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Discussion

Accreditation

When looking for an rn to msn program do you want a national or regional accreditation?

What's the difference?

Is the entire school accredited or does it go by each program the school offers (for instance the bsn is accredited but the msn isn't)

any suggestions on 100% online rn to msn programs? (I looked into kaplan but without knowing what to look for with an accrediation I didn't get far)

thank you you in advance for any information you have to offer.

Kerri

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    I had already typed out my whole long spiel about nursing program accreditation, and then saw, when the final version posted, that you are specifically asking about MSN programs, which I somehow missed on first reading.

    That's an interesting question. I'm not sure how important it is for a graduate program, but I do know that I wouldn't ever pay tuition, or put the time and effort in, for a program that had less that the standard regional academic accreditation and national nursing-specific (CCNE or ACEN) accreditation.

    General academic accreditation is for the whole school and has nothing to do with nursing, and "regular" (for lack of a better word) colleges and universities are accredited by one of the regional US academic accrediting organizations (SACS, NEASC, NCACS, etc.). That is the "gold standard" of academic accreditation.

    ACEN and CCNE are the national nursing-specific organizations that accredit nursing programs. Either one is acceptable (one isn't "better" than the other), but CCNE is the only one that accredits graduate nursing programs (ACEN only accredits LPN through BSN programs). Having CCNE (or ACEN) accreditation is an indication that the school has voluntarily met higher standards than the minimum required by the state BON.

    So, people post here a lot asking "in shopping for a nursing program, should I be looking for national or regional accreditation" and the short answer is that you want both (one of each! :)) -- regional academic accreditation, and national nursing accreditation.

    Best wishes!

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    Regional accreditation is what you need for your credits to transfer. National accreditation is what you want to get hired. So just like the above poster said you want both. Each program is accredited separately except in regional accreditation where the school earns that so credits can transfer for any program. A school may offer say both engineering degrees and nursing degrees, but the nursing program is accredited through the ccne which in national for nursing but the school may not be accredited by whoever the national accrediting body for engineers. Does that make sense?

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    I accidentally posted this in the wrong forum and didn't know how to fix it but people have answered in both. Thank you for sharing your knowledge, the information has been priceless to me!

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