Accredited question?

meanmaryjean, DNP, RN · Nov 4, 2015

You can obtain a license (subject to BON rules) in any state you choose. Southern, Western and (?) Eastern States are just the names of the branches of the accrediting organization. They mean nothing to licensing. You're good.

emmy27 · Nov 4, 2015

This post has a good breakdown. There's general academic accreditation, state nursing accreditation, and national nursing accreditation. Many employers and schools (in the event that you continue your education) will only accept graduates of nursing programs with national nursing accreditation- NLNAC or CCNE. This is different from the general academic accreditation of the school, which is what the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (or other regional body as appropriate) provides. The nursing program must also be accredited by the state board of nursing, or you won't be able to sit for the NCLEX at all.

Without your program having national accreditation, you can sit for the NCLEX and obtain a license, but you may not be eligible for hire at all employers and you may not be eligible for admission to some other schools.

There are good schools without national accreditation- my school did not have it when I graduated, although they were in the process of obtaining it and since have, and I was able to attend a BSN program with national accreditation later, which opened more doors to me. But it does potentially limit your future choices, so if you have the option to go to a nationally accredited school over a non-nationally accredited one, it's a good idea.

You must must must make sure the program has state accreditation through the BON, though. Some shady schools have scammed students out of an entire degree's worth of work and tuition only to leave them high and dry when it came time to apply for licensure. Always check, no matter how legitimate an institution looks.

https://allnurses.com/pre-nursing-student/types-of-school-795237.html