The University of Calgary in Qatar (UCQ) has announced that the Canadian Association of Schools of Nursing (CASN) has officially granted "Path A” accreditation of the Bachelor of Nursing programme.CASN is the accreditation body for nursing education within Canada and internationally, and this prestigious accreditation verifies that UCQ has met all rigorous international standards, reflecting the quality and robustness of its programme, a statement said."This is the second time UCQ has been honoured with CASN accreditation since its establishment in 2007. The first accreditation, which had the highest award of seven years, was followed by a significant programme revision starting in 2019, culminating in the creation of the BNRT, a concept and competency-based curriculum."Despite the impending closure of UCQ in August 2025, the entire UCQ faculty and staff have been dedicated to the aim of students receiving a fully accredited Bachelor of Nursing degree. Their extra work in the development, teaching, and evaluation of this new curriculum have been aptly rewarded with this latest accreditation."Professor Hala Sultan Saif al-Easa, president & CEO of UCQ, commented: "Achievement of Path A and B accreditation is a crucial milestone for our BNRT programme at UCQ. These endorsements ensure our programme measures against the highest quality standards, producing nurses who are safe, ethical, competent, and equipped to provide globally competent nursing care."Further emphasising the remarkable achievement, Professor Hala added: "It's exceptional to receive accreditation with barely any suggestions for improvement. The flawless endorsement for our curriculum, teaching, and programme evaluation underscores our steadfast pursuit of excellence."The review process highlighted several key strengths of UCQ, particularly appreciating the concept and competency-based programme and its ability to enhance students' critical thinking and clinical reasoning skills. Additionally, the CASN board acknowledged the outstanding collaboration between education and practice, the robust mentoring support for graduates transitioning to practice, and the continuous data collection and evaluation to improve the programme.Dr Meagan LaRiviere, the associate dean and lead of accreditation, said: "I am extremely proud of the hard-working faculty, staff, students, and leadership who worked tirelessly to ensure this curriculum and the teaching of it exceeds all parameters of excellence!”Zohra Hasnani-Samnani, associate dean academic, said: "Our dedicated faculty, staff and students have worked relentlessly to meet CASN standards with an evidence-based, practice-focused curriculum. Even during the pandemic's shift to online teaching, they demonstrated resilience and commitment to course development, teaching and learning while maintaining quality and rigor. It's a privilege to work with such a devoted team at UCQ."UCQ anticipates Path B (final) accreditation will be met following the first convocation of students on June 14, 2023, after the summative programme evaluation is submitted, the statement added.
June 25, 2023 | 08:43 PM