Accreditation

elkpark · Nov 1, 2015

When healthcare employers talk about hiring nurses that are graduates of "an accredited program," they are not talking about state BON approval -- that is a requirement for the school to even operate (as you have learned). They are talking about ACEN or CCNE accreditation -- the two organizations that offer voluntary, nursing-specific accreditation that indicates the school meets higher standards above and beyond the minimum that the BON requires. I am guessing that your ITT campus did not have ACEN or CCNE accreditation -- many of the ITT campuses don't, and getting it would take longer than it took the AZ BON to decide not to grant the program full approval.

ACEN or CCNE accreditation is what all of those employers are talking about in their job postings, and you don't have it.

Also, yes, there is a good chance that having attended ITT will impact your efforts to get into a BSN completion program. Most schools will not accept credits from ITT and the other proprietary tech/voc schools.

Just out of curiosity, how much did you research all of this before deciding to attend ITT?

Jacob080110 · Nov 2, 2015

Yes, if you graduated during the probationary period, you graduated from an accredited program.

elkpark · Nov 2, 2015

Yes, if you graduated during the probationary period, you graduated from an accredited program.

The OP indicates s/he is talking about AZ BON "accreditation" (approval), not ACEN or CCNE accreditation. Employers who require "graduation from an accredited program" are talking about ACEN/CCNE accreditation, not BON approval.

LexArsDad · Nov 2, 2015

Elkpark,

Thanks for the reply and for the info.To answer your question

(Don't know if your tone IS

sarcastic-hard to identify in written format ), but I looked into 5 different Nursing programs here in AZ-3 of the ones, which most appealed to me, had an 18 month to two year waiting list. I am an older student (this is a second career for me) and a 2 year wait did not, at the time, make much sense to me. I "bought the lines" from the recruiting department at ITT. And-maybe because- I wanted to get back to school "yesterday". The Accreditation at the time- which I was told to ask about(Might have been CCNE) was- I was told, "around the corner"(and I was told- "voluntary by the way") because their sister campuses in Florida and one of the Texas programs had it, already.(2012)I believed that-and I never confirmed it. Once I attended this program- The big struggle which we were constantly informed about, was the AZBON approval(Obviously{it is obvious, now, Thank you} because that meant more to ITT, so that they could continue there-at the campus in AZ) . I called the Nursing board, several times, and spoke with two different people. I, erroneously, believed that BON approval meant most to me as a student. Toward the end of my time there, there was a big push, and we were told that it was close to being approved. As if to confirm that-One day at an ICU Clinical I was met by, and questioned by, an AZBON representative-first about my patients and then about the school, teachers, Dean and the curriculum. I had believed that this(AZBON approval) was more important(for us students) AND-that was WHY- this was the major focus-for THE SCHOOL. When I graduated we were told that they had been approved and that it would, "probably" happen in a few months. I guess that's why I believed this was the reason that the NOTE on the "minimum qualifications" for these Arizona hospitals-was referring to AZBON accreditation. Thank you for taking the time to answer this, gives me a clearer understanding.

Whispera, MSN, RN · Nov 2, 2015

The AZBON accreditation is the most important. Without it the school closes and no other accreditation matters at all...

Jacob080110 · Nov 2, 2015

Oh, if that is the case then no, the nursing program was not accredited. Sorry, I saw "Probationary Accreditation", and quit reading. Next time I will be sure to finish reading posts before I respond.

TheCommuter, BSN, RN · Nov 2, 2015

Now that elkpark has provided succinctly accurate information about state BON approval, I will provide information about possible options for RN-to-BSN completion programs that may accept transfer credits from ITT Technical Institute.

The vast majority of the RN-to-BSN completion options are going to be at other investor-owned schools: Kaplan University, Univ. of Phoenix, Walden, Chamberlain, Colorado Technical Univ., American Sentinel Univ., and Aspen Univ.

