CCNE, WABON and NWCCU: how Gonzaga nursing is accredited and approved

Three layers of approval

Accreditation and approval come from different bodies, and each one answers a different question about your program. Sites and boards may ask about any of the three.

• The institution: Gonzaga University holds regional accreditation from the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU).
• The nursing programs: CCNE, the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education, covers Gonzaga's baccalaureate, master's and DNP programs, and Gonzaga's MSN FAQ states that accreditation plainly.
• The state: the Washington State Board of Nursing (WABON) approves Gonzaga as an in-state nursing education program, which is the approval that decides which Washington rules apply to your clinicals.

Separately, Gonzaga's Doctor of Nurse Anesthesia Practice sits in its own Department of Nurse Anesthesia, and WABON's list shows it with its own specialized accreditation. Everything below concerns the nursing programs.

The older school name in the CCNE listing

CCNE lists the programs under "Gonzaga University, School of Nursing and Human Physiology." That was the school's name until 2023, when Gonzaga set up the School of Health Sciences, and the Department of Nursing now sits inside it. Some older documents, and some site paperwork, still carry the former name.

If a clinical site's onboarding or agreement form asks for the accredited program's name, the CCNE entry and Gonzaga's current naming can look like two different schools. They are the same programs; where a form has room, give the current name and add the former one in brackets. Washington's board has been through a similar change: the Nursing Care Quality Assurance Commission has gone by Washington State Board of Nursing since July 24, 2023, so older rules and forms may use either name.

What sites and boards ask about

Accreditation comes up at several points between admission and your first NP job.

• Boards in other admitting states: Arizona fast-tracks its review of an APRN track based elsewhere when the home state's board has approved it and the school holds national accreditation; Utah wants home-state board approval plus a nursing accreditor recognized by the U.S. Department of Education; Nevada asks for proof of accreditation or approval.
• Health systems: the affiliation agreement is signed with Gonzaga, and St. Luke's in Boise, for one, takes rotation requests only from affiliated schools.
• Liability: Gonzaga's FNP clinical faculty packet states that all FNP students are covered under the university's liability insurance policy.
• Licensing: Washington's ARNP application asks for an official transcript sent directly from the school after the degree posts, plus national certification sent by the certifying body.
• Residencies: CHAS Health's NP residency in Spokane takes new FNP graduates of CCNE or ACEN programs within 24 months of graduating.

When a preceptor or site asks, the CCNE directory and WABON's list are the two public documents that settle most questions. The affiliation agreements guide covers the contract side.

How we present your program to a new site

Preceptors who have never hosted a Gonzaga student tend to ask the same things: is the program accredited, is it approved to place students in this state, and who carries liability. Our placement desk answers those up front with Gonzaga's public facts, so the conversation moves quickly to schedules and course fit, and that confidence is a large part of why Gonzaga students choose us.

We then prepare what Gonzaga's Clinical Placement Team needs for the Practicum Site Placement Request and the affiliation agreement: copies of the preceptor's license and national certification, named contacts at the site including whoever signs agreements there, a draft schedule, and the course the hours will count toward. Approval stays with Gonzaga's faculty; the request they receive has every item they look for. Get in touch through the form.