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Friday, February 10, 2012
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About Us

WVU School of Nursing offers innovative educational programs for learners at all levels from baccalaureate through masters to doctoral education in nursing.

Our expert faculty are engaged in clinically relevant research to better meet the health care needs of the citizens of our rural state and in service initiatives such as promoting health in the public schools and providing leadership in meeting the nursing workforce needs of West Virginia.


  • Vision Statement of the WVU School of Nursing

    West Virginia University School of Nursing envisions optimal health, enhanced quality of life, and excellent health care for the people of West Virginia and the global community.

  • Mission of the WVU School of Nursing

    The mission of the West Virginia University School of Nursing is to serve the people of West Virginia and larger society through education, research and service, including faculty practice. This mission is responsive to changing health care needs and emerging national and state changes in technology and health care delivery and is enhanced by a supportive and open environment. The faculty's educational effort is directed to providing high quality student-centered programs of instruction at all levels which prepare superb professional nurses to meet basic health care needs; advanced practice nurses to address complex health needs; and doctorally educated nurses to advance nursing knowledge through research, to assist in the formulation of policies to improve health care, and to serve as faculty in higher degree programs. Unique characteristics of the state mandate that the health care needs of rural populations and; vulnerable groups be a major focus of education, research and service, including faculty practice.

    April 2004

  • Goals of the WVU School of Nursing

    The WVU SON has goals in Education, Scholarly Inquiry, and Service.

    • Education

      West Virginia University School of Nursing (SON) seeks to provide excellent, student-centered educational programs which address core competencies/threads in all programs and meet the changing needs of the communities of interest we served.

      This goal is met through the following activities:

      1. Deliver educational programs that prepare health care professionals and leaders for the future by:

        1. Revising curricula in conjunction with changing health care systems and professional nursing standards and guidelines.

        2. Utilizing technology to deliver high quality programs.

        3. Fostering a climate that encourages academic success.

        4. Creating a culture that values the adoption of professional attributes and supports the development of socially responsible citizens.

        5. Using innovative teaching and learning strategies to offer a variety of educational programs.

        6. Offering rural educational programs through collaboration with the state's health care providers.

        7. Considering the needs and expectations of the School of Nursing communities of interest in the development, implementation and evaluation of educational programs.

      2. Foster opportunities for the faculty mentorship of students by:

        1. Promoting educational opportunities utilizing faculty and student participation.

        2. Promoting practice opportunities for faculty and student collaboration.

        3. Fostering faculty and student involvement in school organizations, ceremonies and social activities.

        4. Supporting student organization activities.

      3. Maintain a systematic & comprehensive evaluation of all WVU SON programmatic outcomes by:

        1. Utilizing a systematic, outcome-based evaluation plan for all programs.

        2. Utilizing the outcomes of the systematic evaluation process for decision making related to all aspects of the program.

    • Scholarly Inquiry

      West Virginia University School of Nursing seeks to increase scholarship, including funded research and peer-reviewed publications in order to benefit those we serve.

      This goal is met through the following activities:

      1. Increase the quantity and visibility of scholarship within the WVU SON by:

        1. Requiring all tenured and tenure-track faculty to document scholarship through publication.

        2. Requiring all tenured and tenure-track faculty to conduct scholarly inquiry. Examples of this include primary data collection, secondary data analysis, and literature synthesis.

        3. Encouraging clinical faculty to publish in professional journals, based on their faculty practice.

        4. Encouraging faculty participation in professional meetings at the national level.

        5. Supporting faculty presentations at national meetings.

        6. Sponsoring local, regional, national and international professional conferences.

        7. Increasing collaborative research within the Health Sciences Center.

        8. Collaborating with the Health Sciences Center's News Service Office to showcase scholarship from the School of Nursing.

      2. Increase the quality of scholarly inquiry within the WVU SON by:

        1. Promoting faculty and student scholarly inquiry within the identified School of Nursing focus areas: empowerment, life transitions and health system outcomes.

        2. Promoting an integrated model of research and program evaluation that encourages collaboration among tenure-track and clinical-track faculty, students, and clinical personnel.

        3. Collaborating with nursing service colleagues in the design of research and program evaluation projects.

        4. Participating in broad-based, interdisciplinary health research.

      3. Increase the support services for faculty scholarship by:

        1. Structuring all faculty workloads to provide time for scholarship.

        2. Tracking and supporting all faculty scholarship, including publications and research.

        3. Providing SON peer review before submission of faculty publications and grant proposals. Peer review of publications may rest with individuals and not be a group process, but it must be documentable, if requested.

        4. Providing statistical consultative services, grant writing technical assistance, and grant budget monitoring support for faculty research projects.

        5. Increasing faculty awareness and use of the Health Sciences Center and University resources that support faculty scholarship.

        6. Providing faculty development activities.

        7. Representing School of Nursing needs within the Health Sciences Center.

    • Service

      West Virginia University School of Nursing seeks to increase the School's service activity in professional organizations, academe, practice, and continuing education in order to benefit those we serve.

      This goal is met through the following activities:

      1. Commit to professional activies by:

        1. Maintaining active memberships in professional organizations.

        2. Fulfilling leadership roles in local, state, national and international nursing and other professional organizations.

        3. Maintaining quality and quantity of WVU School of Nursing approved continuing education activites that meet the needs of nurses in the state.

      2. Continue commitment to University-based Service endeavors by:

        1. Holding positions on key University Councils, Committees, or Task Forces.

        2. Participating in HSC-based Committees, or Task Forces.

        3. Serving on SON and Department committees and task forces.

        4. Being recognized for their participation in University, HSC-based, SON and Department councils, committees, or task forces.

      3. Demonstrate ongoing commitment and support for Academic Faculty Practice by:

        1. Promoting faculty participation int he Faculty Practice Plan that supports the integration of School of Nursing education, scholarship, and service goals.

        2. Increasing participation on interdisciplinary practice teams that emphasize evidence-based practice, quality improvement and use of informatics.

        3. Allocating generated revenue to strengthen SON education, scholarship, and service goals.

        4. Promoting further development of the infastructure to support the Faculty Practice Plan.

  • Accreditation

    The Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE) is the sole accrediting agency that accredits only baccalaureate and higher degree programs. Their new accrediting process was initiated in 1998 and West Virginia University School of Nursing was in the initial accreditation cycle. The School received a full, 10 year, accreditation for the baccalaureate and masters' programs in April, 1999. In April 2009, The School received another full 10 year re-accreditation for the baccalaureate and masters' programs, with all standards met and no areas of concern. This accreditation also applies to the WVU School of Nursing programs offered at the Charleston Division, at West Virginia Institute of Technology, and at Parkersburg (WVU-P). It also includes the freshman course and sophomore year nursing courses at Glenville State College and Potomac State College. West Virginia University School of Nursing was also in the initial accreditation cycle for the new Doctor of Nursing Practice Program, receiving a full, 5 year accreditation with all standards met and no areas of concern.

    Prior to seeking CCNE accreditation, the nursing programs at WVU had been continuously accredited by the National League for Nursing, with the baccalaureate program receiving initial accreditation in 1964, the year of the first graduating class, and the master's program in 1981. The last year for National League for Nursing accreditation was 1998, and the CCNE accreditation was retroactive to Fall of 1997.

  • Self-Study Document
  • Appendices
School of Nursing
Robert C. Byrd Health Sciences Center
P.O. Box 9600
Morgantown, WV 26506-9600
Phone: 304-293-4831
Fax: 304-293-6826
Email: Web Master
© WVU Health Science Center School of Nursing