accreditation

[RHill9919]

I want to make sure I understand this. I am researching schools and am only looking at schools who are CCNE or NLNAC accredited. My husband is in the military so I would want these to ensure I can move state to state with my license? I plan to go CRNA or psychiatric NP if that matters at all.

[BostonFNP, APRN]

You are correct.

[elkpark]

It's definitely a smart idea to be sure you attend an NLNAC/CCNE accredited school, but it won't affect basic RN licensure. There is no state that requires NLNAC/CCNE certification for licensure. However, it makes a difference in returning to school to further your education and career later on, and a growing number of employers require it.

Since you know you are planning to return to school at some point, you also want to be sure you attend a school that has the appropriate general academic accreditation. Community colleges and "regular" colleges and universities are accredited by regional academic accrediting organizations. Most of the proprietary (private-for-profit) schools are accredited by a their own national organizations that only accredit proprietary schools. So, if a prospective student asks them if they're accredited, they can truthfully answer, "yes," and they're hoping the prospective student won't know enough to ask further. However, because they are held to a lower set of academic standards, credits from those schools typically don't transfer to "regular" (for lack of a better term) colleges and universities. I don't know if you're considering any of the proprietary schools, but that is something to be aware of and consider.

[RHill9919]

Thank you for the responses. I am not sure if the schools I am looking in to are proprietary. I will research it further.

[llg, PhD, RN]

To expand on Elkpark's comments ...

The major colleges and universities are accredited by regional organizations. I believe their are 7 designated regions in the country -- e.g. the North Central region, the Western region, etc. If you school is not accredited by one of these regional agencies, you may have trouble getting your credits accepted by the schools that are -- and those of the universities that have the strong graduate programs you may want later in your career.

One way to double-check that a school's accreditations are the right ones is to look at the accreditations of the well-known, traditional universities in the same region. For example, if you are considering a school in California ... look at the accreditations held by Standford University or The University of California at San Fransisco. If you are looking at a school based in Kansas, look at the accreditations of the University of Kansas. If you are looking at a school in North Carolina, look at the accreditations of Duke. etc. You want a school accredited by the same agencies as the "big guns" in that same region.

[RHill9919]

I am confused. My undergrad degree is through UMUC, accredited by the middle states commission. Would I need to apply to medical schools only accredited by the middle states as well?

[NICUmiiki, DNP, NP]

I am confused. My undergrad degree is through UMUC accredited by the middle states commission. Would I need to apply to medical schools only accredited by the middle states as well?[/quote']

That is a regional accreditation. Generally, schools that are regionally accredited will mostly be accepted anywhere in the country, even with the other regions. These are the big guys that really run our higher education system. Trade schools are usually not regionally accredited, so that's why their credits don't transfer well.

NLNAC and CCNE are national accreditation commissions that are specific to nursing.

A college should be regionally accredited (any regional commission), and its nursing school should be NLNAC or CCNE accredited.