Accredited vs. Not

elkpark · Mar 26, 2013

If the program isn't accredited don't even bother!! You won't be able to take the NCLEX if you don't go to an accredited school! Stay away!!

I'm not sure why people keep saying this. There is no US state that requires nursing programs to be NLNAC or CCNE accredited for graduates to be eligible for boards. The only requirement (in terms of what school you attend) to be eligible for licensure is that the program be approved by the state BON. There are a few state BONs that use the terms "accreditation" and "accredited" to refer to what all the other state BONs refer to as "approval" and "approved," which I'm sure contributes to the confusion. However, those states are still talking about approval by the state BON (a minimum requirement for nursing programs to legally operate in any state), not NLNAC or CCNE accreditation.

UVA Grad Nursing · Mar 26, 2013

There are three different types of accreditation that nursing programs can have.

1. Accredited by the State Board of Nursing to be eligible to sit for boards.

2. Accreditation by NLNAC or CCNE to judge the quality of the nursing program, the involvement of faculty in the decision making process, the satisfaction of students and alum, the cooperation with the "communities of interest", that educational outcomes are improving, etc.

3. The college or university should have regional accreditation (Middle State, New England, Southern States, Western States, North Central States, etc). This is needed if you want your credit to transfer anywhere. This is at the college level (not the school of nursing level).

You can graduate from a nursing program with only the first (BON) and still be able to sit for NCLEX. Some employers will hire you with that, other employers will want the program to have both stage 1 and 2. If you want to go to a RN-BSN program you will want to make sure that your credit can transfer, so #3 is very important. If you want to go to a graduate program, then #2 and #3 are important.

CDEWannaBe · Mar 26, 2013

About 1/4 of the nursing students at the community college where I work earned LPNs at non-accredited (or under accredited for-profit schools). They're now having to retake all of their classes to get an Associates in Nursing and then to go on to a Bachelors in Nursing.

rubato, ASN, RN · Mar 27, 2013

Don't do it.

ReinventingMyselfAgain, MSN, RN · Mar 27, 2013

I'm not sure why people keep saying this. There is no US state that requires nursing programs to be NLNAC or CCNE accredited for graduates to be eligible for boards. The only requirement (in terms of what school you attend) to be eligible for licensure is that the program be approved by the state BON. There are a few state BONs that use the terms "accreditation" and "accredited" to refer to what all the other state BONs refer to as "approval" and "approved," which I'm sure contributes to the confusion. However, those states are still talking about approval by the state BON (a minimum requirement for nursing programs to legally operate in any state), not NLNAC or CCNE accreditation.

Well-known Elkpark is right! It's like an urban legend. Look it up on snopes (lol).

As someone who graduated from a non-accredited ADN program, I had no problems getting into the BSN and masters program of my choice. I had no issue sitting for NCLEX, and was never denied a job because of this.

As a professor who taught in a non-accredited ADN program, I heard this nonsense all the time. None of the alumni ever came back and said they couldn't find jobs because of that (having only an ADN was a disadvantage of course) and did not have problems getting into schools. True, not every school will let yo in with one arms. At most, you may have to take a challenge exam (an NLN type of exam).

I now teach in a program that is accredited, and went through the process of re-accreditation. It is long, painful, emotional and expensive! I now see why some schools cannot (or choose not to) attempt to apply. I'm not saying its not worth it. I feel like if you can get through the process and be deemed accredited. It does say a lot about your school. To me, it's like saying ONLY doctors or lawyers from Ivy League schools are any good. Not true.

For the newbies here: if your mother hasn't told you this already: don't believe everything you read on the Internet. That Munchausen thread is a great example of this. Having said that, I'm sure many wont believe me when I say that going to a non-accredited school is not a death sentence

elkpark · Mar 27, 2013

Well-known Elkpark is right! It's like an urban legend. Look it up on snopes (lol).
As someone who graduated from a non-accredited ADN program, I had no problems getting into the BSN and masters program of my choice. I had no issue sitting for NCLEX, and was never denied a job because of this.
As a professor who taught in a non-accredited ADN program, I heard this nonsense all the time. None of the alumni ever came back and said they couldn't find jobs because of that (having only an ADN was a disadvantage of course) and did not have problems getting into schools. True, not every school will let yo in with one arms. At most, you may have to take a challenge exam (an NLN type of exam).
I now teach in a program that is accredited, and went through the process of re-accreditation. It is long, painful, emotional and expensive! I now see why some schools cannot (or choose not to) attempt to apply. I'm not saying its not worth it. I feel like if you can get through the process and be deemed accredited. It does say a lot about your school. To me, it's like saying ONLY doctors or lawyers from Ivy League schools are any good. Not true.
For the newbies here: if your mother hasn't told you this already: don't believe everything you read on the Internet. That Munchausen thread is a great example of this. Having said that, I'm sure many wont believe me when I say that going to a non-accredited school is not a death sentence

.

I would never say that attending a non-accredited (NLNAC or CCNE) school is a "death sentence." However, it is clearly true (not an "urban legend") that an increasing number of employers are, at least for the time being (who knows if that will change when the economy picks up), only hiring graduates of accredited programs, including many of the most desirable healthcare employers in the US (the entire US military, the entire VA system, most academic medical centers, lots of the better "just regular" hospitals). I can't remember the last time I saw a job posting that didn't specify that graduation from an NLNAC/CCNE accredited program was required (and I've done some serious job-hunting within the last few years). While I don't doubt that anyone can find jobs and work a long, full career in nursing without having attended an accredited program, making that choice is closing off a fair number of future professional opportunities for yourself, which, IMO, is a big mistake. You just never know when you're going to see the "job of your dreams" and find out they only hire graduates of accredited programs.

Ditto for further education; I'm aware there are schools out there that don't differentiate, but I would not be willing to choose to limit myself (as early in the process as just getting into "basic" nursing school) to only those schools for any future education I might want to pursue, and close the door on a wider range of opportunities.

ReinventingMyselfAgain, MSN, RN · Apr 1, 2013

I was not aware of this Elkpark. I haven't heard that it has drastically affected the graduates of my former school(or the other schools in my area), so I made an Assumption. Thanks

elkpark · Apr 1, 2013

I was not aware of this Elkpark. I haven't heard that it has drastically affected the graduates of my former school(or the other schools in my area), so I made an Assumption. Thanks

It may not be an issue in your particular area, but, IMO, it's a big mistake to make decisions that can affect the rest of one's career based on what's going on in one particular area of the US, without considering the larger picture. :)