Call for Comments on Accreditation Policy and Procedures Manual Revisions

At its October 11-13, 2023 meeting, the Council on Accreditation of Nurse Anesthesia Educational Programs (COA) reviewed proposed revisions to select policies within its Accreditation Policies and Procedures Manual, including the “Capability Review for Accreditation” policy, “Distance Education” policy and application, and “Eligibility for Accreditation” policy. At the COA’s January 25-27, 2024 meeting, the COA reviewed additional revisions to the “Council Correspondence and Electronic Communication,” “Onsite Reviewers and Fellowship Review Committee: Application and Appointment,” and “Selection and Election of Council Directors” policies.

Please review the policy mark-ups linked to each question below and submit your comments via this survey. The survey will take approximately 30 minutes to complete. All feedback will be thoroughly reviewed and carefully considered by the COA in finalizing the revisions.

Please provide the following information:

First Name

Last Name

Email Address

1. Please indicate your role in regards to nurse anesthesia education (select all that apply):

2. Revisions to “Distance Education” policy (Accreditation Policies and Procedures, D-13).

Editorial revisions were made to the “Policy” and “Definitions” sections to reflect contemporary technologies. Further, language was added to policy item #3d to clarify when the COA evaluates distance education offerings.

Please indicate your overall degree of agreement with the proposed revisions to the “Distance Education” policy.

To view this policy - right click and select "Open link in new tab or new window".
Click here to view the Distance Education Policy Mark-Up

3. Revision to “Distance Education Application” (Accreditation Policies and Procedures, AA-9).

Application items 5a (regarding faculty training), 5b (related to institutional support for instructional design), and 5f (regarding evaluation of distance education offerings) were revised so as to require specific documentation in support of application narratives. Additionally, a footnote regarding the comparison of traditional and online course outcomes was added to application item 5f.

Please indicate your overall degree of agreement with the proposed revisions to the “Distance Education Application.”

To view this policy - right-click and select "Open link in new tab or new window".
Click here to view the Distance Education Application Mark-Up

4. Revisions to “Capability Review for Accreditation” (Accreditation Policies and Procedures, C-1).

The list of required contents for a letter of intent to establish a new nurse anesthesia program (i.e., policy item 1a) was revised to include documentation related to the U.S. Department of Education’s Title IV eligibility requirements.

Please indicate your overall degree of agreement with the proposed revisions to the “Capability Review for Accreditation” policy.

To view this policy - right-click and select "Open link in new tab or new window".
Click here to view the Capability Review for Accreditation Policy Mark-Up