Commuting for Accredited school vs Non Accredited?

[Skylarslaughter]

I have finished the majority of my prerequisites and decided that the best option for me is to get into a private school to attain my RN license quickly. My choices are between two non-accredited private nursing programs (Southeastern College and Rasmusen College) that are less than 20 minutes away, and Keiser University in Tampa which is accredited by NCNAC and CCNE. Keiser would be an hour drive for me, but its accredited and I wonder if that will make it worth it?

Is accreditation important enough of a factor for me to make that sort of commitment to commute an hour every day of the week for school? & I plan to work as a CNA while doing this also?

Opinions, advice?

[RyFutureRN]

Well, you'd want to choose the school that's accredited especially if you plan to continue your nursing education, but if not then you'll be fine as long as you get your license.

[pmabraham, BSN, RN]

Good day, Skylarslaughter:

I found out the hard way that non accredited schools means a huge investment with ZERO payoff if you need further education. When I first attended college, I went to an accredited school. I only received 9 credits (the way their classes worked when I went to school is that what would be 3 credit classes today were counted as 1 credit back then). Then I ended up transferring to a non accredited school where I graduated with an associate degree. 93 credits and a 3.98 GPA.

Years later, I'm back in college pursuing nursing. Not only did most of the credits transfer from the accredited school; they gave me 3 credit equivalents -- even though some of my grades for that school were C's. For the 93 credits and the 3.98 GPA at the nonaccredited school, NOTHING. Adding insult to injury, the accredited institution provides 25 transcripts at no charge, then $1.00 per transcript. The nonaccredited school charges $25 per transcript.

Now, if you never plan on furthering your education, then nonaccredited might make sense. However, if you plan to further your education, PLAN on retaking classes, spending more time (because you have to retake classes), and more money (because you have to retake classes), then AVOID nonaccredited institutions at all costs.

Thank you.

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

Is accreditation important enough of a factor for me to make that sort of commitment to commute an hour every day of the week for school?

Yes. Accreditation is important. Ramifications exist when one attends a non-accredited school of nursing that can affect you for your entire career.

Nurses who have graduated from non-accredited programs might face three significant hurdles in their professional careers. For starters, the Department of Defense (also known as the military), the Veterans Administration, federal prisons, and other entities operated by the US Government don't hire RNs who graduated from unaccredited nursing programs.

Second, some prestigious hospital systems don't hire RNs who graduated from unaccredited schools of nursing.

Finally, as the previous poster mentioned, transferability of credits is a major problem because graduates of unaccredited nursing programs who want to pursue higher education will be rejected by the vast majority of accredited nursing programs. Most RN-to-BSN completion programs require candidates to have earned an associates degree in nursing from a nationally accredited program. Most BSN-to-MSN progression programs require applicants to possess a BSN degree from a nationally accredited program.

Without a nursing degree from a nationally accredited program, most schools will reject your application with the exception of some of the private for-profit entities (Kaplan, ITT Technical Institute, Walden, Chamberlain, etc).

[RNsRWe, ASN, RN]

"Is accreditation important enough of a factor for me to make that sort of commitment to commute an hour every day of the week for school?"

YES---YES---YES.

As already stated above, purposely choosing a non-accredited program will limit your future options, and while that *may* not seem a big deal now, believe me when I say it will be later.

It's not just some hospitals that won't hire grads from non-accredited schools. There are LOTS of government jobs for RNs, and they will not consider your application for any of them without graduating with accreditation (they even specify which accreditation, but they're the major ones, so no real issues there).

Don't do it.

[NurseGirl525, ASN, RN]

Is the accredited school also for profit? Why, why, oh why, do people want to go to these schools?? Do not ever go to schools like these. They are trouble. What is the time difference, like 6 months? First off, you will never get back the amount of money you will be investing. Second, credits will not transfer. Third, people don't hire graduates from these type of schools. Your degree won't be worth the paper it is written on and you will be in debt.

[guest07/14/15]

Go to the accredited school. I'm not too familiar with non accredited schools but I do believe there is a reason for the lack of accreditation. When applying for nursing jobs, they do say that you must graduate from an accredited program. So, to be safe, the extra drive will be your best choice.

[meanmaryjean, DNP, RN]

Do NOT attend a non-accredited school. Please!

[SopranoKris, MSN, RN, NP]

You also need to check with the state BON that you'll be eligible to sit for the NCLEX if you attend a non-accredited program.

The other issue is the major debt you'll incur. I've also heard from several students who went to for-profit schools that the institution would withhold their degrees and make them take additional (costly) modules. It's very bait-and-switch. The for-profit school knows your credits are no good anywhere else. They've got you held hostage until you complete the extra modules. Trust me, I almost got rooked into going to one of these schools with the lure of "start now!" "No pre-reqs required!". I'm so thankful I did my research!!!!

[windsurfer8, BSN, RN]

This is one area I will say YES it is worth it..and in my opinion not an option.

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

You also need to check with the state BON that you'll be eligible to sit for the NCLEX if you attend a non-accredited program.

State BONs do not care about a nursing program's accreditation as far as NCLEX and nursing licensure are concerned. They care if the nursing program is approved to operate, but accreditation is something voluntary.

You might be surprised to learn not one single state board of nursing in the US requires that nursing programs be accredited. In fact, state boards of nursing only require that nursing programs be approved to operate. In other words, the BON requires approval, but not accreditation.

Accreditation is a purely voluntary process that nursing programs undergo to assure the public of deliverance of quality education and a certain level of standards.

[RNsRWe, ASN, RN]

So, OP.....what are you going to do?