My school is Unaccredited

Nursing Students General Students

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Hi guys.. I was wondering if anyone would be able to help me and give some information. Before you reply yes I know how terrible it is to go to an unaccredited school. Before applying to my school I had been lied to about it being accredited by a couple advisers and at the time I was not knowledgeable enough about what accreditation truly means nor did I have anyone to guide me. Either way I am graduating in may with an ASN degree and will be able to sit for NCLEX have my RN license and need options.. I know most hospitals won't hire you if you come from an unaccredited school. What should I do? I have also been looking into schools I can transfer to that will accept me so I can graduate with a BSN from an actually accredited school. Does anyone have similar experience? Also does anyone know schools I can transfer to that would take me in South FL or NJ-NYC area?? Please help!

Another thing to consider is that you may not be able to obtain a RN license in another state (by endorsement) if they require you to have completed your education at an accredited school. How far are you into this program? Have you considered transferring to a school that has an accredited program?

Unless something has changed recently, there is no US state that requires graduation from an accredited program to be eligible for licensure. ACEN or CCNE accreditation is a voluntary process that indicates the school has met standards above and beyond what the states require for licensure.

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that makes me feel better... thank you. The school I go to itself is accredited while the program is not they are however trying to get ACEN but I believe this would most likely happen after i graduate... It could take years. I hope I will find luck in getting a job with out a problem... What state are you from?

The accreditation process does take a few years. And, sometimes, when schools (esp. for-profit schools) say that they are "trying" or "in the process of" getting accreditation, they mean that they're thinking about maybe applying some day in the future. However, if your school has already applied and is actually a candidate for accreditation, if they ultimately end up getting accredited, that accreditation will be retroactive back to the point of the "site visit" by ACEN or CCNE (the physical inspection and review of the program by the accrediting agency). So, if your school has its site visit while you're still a student, before you graduate, and the school ends up successfully completing the process and getting accreditation, even if you have already graduated, presto!, you will be a graduate of an accredited program.

Best wishes!

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The accreditation process does take a few years. And, sometimes, when schools (esp. for-profit schools) say that they are "trying" or "in the process of" getting accreditation, they mean that they're thinking about maybe applying some day in the future. However, if your school has already applied and is actually a candidate for accreditation, if they ultimately end up getting accredited, that accreditation will be retroactive back to the point of the "site visit" by ACEN or CCNE (the physical inspection and review of the program by the accrediting agency). So, if your school has its site visit while you're still a student, before you graduate, and the school ends up successfully completing the process and getting accreditation, even if you have already graduated, presto!, you will be a graduate of an accredited program.

Best wishes!

Thank you for this information. My school has applied for the ACEN but they have not achieved candidacy yet... this could still take years even after I graduate. Even if they don't get candidacy while I am still a student but eventually do after I graduate the ACEN wont be applied to me?

Thanks for the help.

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Specializes in Nephrology Home Therapies, Wound Care, Foot Care..

Nursing schools do not not have to be ACEN accredited to be an accredited school. ACEN is an optional accreditation that many schools don't do, citing too many regulations, fees, etc. If that's your only concern, let it go. But, the VA won't hire you without it, probably some other federal agencies too- just a guess though. If your school is accredited by your state BON, it's an accredited school. Period. The bigger concern is your school's NCLRX pass rate-if you've looked at that, and it's good, stop worrying.

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Thank you for this information. My school has applied for the ACEN but they have not achieved candidacy yet... this could still take years even after I graduate. Even if they don't get candidacy while I am still a student but eventually do after I graduate the ACEN wont be applied to me?

Thanks for the help.

As I said, if the school ends up earning ACEN accreditation, the accreditation is retroactive back to the date of the ACEN site visit. If that occurs while you are still a student there, and the school eventually gets accreditation, even after you have already graduated, you will be a graduate of an accredited school. However, if you graduate before the school gets to the point of the site visit, the eventual accreditation will not include you and the others who graduated prior to the official date of the accreditation. You will still be a graduate of an unaccredited school (because the school was unaccredited when you were a student there, even if the school later achieves accreditation).

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I'll be honest, my school lost its accreditation my last year. I was completely scared. A large majority transferred out to another school. However most of them had their parents paying for their education. I could not afford the tuition of the new school so I stayed. I was able to sit for boards. I had no troubles getting a job and I'm currently in grad school. However if I had been a fresh graduate trying to apply for grad school I would have been turned away. But since I have nursing experience and my grades were good I was accepted. Just tread carefully. Check with your BON if you are able to sit for boards. Typically places only care that you are a licensed nurse and not so much of where you came from. Some places of employment such as the VA stated that they would not accept grads for employment if they came from an unaccredited school. My nursing school actually lost a lawsuit filed against them in regards to the accreditation. They were ordered to pay the students who sued a large sum of money. Something to look into...

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I'll be honest, my school lost its accreditation my last year. I was completely scared. A large majority transferred out to another school. However most of them had their parents paying for their education. I could not afford the tuition of the new school so I stayed. I was able to sit for boards. I had no troubles getting a job and I'm currently in grad school. However if I had been a fresh graduate trying to apply for grad school I would have been turned away. But since I have nursing experience and my grades were good I was accepted. Just tread carefully. Check with your BON if you are able to sit for boards. Typically places only care that you are a licensed nurse and not so much of where you came from. Some places of employment such as the VA stated that they would not accept grads for employment if they came from an unaccredited school. My nursing school actually lost a lawsuit filed against them in regards to the accreditation. They were ordered to pay the students who sued a large sum of money. Something to look into...

Thank you for this information. I am able to sit for boards. Please tell me more about that lawsuit students filed ? This actually has been something I have been looking very into due to all of the misleading information this school has been telling me. I would really like to know if I could actually go through with this. Thank you!

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They filed a class action lawsuit because they were promised an accredited degree and did not receive an accredited degree. They had to prove that not being accredited would hurt their futures. Some grad schools wouldn't accept my classmates and some of them were kicked out of their internships because they were unaccredited students. With that being said, I've not had one issue.

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They filed a class action lawsuit because they were promised an accredited degree and did not receive an accredited degree. They had to prove that not being accredited would hurt their futures. Some grad schools wouldn't accept my classmates and some of them were kicked out of their internships because they were unaccredited students. With that being said, I've not had one issue.

I am going through a similar experience. Thank you for sharing this.

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