If you are looking for an RN-to-BSN program at a nonprofit school that might accept ITT's credits, click on the link below for a list of schools. Good luck!

https://allnurses.com/online-nursing-schools/i-completed-a-912463.html

elkpark · Nov 2, 2015

Elkpark,
Thanks for the reply and for the info.To answer your question
(Don't know if your tone IS
sarcastic-hard to identify in written format ), but I looked into 5 different Nursing programs here in AZ-3 of the ones, which most appealed to me, had an 18 month to two year waiting list. I am an older student (this is a second career for me) and a 2 year wait did not, at the time, make much sense to me. I "bought the lines" from the recruiting department at ITT. And-maybe because- I wanted to get back to school "yesterday". The Accreditation at the time- which I was told to ask about(Might have been CCNE) was- I was told, "around the corner"(and I was told- "voluntary by the way") because their sister campuses in Florida and one of the Texas programs had it, already.(2012)I believed that-and I never confirmed it. Once I attended this program- The big struggle which we were constantly informed about, was the AZBON approval(Obviously{it is obvious, now, Thank you} because that meant more to ITT, so that they could continue there-at the campus in AZ) . I called the Nursing board, several times, and spoke with two different people. I, erroneously, believed that BON approval meant most to me as a student. Toward the end of my time there, there was a big push, and we were told that it was close to being approved. As if to confirm that-One day at an ICU Clinical I was met by, and questioned by, an AZBON representative-first about my patients and then about the school, teachers, Dean and the curriculum. I had believed that this(AZBON approval) was more important(for us students) AND-that was WHY- this was the major focus-for THE SCHOOL. When I graduated we were told that they had been approved and that it would, "probably" happen in a few months. I guess that's why I believed this was the reason that the NOTE on the "minimum qualifications" for these Arizona hospitals-was referring to AZBON accreditation. Thank you for taking the time to answer this, gives me a clearer understanding.

Well, the AZ BON approval is more important in the sense that the school can't operate, and its graduates aren't eligible for licensure, without it. You mentioned the possibility of a future BSN completion program, which suggests to me that the ITT program was an ADN program -- if they were seeking national nursing accreditation, it wouldn't have been CCNE, because CCNE only accredits baccalaureate and graduate nursing programs. ACEN accredits diploma, ADN, and BSN programs.

I see on the list of candidate schools on the ACEN website that there is no ITT Tech campus in AZ currently listed as a candidate or as having withdrawn from the accreditation process, although, if you're talking about 2012, that probably doesn't mean anything. (Also, I don't see it mentioned specifically in the requirements for accreditation, but I find it hard to believe schools are eligible to apply for accreditation prior to getting full BON approval). Even if it were, unless the school had been granted accreditation after completing the full candidacy process (and there's no AZ ITT Tech campus listed as an accredited program, either), the fact that the school was a candidate for ACEN accreditation while you were there would not make you a graduate of an ACEN-accredited program. ITT Tech is well-known for telling potential students whatever they need to hear to get the students to enroll, including making, umm, exaggerated statements about accreditation.

I didn't intend any sarcasm, but I will freely admit that I continue to be amazed at the number of people who post here after the fact about problems with their schools, problems that could have been easily identified by any amount of investigation and research up front (what the various kinds of accreditation mean, what accreditations the school actually has, NCLEX pass rates and the program's attrition rate, the general reputation of the school in the general and nursing communities, how employable gradutes of the school are ...). I am sorry that you've ended up in this situation. You will have a narrower range of employment opportunities available to you with the ADN from an unaccredited program, but, if you can complete a BSN at an ACEN or CCNE accredited program, you'll be in much better shape going forward. Best wishes (sincerely)!

LexArsDad · Nov 2, 2015

Thanks, I have been looking at the list posted by THE COMMUTER and have requested info. Thanks for the time taken out to reply.

Best wishes

LexArsDad · Nov 2, 2015

Thank you very much for this info-and the link. This has been an enlightening experience (maybe one that I did not need at this point in my life-Ha Ha)

Thank you again for the help and Best wishes to you.

Mavrick, BSN, RN · Nov 3, 2015

It sounds like you did make some effort to research. More than most unwary students on the hunt list of these predatory "investor-owned" diploma mills that target people with little cash, smarts and patience.

From your experience, how would you warn future students to avoid the unfortunate mess you are in now? I know there are threads here on this forum that try to advise the unsuspecting but those schools have the budget to air their ridiculous ads and keep sucking students dry. Fortunately, the Federal Government has started to shut a few of the great offenders down.

Sorry you have this extra hurdle to overcome and best to you.