified in R4-19-203.

11. Ensure that every registered nursing program faculty member holds a current Arizona registered nurse license in good standing or multi-state privilege to practice in Arizona under A.R.S., Title 32, Chapter 15, and that every faculty member meets one of the following:

a. If providing didactic instruction:

i. At least two years of experience as a registered nurse providing direct patient care; and

ii. A graduate degree. The majority of the faculty members of a registered nursing program shall hold a graduate degree with a major in nursing. If the graduate degree is not in nursing, the faculty member shall hold a minimum of a baccalaureate degree in nursing.

b. If providing clinical instruction only, as defined in R4-19-101 :

i. The requirements for didactic faculty, or

ii. A baccalaureate degree with a major in nursing and at least three years of experience as a registered nurse providing direct patient care.

12. Ensure that each practical nursing program faculty member holds a current Arizona registered nurse license in good standing or multi-state privilege to practice in Arizona under A.R.S. Title 32, Chapter 15, and that every faculty member meets the following:

a. At least two years of experience as a registered nurse providing direct patient care, and

b. A minimum of a baccalaureate degree with a major in nursing.

B. A nursing program shall:

1. Maintain an organizational chart that identifies the actual relationships, lines of authority, and channels of communication within the program, between the program, and between the program and the parent institution.

2. Develop, implement, and enforce written policies and procedures that provide:

a. A mechanism for student feedback into the development of academic policies and procedures and allow students to anonymously evaluate faculty, nursing courses, clinical experiences, resources and the overall program.

b. Personnel policies for didactic and clinical nursing faculty members including workload policies that facilitate safe and effective nursing education, including clinical experiences.

c. For clinical experiences, ensure that:

i. At least one nursing faculty member is assigned to no more than ten students while students are directly or indirectly involved in the care of patients, including precepted experiences.

ii. Faculty supervises all students in clinical areas in accordance with the acuity of the patient population, clinical objectives, demonstrated competencies of the student, and requirements established by the clinical agency.

iii. Either faculty or program-approved preceptors are on site supervising students during all patient care.

3. Provide the minimum number of qualified faculty members necessary for compliance with the provisions of this Article.

4. Develop and implement a written plan for the systematic evaluation of the total program that is based on program and student learning outcomes and that incorporates continuous improvement based on the evaluative data. The plan shall include measurable outcome criteria, logical methodology, frequency of evaluation, assignment of responsibility, actual outcomes and actions taken. The following areas shall be evaluated:

a. Internal structure of the program, its relationship to the parent institution, and compatibility of program policies and procedures with those of the parent institution;

b. Mission and goals consistent with those of the parent institution and compatible with current concepts in nursing education and practice appropriate for the type of nursing program offered;

c. Curriculum;

d. Education facilities, resources, and student support services;

e. Clinical resources;

f. Student achievement of program educational outcomes;

g. Admission and graduation data for each admission cohort, including, at a minimum, the number and percent of students who graduated within 100%, 150% or greater than 150% of time allotted in the curriculum plan.

h. Graduate performance on the licensing examination;

i. Protection of patient safety including but not limited to:

i. Student and faculty policies regarding supervision of students, practicing within scope and student safe practice;

ii. The integration of safety concepts within the curriculum;

iii. The application of safety concepts in the clinical setting; and

iv. Policies made under R4-19-203(C)(6).

5. Maintain current and accurate records of the following:

a. Student admission materials, courses taken, grades received, scores in any standardized tests taken, health and performance, and health information submitted to meet program or clinical requirements, for a minimum of three years after the fiscal year of program completion for academic records and one year after program completion for health records;

b. Faculty registered nursing license number issued by the board, evidence of fulfilling the requirements in R4-19-204, and performance evaluations for faculty employed by the parent institution. Records shall be kept current during the period of employment and retained for a minimum of three years after termination of employment;

c. Minutes of faculty and committee meetings for a minimum of three years;

d. Reports from accrediting agencies and the Board for a minimum of 10 years;

e. Curricular materials consistent with the requirements of R4-19-206 for the current curriculum and, previous curricula used within the past three years; and

f. Formal program complaints and grievances since the last site review with evidence of resolution for a minimum of three years.

C. A nursing program shall be an integral part of the parent institution and shall have at a minimum equivalent status with other academic units of the parent institution.

