Does Regional Accredidation matter?

[Wanna_BA_Nurse]

Hey everyone!

I'm looking into ADN programs in my state and although ALL of them are NLN accredited, some of the institutions where they are offered are not regionally accredited institutions. My question is: Does it matter?

Will having a nursing degree from a regionally accredited college benefit me in any way as opposed to a non-accredited institution? Like I said, the nursing programs are ALL NLN accredited, but not all the institutions are regionally accredited.

Thanks for any and all help ~ Vanessa :redbeathe

P.S: I'm not typing this way because I think any of you are stupid, I just want to make sure I am clear because I tend to be confusing when it comes to asking questions.

[ToriTheTerrible]

Regional accreditation affects the transferability of earned credits. Are you going to be happy as an ADN or do you want to go for a BSN or higher in your future? Do you think you will never decide to get a different degree in a different field? Schools that are not regionally accredited offer classes and degrees and certificates that will probably not be accepted at other institutions. For example: an associates degree from a Sanford Brown or Kaplan (for-profit) school will not be accepted at Cornell or U of M or UCLA or even my school UTHSC in San Antonio. That means, the decision to pursue a Baccalaureate means going back to school and redoing the first two years to get all the basics back in to qualify for the Baccalaureate program. The funny thing about those non accredited schools, seems it can cost 5x's as much for an ADN as one from a local Community College, so, if you take out student loans, your earning potential may be limited to repaying student loans. Also, I have heard, and it could just be rumors, but degrees offered from for-profit colleges may not be a good thing to add to your resume. As I do not work in Human Resources, I am only repeating what I have heard and not personal experience. There is a thread on this forum about for-profit schools that I would suggest you look at. Also Huffington Post had an article about the graduation rate of for-profit schools. Anyway, good luck which ever way you decide to go.

Tori

Scrutiny Takes Toll on For-Profit College Company - NYT - Nursing for Nurses

For-Profit College Graduation Rate: 22 Percent

[SlightlyMental_RN]

A few months ago on on another thread I had posted this link:

FRONTLINE: college, inc.: watch the full program online | PBS

It's a fascinating look at for-profit colleges.

[caliotter3]

This was not addressed in my nursing program. All we worried about was graduating and having our paperwork sent forward from the school so that we could take the

Boards.

[indigonurse]

In my state you cannot sit for the boards unless the school is accredited. I would say yes. You do not want to find yourself in a situation where the school closes or you cannot take your boards.

[roser13, ASN, RN]

In my state you cannot sit for the boards unless the school is accredited. I would say yes. You do not want to find yourself in a situation where the school closes or you cannot take your boards.

Please reread OP's post. The issue is not NLN accreditation, but regional accreditation.

[TheCommuter, BSN, RN]

In my state you cannot sit for the boards unless the school is accredited. I would say yes. You do not want to find yourself in a situation where the school closes or you cannot take your boards.

There is not one state board of nursing in the U.S. that requires accreditation for nursing programs. Many people get accreditation confused with approval and tend to use these terms interchangeably.

In order for graduates of any school of nursing to be eligible to take NCLEX and become an RN or LPN/LVN, they need to have completed a nursing program that is approved to operate by the state's board of nursing. Accreditation is an extra, voluntary measure taken by nursing schools to affirm that their programs are meeting specific standards of quality that go above and beyond. There are many graduates of unaccredited programs who are working as nurses today because they attended nursing schools that were merely approved to operate by the board of nursing.

The NLNAC (National League for Nursing) accredits LPN, ADN, BSN, and graduate nursing programs. The CCNE (Commission for Collegiate Nursing Education) accredits only baccalaureate and graduate level nursing programs.

For example, community college nursing programs all possess regional accreditation, and most (but not all) have national accreditation from the National League for Nursing. However, many trade schools and vo/techs offer nursing programs that lack regional and national accreditation. Graduates of these schools still take and pass NCLEX due to the program's approval to operate; however, these nurses will encounter difficulty if they want to further their education or work for a government entity such as the VA, Department of Defense, or federal prisons. Most BSN and MSN completion programs want the ADN to have been earned at a regionally and nationally accredited school, and most government entities will not hire an RN who attended an unaccredited program.

I hope that my post clarifies things.

[SummitRN, BSN, RN]

The only schools that aren't regionally accredited are trade schools and for-profit schools, both of which are always towards the bottom end of the reputation scale. You get to pay through the nose for the "privilege" of attending such institutions.

[Wanna_BA_Nurse]

WOW! Overwhelming amount of responses and most are GREATLY appreciated! :redpinkhe Thank you SO SO much for helping me out. This has really helped this decision become an easy one to make: Of course I'll go with the regionally accredited! I'm not planning on a bachelors, but I don't want that door closed to me.

Thank you so much again everyone! ~ Vanessa