Southeastern NEWS

                                                       Southeastern Louisiana University
                                           Public Information Office
                                           SLU 880, Hammond, LA 70402
                                           504/549-2341/fax 504-549-2061
                                           publicinfo@selu.edu
                                           
    Date: 11/1/96
      Contact:                           Christina Chapple  1

NURSING GRADUATE PROGRAM, SLU TEACHER EDUCATION ACCREDITED
     HAMMOND -- Southeastern Louisiana University has been notified that its graduate
nursing and teacher education programs have accredited by top national associations.
     The Intercollegiate Consortium for a Master of Science in Nursing, which includes
Southeastern, McNeese State University, the University of Southwestern Louisiana and Southern
University-Baton Rouge, has been accredited for the first time by the National League for
Nursing. 
     Southeastern's College of Education teacher education programs have been granted
continued accreditation by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education. The
College of Education has been accredited by  NCATE since 1975. 
     In both cases, accreditation is for five years. 
     "We are elated with our success," said Dr. Ellienne Tate, dean of Southeastern's School of
Nursing. "Accreditation signals to students and to the public that we meet the national standards
and criteria set by our profession." The NLN's seal of approval, Tate said, "demonstrates that
four institutions can collaboratively mobilize resources to serve south Louisiana and produce
satisfied graduates for advanced nursing practice."
     The Intercollegiate Consortium was authorized by the Louisiana Board of Regents in
1989 and has since graduated more than 50 students. It is the only collaborative nursing
education program of its kind in the nation, Tate said. Southeastern's nursing graduate program is
directed by Dr. Carole Holden Lund.
     College of Education Dean Stephen Ragan said his faculty and students "are ecstatic"
about continued NCATE accreditation. Southeastern was one of 66 schools of education that
                                 (MORE) 
ACCREDITATION -- Add One
 received either initial or continuing accreditation by NCATE's Unit Accrediation Board in its
most recent round of decisions.
     "We're very happy to get the positive review by NCATE," Ragan said. He said the
accreditation process not only shows that Southeastern meets NCATE's stringent peformance-
oriented standards, but the process's "self study" requirement is valuable in helping to identify
strengths and weaknesses. In granting continued accreditation, NCATE recommended that the
College of Education work on recruiting a more culturally diverse student body and faculty.
"This is something that we already had on our agenda," said the dean. "Diversity is a very high
priority."
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