Tech school vs. Community College

RNsRWe, ASN, RN · Jul 25, 2006

I honestly don't know if there's a hiring difference, I've never seen a "tech school" that offers an ASN. Are you absolutely certain it's a DEGREE in nursing? And that it would allow you to sit for NCLEX-RN? I've never heard of a 15 month program that includes everything you would need to get an Associates Degree in nursing!

I'd look into those answers first, be certain, before pursuing why it is the CC has a long wait list and this one....nothing.

RANCH GIRL · Jul 25, 2006

there is a tech school here that offers an ASN in 15 months

I would be highly suspicious about this. I've never heard of it either. Check to see if this tech school is accredited.

Tweety, BSN, RN · Jul 25, 2006

I proudly graduated with an ADN from "Fayetteville Technical Community College", which was named "Fayetteville Technical Institute" while I was attending they changed the name to reflect their prevalences of associate degrees. It's never held me up. As a new grad I had a pick of several jobs.

RNsRWe, ASN, RN · Jul 25, 2006

I proudly graduated with an ADN from "Fayetteville Technical Community College", which was named "Fayetteville Technical Institute" while I was attending they changed the name to reflect their prevalences of associate degrees. It's never held me up. As a new grad I had a pick of several jobs.

Well, there you go. Is this, then a community college that can bestow degrees? And can it be done (NCLEX-approved) in 15 months? You'd think if that were REALLY the case, there'd be a longer line to get in...?

TRINI_RN · Jul 25, 2006

One thing I can tell you is to watch out for the price of some tech schools. The one around here offers RN for OVER 20,000 for less than 2 years of school, that's fishy.............:trout:

TheCommuter, BSN, RN · Jul 27, 2006

Tech schools tend to have no waiting lists because they usually have very expensive fees and tuition rates. I happily financed $20,000 to attend one of these fast-track programs just to avoid the three year waiting lists and long slews of prerequisite classes that are common at virtually all community college programs in the state of California.

Tweety, BSN, RN · Jul 27, 2006

Tech schools tend to have no waiting lists because they usually have very expensive fees and tuition rates. I happily financed $20,000 to attend one of these fast-track programs just to avoid the three year waiting lists and long slews of prerequisite classes that are common at virtually all community college programs in the state of California.

I guess it depends on if it's a community based institution or not. The technical school here, and the one I attended are dirt cheap. I was able to pay my tuition working for Pizza Hut at night.

Tweety, BSN, RN · Jul 27, 2006

Well, there you go. Is this, then a community college that can bestow degrees? And can it be done (NCLEX-approved) in 15 months? You'd think if that were REALLY the case, there'd be a longer line to get in...?

The program I attended was NLN approved and was the standard 21 months.

The school I attended was a school in transition. A long long time ago they offered only technical degrees such as auto mechanics, medical assistants, etc. as well as had an LPN program, but over time evolved and expanded to give out those degrees and in addition got into giving out associates degrees in nursing and dental hygiene etc. and added "Community College" to their name to relfect this and encourage easy transfer to other colleges. They are both a technical college still handing out those certificates in technical degrees and a community college handing out associates degrees.

I'm not familiar with 15 month programs for the ASN, so I can't answer that.

RNsRWe, ASN, RN · Jul 27, 2006

Tech schools tend to have no waiting lists because they usually have very expensive fees and tuition rates. I happily financed $20,000 to attend one of these fast-track programs just to avoid the three year waiting lists and long slews of prerequisite classes that are common at virtually all community college programs in the state of California.

Ok, I hear you on the $ instead of the wait. But I'm curious about what pre-reqs it doesn't require that the community colleges do? The pre-req and co-req courses I took in my nursing program were required for an Associates Degree issued by the school. I thought all A.S. degrees would require those classes, to be well-rounded academically, not be able to skip them...? If so, how is that a full-fledged degree, instead of just a diploma for completing nursing courses only?

I'm not trying to argue, I'm just looking for info :)

I would think, if it's still true that a tech school nursing grad does not need the academics of an Associates Degree grad (for lack of better titles), it just might affect future employment and schooling opportunities. Candidate A has a well-rounded degree. Candidate B only had the nursing classes. Like that?

llg, PhD, RN · Jul 27, 2006

Ok, I hear you on the $ instead of the wait. But I'm curious about what pre-reqs it doesn't require that the community colleges do? ?

I'm not commenting on specific programs in this post -- just on schools in general.

The original ADN programs were designed as 4 semesters long. No pre-reqs, just 4 full time semesters of study after high school that included a couple of "general education" courses and required nursing courses. The degree was designed to produce a "technical" nurse as opposed to a "professional" nurse who would base her practice upon a stronger academic foundation obtained with a 4-year (8 semesters) Bachelor's Degree.

However ... as time passed, the ADN programs wanted their grads to have the same professional status as the BSN grads. Also, because they were shorter and cheaper than 4-year colleges, they becane popular with students who wanted a quick route into the nursing profession. Finally, many Community Colleges are obligated to accept all students who graduate from high school who meet a minimum standard -- again adding to their popularity. Having pre-reqs would "weed out" the less interested and/or less capable students before they started consuming the scarce and expensive resources needed to teach the nursing clinical courses.

Thus many Community Colleges began adding requirements (such as college-level pre-reqs) to their ADN programs. That's why so many "2-year programs" now take so much longer than 2 years to complete. Personally, if I were in such a program, I would feel cheated by the school. If they raise their requirements, they should upgrade the degree they award to reflect the higher graduation requirements -- not award a 2-year degree for 3 years of college level work -- but that's a whole other issue.

So ... some technical schools have gone back to the original model of ADN programs -- with fewer pre-reqs and with some "support subjects" like anatomy and phyisology integrated into their nursing courses and/or taken concurrently. They are getting the job done in 15 months. If you consider that a standard college semester is about 3.5 months, that's equivalent to 4 semesters of college -- exactly what the ADN programs were originally created to be in the first place.

llg

TheCommuter, BSN, RN · Jul 27, 2006

Ok, I hear you on the $ instead of the wait. But I'm curious about what pre-reqs it doesn't require that the community colleges do? The pre-req and co-req courses I took in my nursing program were required for an Associates Degree issued by the school. I thought all A.S. degrees would require those classes, to be well-rounded academically, not be able to skip them...? If so, how is that a full-fledged degree, instead of just a diploma for completing nursing courses only?
I'm not trying to argue, I'm just looking for info :)
I would think, if it's still true that a tech school nursing grad does not need the academics of an Associates Degree grad (for lack of better titles), it just might affect future employment and schooling opportunities. Candidate A has a well-rounded degree. Candidate B only had the nursing classes. Like that?

The program I attended was an NLN-accredited diploma program. It is not a well-rounded degree. I am not even considered a true college graduate. However, my personal goal was to complete school in the shortest amount of time and start earning money quickly.