By R. R. Branstrom

rbranstrom@dailypress.net

ESCANABA — At Bay College, which has campuses in Escanaba and Iron Mountain, the Practical Nursing (PN) certificate program has been temporarily put on pause after it was discovered that the program was lacking proper accreditation. The college anticipates it will be reinstated in 2026. Students currently enrolled will be able to complete coursework as scheduled and graduate this May, and past graduates are unaffected.

Although the Michigan State Board of Nursing approved Bay College’s Nursing Program in 1967, the three-semester PN program reportedly did not meet requirements set out by the same board in 2018.

As to how an unaccredited program could have been overlooked for the last several years, Bay College President Dr. Nerita Hughes — who came into her role in July of 2023 — said that the issue is under review.

“When our leadership team became aware of the situation regarding the status of our PN program, we launched an internal review into the matter and this review continues today. While I inherited this situation from previous administrations, I am committed to addressing it because our students and families deserve our support and a full accounting of how we arrived here. We have already updated a number of our internal communications procedures to create additional transparency and oversight into the accreditation process, and we are continuing to communicate with the state about this issue,” reads a portion of Hughes’s statement.

The current PN students, who were admitted in August 2024, are on track to graduate in May. After achieving their certificates, they will be eligible to take the National Council Licensure Examination for Practical Nursing (NCLEX-PN), as other graduates of the program were.

In 2023, the program had a 38.46% completion rate, and 75% of students who went on to take the licensure examination passed successfully, according to statistics on Bay College’s website.

The temporary halt on the PN program means that new students will not be able to enroll in fall of 2025, but a site visit from the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN) is scheduled for later this year.

“Accreditation includes an evaluation of the program as well as a report provided to the accreditation body, who then sends representatives to campus for a site visit to review all aspects of the program to ensure compliance with expected standards,” Hughes explained.

Anticipating accreditation, Bay expects to resume admission to the PN program in 2026.

“We are committed to working with each student and family individually regarding their options going forward. Many of those initially interested in the PN program may be eligible – or soon become eligible – for our accredited Associate Degree in Nursing (ADN) program. Bay College also has many other health care programs available to students,” Hughes said.

The nursing programs at Bay are currently overseen by Interim Director of Nursing Dr. Sandra Croasdell following the Jan. 1 retirement of former Dean of Allied Health Evelyn Norkoli. The college is seeking to hire for the role of Dean of Nursing and Allied Health.