Conn. Agencies Regs. § 20-90-47 - Program approval
Board approval, with the consent of the commissioner, shall be administered as follows:
(a)
Initial approval:
(1) To be
granted initial approval, the parent institution shall provide to the board:
(A) written notice of intent to establish a
program;
(B) a feasibility study
for the planned program, which shall include discussion of at least the
following:
(i) applicant pool;
(ii) graduate employment
opportunities;
(iii) educational
and clinical facilities to be utilized;
(iv) potential overlapping with other
programs in the use of clinical facilities and the impact on both the proposed
and existing programs;
(C) a timeline for employment of
administration and nursing faculty. Initial hiring of the faculty shall be
completed at least two (2) months prior to the proposed starting date. The
administrator shall be actively employed at least six (6) months prior to the
proposed starting date. The timeline shall also identify projected future
staffing needs;
(D) a comprehensive
plan for the development and implementation of the education program, including
philosophy and educational outcomes, curricula, course outlines with plans for
student evaluation, resource needs, timelines, and a systematic
self-evaluation;
(E) any other
information that the board may reasonably request.
(2) Proposed programs significantly different
from current approved programs shall provide detailed information relative to
activities which provide the student with opportunities to attain defined
competencies and demonstrate in ongoing evaluations that students are meeting
defined educational outcomes on schedule.
(3) The board shall:
(A) upon receipt of all documents provided by
the program, conduct a scheduled onsite visit to review the program;
(B) upon determination that the documents and
results of the onsite review were acceptable, extend initial approval to the
program, with the consent of the commissioner.
(4) Pending satisfactory board review of the
program's educational standards, such initial approval shall remain in effect
until the results of the first licensing examination for program graduates are
available. At that time the board will review the results and recommend either
full approval, conditional approval, or program removal.
(b)
Full approval:
(1) Full approval is granted by the board
with the consent of the commissioner after the initial period of approval based
on evidence that the program is meeting its educational outcomes as
demonstrated by an acceptable level of graduates' performance, as defined in
subdivision (2) of this subsection.
(2) An acceptable level of a program's
graduates' performance shall be defined as:
(A) demonstrated mastery of nursing
principles as evidenced by an average passing rate of at least 80% of students
taking the licensing examination prescribed pursuant to Section
20-92 of
the Connecticut General Statutes, upon their first attempt after graduation, as
reported from May 1 to April 30; and
(c)
Conditional approval:
(1) Conditional approval may be granted for
one year to a program previously having initial or full approval if:
(A) the graduates of the program fail to
achieve the standards prescribed in subsection (B) of this section;
or
(B) the program has initiated a
major curriculum change pursuant to subsection (D) of this section;
or
(C) conditions previously
identified in violation of these regulations or the board's recommendations
continue to be unresolved and pose a risk to public health or safety, as
determined by the board.
(2) Special progress reports or onsite
visits, or both, shall be required for programs with conditional approval, at
the discretion of the board.
(3)
The outcome of the board's subsequent review of special progress reports or
onsite visits or both may be:
(A) return of
the program to full approval; or
(B) placement of the program on an additional
one year of conditional approval; or
(C) recommendation of program removal from
the list of approved nursing education programs.
(d)
Major curriculum
changes:
(1) When a program proposes
major curriculum changes, the administrator shall present a comprehensive plan
to the board for approval with the consent of the commissioner prior to
implementation. Plans shall include:
(A)
rationale for the change;
(B)
comparison of current versus proposed curriculum;
(C) explanation of the effects of the change
on:
(i) currently enrolled students;
(ii) functions and role of graduates of the
proposed program;
(D)
timetable for implementation of the change; and
(E) plan for evaluation of the
change.
(2) The
previously approved curriculum must remain in effect until the proposed program
is approved by the board.
(e) Periodically, the board shall review each
nursing education program and shall conduct onsite visits to a program when it
deems necessary.
(f) When a change
of administration within a nursing education program is made, notice of the
appointment of the new administrator shall be submitted to the board,
accompanied by a summary of qualifications of the appointee. The board shall
verify that the appointee meets the qualifications of Section
20-90-51(b)
of the Regulations of Connecticut State Agencies.
(g)
Program removal. The board,
after a hearing, may remove a program from the list of approved programs, and
the program must suspend the enrollment of students, when:
(1) The program has been on conditional
approval for at least two years and has failed to correct the identified
deficiencies which caused them to be placed on conditional approval;
(2) The board provides written notice of such
hearing to the administrator of the program setting forth the particular
reasons for the proposed action and fixing a date, not less than thirty days
from the date of such written notice, at which time representatives of the
program shall have an opportunity for a prompt and fair hearing;
(3) Upon completion of the hearing the board
shall make a recommendation to the commissioner regarding what action should be
taken regarding the program; and
(4) The commissioner approves the recommended
action.
(h)
Program closure. When a decision is made to close a nursing
education program, the program shall notify the board and submit a written plan
and timetable for termination. All requirements and standards for students
shall be maintained until the last student is transferred or graduated from the
program. The parent institution shall develop and implement a policy providing
for the safe storage of vital program records, including transcripts of all
graduates and of students who fail to graduate. The program shall notify the
board of the person, by title, name and address, responsible for providing
transcripts and references for students.
Notes
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