Several dozen Fresno State nursing students have been notified that the Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner program from which they received certificates was not accredited.

According to Dean of Health and Human Services Jody Hironaka-Juteau, Fresno State officials and students received notices late last year that the four-semester online Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner program was not accredited.

Hironaka-Juteau said the program has been around since 2009, but accreditation wasn’t required for the advanced study until 2014, affecting at least 60 students that were in the program.  

According to Hironaka-Juteau, the lack of accreditation is a result of an administrative misunderstanding with the application process and requirements.

A statement released by Hironaka-Juteau and Sylvia Miller, chair of Fresno State’s School of Nursing, said, “We are working closely with the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) and the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE) to seek remedies to address the individual situations of these former students.”

Because the program was not accredited, students who received certificates must now re-enroll in a program that is accredited or risk losing their credentials, The Fresno Bee reported.

Hironaka-Juteau said that accreditation of the program has been moved up to the coming fall semester and is now on track to become accredited by 2020. The nine students currently in the program are not expected to be affected.

In the same statement, Hironaka-Juteau and Miller said, “We deeply regret the challenges this situation has caused our graduates, and we are committed to helping them resolve any potential impacts. All other programs in the School of Nursing are accredited and not affected by this situation.”