The Master’s Entry to Practice Nursing program at St. Bonaventure University has received accreditation from the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education.

The accreditation extends for five years, until June 30, 2029. CCNE officials will visit the university again in fall 2028 to begin the reaccreditation process.

CCNE’s Board of Commissioners determined that SBU’s program substantially complied with all four accreditation standards. St. Bonaventure’s other two nursing programs — RN to B.S. in Nursing and Dual Degree Nursing with Jamestown Community College — are CCNE accredited.

First offered in January 2023, the Master’s Entry to Practice (MEP) program allows a qualified non-nursing Bachelor of Science or Bachelor of Arts student to become a registered nurse while also earning a Master of Science in nursing. Students complete the 72-credit program in six semesters, attending classes full time over two years.

Connie Perkins, Ph.D., RN, CNE, founding director of Nursing at St. Bonaventure, said institutions aren’t eligible for accreditation until their first cohort of students have completed two semesters of instruction.

“We’re proud of the work we’ve done to get to this point. All three programs are fully accredited without any compliance concerns,” Perkins said. “We promised our community quality nursing programs and we delivered just that while setting up a system to maintain that quality. I am thankful to my team and my students who have trusted in the process and actively participated to make this happen.”

CCNE serves the public interest by assessing and identifying programs that engage in effective educational practices.

As a voluntary, self-regulatory process, CCNE accreditation supports and encourages continuing self-assessment by nursing programs and supports continuing growth and improvement of collegiate professional education and nurse residency/fellowship programs.

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About the University: The nation’s first Franciscan university, St. Bonaventure University is a community committed to transforming the lives of our students inside and outside the classroom, inspiring in them a lifelong commitment to service and citizenship. Out of 167 regional universities in the North, St. Bonaventure was ranked #6 for value and #14 for innovation by U.S. News and World Report (2024).