BON approval and accreditation

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I have been reading in the forums for 2 days now and all I am is more confused. I am enrolled in an ADN program starting in Sept. My school is accredited at the regional level but not national.

The RN program is listed as having conditional approval with the BON. NCLEX pass rates are 95.45%-2010, 84.38%-2011, 84.62%-2012, 52.00%-2013

I am very confused as to what I should be doing. The more I read the less able I am to get my head around this. Between 2012-13 they switched the nursing dept head. I have read the BON meeting minutes. All it says is that there is a 3 year plan in place due to low pass rates.

I have been trying for a month now to get more info from the program head about other things and can't get an answer. Now I'm wondering if I made a mistake in my choice of program. The next closest school is a 45 minute drive, not to mention I only applied to the school I am enrolled in right now. I only have my core classes left to take and have kids at home so that commute would be a problem.

Can someone please help me untangle this mess? As I see it my options are:

1)Move forward and hope like hell they don't lose BON approval before I graduate

2)Withdraw and apply to other programs

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From a friend who would be in my cohort if I stay at my current school "Unofficially out of the three schools with Conditional approval ours has the farthest to go

And by next spring if they don't address everything they can lose approval immediately and their credits are worthless. BUT they are making strides with the board to get better.

But the supervisor said there's concern and she advised me against going there. Im not saying they will lose it..but I would get transfer stuff together just in case"

So....what do I do?

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Specializes in Pediatrics, Emergency, Trauma.

The NCLEX pass rate for 2013 was 52%...perhaps they lost their accreditation (I believe ACEN? ) and may be in danger for their BON approval?

Look up your area schools on

http://acenursing.org your state BON and go from there...trust your gut, not the school.

Best wishes.

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Depending on your state and future goals it can vary. Most states will not allow students to sit for NCLEX if they have not graduated from an accredited school. Many BSN programs will not accept students who have not graduated from an accredited school. I think it is very unlikely that this program will recover since they have gone down hill for 3 years and went down to a 50% pass rate. If it were me, I would back out now and get all my money back. Better to get set back a year or so then to do all this hard work and then it be for nothing. Best of luck!

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Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.
Most states will not allow students to sit for NCLEX if they have not graduated from an accredited school.
This is incorrect. Not one single state board of nursing in the US requires accreditation in order to issue licensure. State boards of nursing require that the school be approved to operate, but accreditation is purely voluntary.

There are many, many licensed nurses who are graduates of unaccredited schools of nursing. All the state mandates is approval, not accreditation. Of course, consequences exist in attending unaccredited nursing schools such as not being eligible for federal employment or minimizing one's options for pursuing higher education.

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I have been reading in the forums for 2 days now and all I am is more confused. I am enrolled in an ADN program starting in Sept. My school is accredited at the regional level but not national.

The RN program is listed as having conditional approval with the BON. NCLEX pass rates are 95.45%-2010, 84.38%-2011, 84.62%-2012, 52.00%-2013

I am very confused as to what I should be doing. The more I read the less able I am to get my head around this. Between 2012-13 they switched the nursing dept head. I have read the BON meeting minutes. All it says is that there is a 3 year plan in place due to low pass rates.

I have been trying for a month now to get more info from the program head about other things and can't get an answer. Now I'm wondering if I made a mistake in my choice of program. The next closest school is a 45 minute drive, not to mention I only applied to the school I am enrolled in right now. I only have my core classes left to take and have kids at home so that commute would be a problem.

Can someone please help me untangle this mess? As I see it my options are:

1)Move forward and hope like hell they don't lose BON approval before I graduate

2)Withdraw and apply to other programs

I would withdraw and apply to other programs. A 52% pass rate is not good. Who knows if they will be able to bring it up by the time you finish? Your diploma can become a useless expensive piece of paper if you're not able to pass NCLEX. A 45 minute drive is not so bad, you can use the commuting time wisely and listen to lectures. Also, the fact that you can't get answers to your questions from the school is a bad sign. Get out while you can get your money back!

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I was told the test was changed last year and a lot of schools had their pass rate decrease.

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Specializes in Pediatrics, Emergency, Trauma.
I was told the test was changed last year and a lot of schools had their pass rate decrease.

I would check that against area schools and see about that from the BON site....if the area schools had a less significant drop, then you know what to do...

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Yes I did. 82 of 97 schools had decrease last year!

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Yes I did. 82 of 97 schools had decrease last year!

There are 97 schools in your area? Wow! I'm in NV and I think there are like 10 schools in the entire state lol! That's what happens in states with small populations :)

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Sorry I mean the state- Texas...Lol.

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Sorry I mean the state- Texas...Lol.

Oh well that makes sense :)

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