Valued Voice

At the Wisconsin Board of Nursing (BON) hearing on Sept. 10, 2026 relating to faculty accreditation standards, WHA Senior Vice President Workforce and Clinical Practice Ann Zenk offered a one-word addition to the faculty rule that was unanimously accepted by BON members as a needed clarification. The clarification was part of Zenk’s testimony on a Board of Nursing order to amend N 1.08 (3) (b) 1 and to create N 1.08 (3) (d) 4 relating to faculty accreditation standards. The Board is making these revisions at the urging of WHA and nursing organizations, including the Wisconsin Organization of Nurse Leaders (WONL), the Administrators of Nursing Education of Wisconsin (ANEW) and the Wisconsin Nurses Association (WNA) to allow qualified baccalaureate-prepared registered nurses (BSNs) an expanded role as clinical faculty.

At the request of BON at their meeting following the hearing, Zenk explained the clarifying change, noting, “Adding ‘or’ will make it clear that these are three separate criteria, any one of which will satisfy this particular requirement for BSNs to serve as clinical faculty.”   

With the board’s approval, the final draft will include this change to make sure the guardrails are firm enough to provide safety and broad enough to be accessible for nursing schools and BSNs to benefit from this opportunity: 

Rule N 1.08 (3) (d) 4. d. Be enrolled in a graduate program and maintain steady progress toward completion or have completed graduate-level courses or education in clinical best practices acceptable to the Board or hold a national certification in a nursing field specialty relevant to the assigned clinical area.

The BON has already approved an Emergency Rule that allows nursing schools to begin utilizing BSNs who wish to serve as clinical faculty. The work for the board brings the rule changes one step closer to permanent, with the next step being the Governor’s review and approval.

WHA attends each BON meeting to monitor the progress on this important rule change, to provide feedback and assistance to the board and to advocate for issues important to hospitals and health systems and the nursing workforce.

Contact WHA’s Ann Zenk about this or any other workforce topic.