D. The parent institution shall center the administrative control of the nursing program in the nursing program administrator and shall provide the support and resources necessary to meet the requirements of R4-19-203 and R4-19-204

E. A nursing program shall provide an organizational chart that identifies the actual relationships, lines of authority, and channels of communication within the program, and between the program and the parent institution.

F. A nursing program shall have a written agreement between the program and each clinical agency where clinical experience is provided to the program's students.

G. A nursing program shall implement written policies and procedures that provide a mechanism for student input into the development of academic policies and procedures and allow students to anonymously evaluate faculty, nursing courses, clinical experiences, resources and the overall program.

H. The parent institution shall appoint a sole individual to the full-time position of nursing program administrator. The parent institution shall ensure that the individual appointed meets or exceeds the requirements of, and fulfills the duties specified in, R4-19-203, whether on an interim or permanent basis.

I. A nursing program shall develop and implement a written plan for the systematic evaluation of the total program that is based on program and student learning outcomes and that incorporates continuous improvement based on the evaluative data. The plan shall include measurable outcome criteria, logical methodology, frequency of evaluation, assignment of responsibility, actual outcomes and actions taken. The following areas shall be evaluated:

1. Internal structure of the program, its relationship to the parent institution, and compatibility of program policies and procedures with those of the parent institution;

2. Mission and goals;

3. Curriculum;

4. Education facilities, resources, and student support services;

5. Clinical resources;

6. Student achievement of program educational outcomes;

7. Graduation and attrition for each admission cohort including at a minimum:

a. Number and percent of students who left the program;

b. Number and percent of students who are out of sequence in the program; and

c. Number and percent of students who graduated within 100%, 150% or greater than 150% of time allotted in the curriculum plan.

8. Graduate performance on the licensing examination;

9. Faculty performance; and

10. Protection of patient safety including but not limited to:

a. Student and faculty policies regarding supervision of students, practicing within scope and student safe practice;

b. The integration of safety concepts within the curriculum;

c. The application of safety concepts in the clinical setting; and

d. Policies made under R4-19-203(C)(6) .

J. The parent institution shall provide adequate fiscal, human, physical, and learning resources to support program processes and outcomes necessary for compliance with this Article.

K. The parent institution shall provide adequate resources to recruit, employ, and retain sufficient numbers of qualified faculty members to meet program and student learning outcomes and the requirements of this Article.

L. The parent institution shall notify the Board of a vacancy, pending vacancy, or leave of absence greater than 30 days in the position of nursing program administrator within 15 days of the program's awareness of the vacancy, pending vacancy, or leave of absence and do the following:

1. Appoint an interim or permanent administrator who meets the requirements of R4-19-203(A) within 15 days of the effective date of the vacancy or absence, and

2. Notify the Board of the appointment of an interim or permanent administrator within 15 days of appointment and provide a copy of the administrator's credentials to the Board.

M. A parent institution shall notify the Board within 15 days of any change or pending change in institutional accreditation status or reporting requirements.

N C. Prior to final approval for new nursing programs and by July 31, 2015 for existing programs, all RN nursing programs offering less than a bachelor's degree in nursing shall have a minimum of one articulation agreement with a Board approved and nationally accredited baccalaureate or higher nursing program that includes recognition of prior learning in nursing and recognition of foundational courses.

Notes

Ariz. Admin. Code § R4-19-201

Former Section I, Part I; Amended effective January 20, 1975 (Supp. 75-1). Former Section R4-19-11 repealed, new Section R4-19-11 adopted effective February 20, 1980 (Supp. 80-1). Amended effective July 16, 1984 (Supp. 84-4). Former Section R4-19-11 renumbered as Section R4-19-201 (Supp. 86-1). Section repealed; new Section adopted effective July 19, 1995 (Supp. 95-3). Amended by final rulemaking at 7 A.A.R. 5349, effective November 8, 2001 (Supp. 01-4). Amended by final rulemaking at 11 A.A.R. 451, effective March 7, 2005 (05-1). Amended by final rulemaking at 19 A.A.R. 1419, effective July 6, 2013 (Supp. 13-2). Amended by final rulemaking at 23 A.A.R. 1420, effective 7/1/2017. Amended by final rulemaking at 25 A.A.R. 919, effective 6/3/2019.