Galen College not accredited? HELP

[BrittBritt]

I am registered for the April courses at Galen Louisville and just got news that Galen is not accredited. I had asked this at my meeting with Galen and they said of course they are. Are there different accreditations? I am concerned because the nurse I heard this from also stated that certain hospitals will not even hire you if you are a graduate of Galen. Please help! I need to know if this is the case and if Galen does not have the accreditation required. If anyone has any thoughts or insight please let me know..thanks!

[elkpark]

Yes, there are lots of different types of accreditation. Lots of schools tell prospective nursing students that they are "accredited" and the students unfortunately don't know enough about how all of this works to ask about what specific accreditation(s) they mean. When we talk about accreditation in nursing, the only two organizations that matter are the NLNAC or the CCNE. You can check their websites to see if your school is accredited (or is a candidate for accreditation):

http://www.nlnac.org

http://www.aacn.nche.edu/CCNE/reports/accprog.asp

I don't know anything about Galen in particular, or if some facilities don't hire Galen grads, but, in general, whether or not you attend an accredited program can continue to matter throughout your career. There are some hospitals/systems that will only hire graduates of accredited programs, and it matters if/when you want to continue your education in nursing to further your career and expand your professional opportunities. It's v. hard for me to think a justification for attending a non-accredited program ...

Best wishes!

[elkpark]

Looks like Galen is one of the proprietary (for-profit business) technical/vocational schools. They do not have NLNAC or CCNE accreditation:

http://www.galened.com/louisville/about_galen/accreditation/

It's important to be aware that credits from this type of school often are not transferable to other schools (that's because they are accredited by different organizations than those that accredit "regular" colleges and universities). There's even a statement about that in the FAQ section of the Galen website. While many people start nursing school with the idea that they never want to go back to school and will only want to do basic, bedside nursing for the rest of their career, many, many nurses have had the experience of starting out with that thought and then, after a few years of experience, noticing how much wider a range of career possibilities and employment opportunities they would have with a BSN or even graduate education. If you take your original nursing education at a proprietary tech/voc school and want to return to school later on for a higher degree, there is a good chance (and Galen is already warning you about this!) that you would basically have to start "from scratch" because "regular" schools won't transfer in any of your previous credits/courses.

It's v. difficult for me to imagine any justification, in this day and age, for paying tuition to an unaccredited nursing program with credits that probably won't transfer to another school ...

[BrittBritt]

Thanks for the information Elkpark. I was so confused so I appreciate you clearing it up for me. Looks like I'll be making some phone calls & decisions in the next few days

[elkpark]

You're welcome -- best wishes for your journey! I know these are difficult decisions to make when you don't have a lot of "background" information about how all of this works.

[Tmor]

Brit

Were you able to find out anything when you contacted Galen about their accreditation? I am also going to start classes in April. I was going to go onto Indiana Weslyan for my BSN after Galen. I know they work with Galen students. Indiana Weslyan is accredited. Please let me know what you have found out and if you are still going to attend in April. I tried to send you a email, but it would not let me.

[shelbee1084]

I'm in nursing school too and I dont go to galen, but another school in town similar to galen. I know that galen is an accredited school but not thru the nursing organizations. I do know that if you are wanting to further your education past the ADN and go for your BSN, galen has an agreement with indiana weslyan where your credits will transfer into there BSN program. Indiana weslyan, from what I here, is a good school and they are accredited either thru the CCNE or nlnac (not sure if I got those abbreviations right lol). i'm looking into goin to galen for my rn because the lpn program Im in just recently got there RN program put on probation and they arent accepting any rn students for probably almost a year. good luck! galen is a good school. my sister went there for her lpn and her rn.

[angela1983]

Some schools actually let you "challenge" certain courses that don't transfer, like A & P, where you just take an exam, and if you pass you get the credit for it, and don't have to retake the course. Most schools if you look at their RN-BSN requirements will have a list of pre-requisites, and those would be the courses that you would have to retake if you go to a non-accredited school. I emailed a lady from U of L a while back and this is what she had told me.

[angela1983]

I'm in nursing school too and I dont go to galen, but another school in town similar to galen. I know that galen is an accredited school but not thru the nursing organizations. I do know that if you are wanting to further your education past the ADN and go for your BSN, galen has an agreement with indiana weslyan where your credits will transfer into there BSN program. Indiana weslyan, from what I here, is a good school and they are accredited either thru the CCNE or nlnac (not sure if I got those abbreviations right lol). i'm looking into goin to galen for my rn because the lpn program Im in just recently got there RN program put on probation and they arent accepting any rn students for probably almost a year. good luck! galen is a good school. my sister went there for her lpn and her rn.

I too go to that other school and will either be going to galen, or JCTC also has a bridge program also. Did you sister have any trouble finding a job after graduating?

[shelbee1084]

no she was already working at clark memorial as an lpn. she started working there as a CNA though. idk from what I hear the school has a lawyer and is trying to get the decision overturned. hopefully the rn program will be up and running by the first of the year. i planned on starting the RN program in january or march so i'm pretty positive that it should be up by then.

[Quiet_Storm]

Galen College of Nursing is nationally accredited but not regionallly accredited and that has been the confusion about their accreditation status. They are working on their regional accreditation though. As for whether or not you will get hired if you get your RN or LPN from Galen - yes. I have met a good number of RN Galen graduates at the local hospitals who are employed as full time RNs in all departments. Up to date - Spalding University recently signed an agreement with Galen to directly accept Galen RN graduates into their RN-BSN program and accept all their credits from Galen. Once you have your license the only credits that do not transfer from Galen are usually the non-nursing credits, otherwise everything else transfers. Your option is of course to take teh non-nursing classes at a local community college and check with Galen first tomake sure you are taking classes that will transfer in. I am currently in the Rn program at Galen and will go on to get my BSn immediately after I finish. I have enjoyed my time there so far and feel that teh school keeps up to date with the changing pace of healthcare. Hope this helps in the confusion about Galen.

[WildcatFanRN, BSN, RN]

I recently found out that one cannot get a job at the VA Medical Center without going to a school that is NLN accredited which stinks imo. I'm a Galen graduated and other than one hospital system in IN haven't had problems with anyone accepting my application.