College of Nursing earns national award as Center of Excellence

The Texas A&M University College of Nursing has earned the National League of Nursing’s (NLN) prestigious designation as a Center of Excellence in Nursing Education™ (COE) in Creating Environments that Enhance Student Learning and Professional Development for the years 2020–2024. As a re-designation, this competitive award acknowledges the outstanding innovations, commitment and sustainability of continued excellence within the College of Nursing since its initial designation as an NLN COE in 2016.

“Our faculty are committed to innovative competency-based nursing education that is aligned with our mission, goals and values as a college of nursing,” said Nancy Fahrenwald, PhD, RN, PHNA-BC, FAAN, dean and professor of the College of Nursing. “This national distinction is a reflection of our commitment to offering high quality programs that exceed national standards of excellence.”

The college joins 16 fellow nursing schools across the nation to attain a COE status award this year and is one of only 64 institutions to do so since the COE program’s inception in 2004. On an annual basis, the NLN invites nursing schools to apply for the esteemed designation based on the institution’s ability to demonstrate sustained excellence in concrete, measurable outcomes.

“NLN Centers of Excellence help raise the bar for all nursing programs by role modeling visionary leadership and environments of inclusive excellence. These environments help nurture the next generation of a strong and diverse nursing workforce to advance the health of the nation and the global community,” said NLN Chief Executive Officer Beverly Malone, PhD, RN, FAAN.

With a dynamic curriculum that incorporates innovative approaches to traditional coursework, clinical placement and strategic opportunities to earn specialized certifications as students, pre-licensure graduates consistently achieve the highest first-time pass rates on the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX-RN®) in Texas. Consistently maintaining a nearly 100 percent employment rate within one year of graduation for both baccalaureate and master’s programs, former students are meeting Texas nursing workforce needs with many serving in rural and underserved areas across the state.

The Texas A&M College of Nursing and fellow COEs will be formally recognized at the NLN’s Annual Education Summit held virtually in September 2020.

The NLN was founded in 1893 as the American Society of Superintendents of Training Schools for Nurses and was the first nursing organization in the United States. Known as ‘The Voice of Nursing Education,’ the NLN boasts a network of 40,000 individual member and 1,200 institutional members, and offers professional development, networking opportunities, testing services, nursing research grants and public policy initiatives to support continued advancement of nursing education.