JSU nursing accreditation: CCNE, SACSCOC and the Alabama Board of Nursing

Three layers of approval

Three separate bodies stand behind JSU's nursing programs, one for the university, one for nursing and one for the state. Sorting them out early helps whenever a form, an employer or a preceptor asks about "accreditation."

• SACSCOC accredits Jacksonville State University as an institution.
• The nursing programs themselves carry CCNE accreditation (Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education). ACEN is not the accreditor here.
• The Alabama Board of Nursing approves the nursing program under state rules.

The sections below take each layer in turn, with the dates JSU and the accreditors publish. Where the two disagree, the accreditor's own directory is the deciding source. For placement purposes, the CCNE layer and the state approval are the two a preceptor or site is most likely to ask about, and both are current.

The 2023 versus 2025 review date

JSU's own accreditation table lists CCNE with "Last Review 2025" and "Accredited Through 2034." CCNE's directory tells a slightly different story: the last on-site visit was in October 2023 and the most recent action is dated October 4, 2023.

JSU's news office sides with the directory. A May 20, 2024 JSU article says CCNE extended accreditation for the BSN, MSN and DNP programs until June 30, 2034, after a comprehensive on-site evaluation in October 2023, and that the CCNE board approved the extension in April 2024 without any compliance concerns.

Every source agrees on the end date, so the practical answer does not change: the programs are accredited through June 30, 2034. When a form asks for the most recent review, use the CCNE directory's dates rather than the 2025 entry on JSU's table.

Alabama Board of Nursing approval

JSU states that its nursing program "has maintained Alabama Board of Nursing (ABN) approval since its inception." The board's own approved-program listing was not checked for this guide, so the ABN is the place to confirm the current record.

The board's education rules shape how clinicals run. Chapter 610-X-3 of the Alabama Administrative Code places each student clinical learning experience, from the plan through the evaluation, in the hands of nursing faculty, and it requires Alabama distance programs to meet all board standards, including supervised clinical learning experiences.

JSU's Alabama base keeps the board's requirements for schools from other states out of the picture when JSU students train in Alabama. Schools based elsewhere notify the board in writing at least 15 days ahead of Alabama clinicals and renew that standing each calendar year; JSU students skip the step at home. Our Alabama NP practice guide covers the collaborative practice rules that apply after graduation.

Old names that still appear in listings

CCNE's directory lists JSU's nursing unit under an older name, the Lurleen B. Wallace College of Nursing, at 700 Pelham Road North. If a search for "School of Nursing" turns up nothing, that is why.

The history explains the names. The legislature of Alabama created the College of Nursing in 1967 as a memorial to Governor Lurleen B. Wallace. In 2015 it became part of a School of Health Professions and Wellness, which became the College of Health Professions and Wellness in August 2021; in fall 2022 the nursing unit was renamed the School of Nursing. It now works from the JSU South Complex at 1701 Pelham Road South.

On the graduate side, JSU's handbook says the BSN-DNP and Post-Master's DNP were approved in 2016 and started in fall 2017, which fits CCNE's first DNP accreditation date in November 2018. Jax State Preceptor puts these facts in every preceptor packet we prepare, so a site never has to look them up.