FNP in a pending acreditation University

[NGYSUN, BSN, MSN, RN]

hi everyone,

I have a question that has been bugging me these few days. I recently applied to do my FNP in a university that has its FNP track pending accreditation. All of their MSN tracks are accredited except the FNP track. They just started the FNP track last May, 2013.

Anyway, I know that this University is acclaimed and it should not be difficult for them to get their accreditation.

Is this a wise decision or do I leave them and apply else where? I just don't know what to do at this time.

Thanks in advance for your comments and suggestions....

HAPPY NEW YEAR tooo!!!!!! :)

[BostonFNP, APRN]

If they don't have accreditation it is a huge risk of both financial and time investment.

Just my two cents. It may be fine. It may not.

Sent from my iPhone.

[elkpark]

As Boston noted, the only answer anyone can give you is, "it may be fine. It might not." How far along in the accreditation process are they? If they do get accreditation while you're a student there, you'll graduate from an accredited program (and if, as you note, all their other graduate tracks are accredited, it's highly likely that they'll get accreditation for this one -- it's just a matter of the timing).

I can sympathize -- I would be really reluctant to consider attending an unaccredited program. However, the reality is that all programs start out unaccredited. If no one was willing to be a "guinea pig," there would never be any more (or different) nursing programs than there are right now.

[nursejl1]

I never really understood pending accreditation, what happens to all those students that are enrolled and graduate before it gets accredited? I suppose you can attend part-time, just take one class at a time until it gets accredited, then you can take a couple of classes at a time?

[zmansc, ASN, RN]

For the kind of money I'm spending on my education both in the actual funds I spend and in the lost revenue from not being able to work those hours, I would not want to risk that investment on if they are going to gain accreditation. There really are so many good programs available, that I would not risk it.

[Corey Narry, MSN, RN, NP]

OP, can you explain how the program is not accredited? Is it not "accredited" by your state? The reason I ask is that both CCNE and ACEN grants accreditation to nursing degree offerings (BSN, MSN, DNP) not particular program tracks (FNP, AGACNP, AGNP, etc). For instance, a school of nursing receives accreditation to its Master's programs and that becomes a blanket accreditation for all its Master's programs. A particular For-Profit university based in Minnesota has recently (as in Fall last year) started an AGACNP program and touts it as an addition to their list of CCNE accredited programs...and they are right, their school's Master's degree programs are CCNE accredited.

[NGYSUN, BSN, MSN, RN]

Thanks everyone for your inputs. . I just got info from a professor in that department that their accreditation will soon be official. According to her, she said that the ACEN had post-pined their visit which was supposed to be in last December.. they expect them to visit this February and hopefully award them the first accreditation...:cool: