NC and Distance/Out-of-State NP Programs

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Specializes in Nursing Education, CVICU, Float Pool.

I've been reading around the APN boards for a while and this past year I have realized that multiple states, like my state if NC for example, are requiring Out-of-state distance/online educational programs to be approved by the UNC Board of Governors (or whatever committee or board it us in other states), if students are required to physically carry out educational activities within the state (like clinicals and teaching etc..), before a students activities are permissible in the state and upheld by the board. As a result many of the out-of-state/distance oriented NP programs, even from the most reputable schools (Like Georgetown, Vanderbilt, and Frontier) can no longer accept applicants from NC students or other state with this policy. This whole thing came up in the beginning of 2013 around the time when NC made this decision. How do some if you guts feel about this?

I think it's good that the state wants those carrying our such educational activities like clinicals and teaching to come from an institution/training program that is legitimately adequate; however at the same time it seems like a hindrance and push to try and coerce students to receiving any education in NC. I know that NP education could be more standardized and "across the board", but all accredited CCNE and ACN programs must all meet certain requirements to receive accreditation and therefore make their students eligible to take the licensing exam(s) required for licensure. I mean, what is accreditation worth/for if the state is just going to say that it's not enough for an out-of-state/online institution to be accredited by a reputable body (despite how well-regarded the school is and it's success rate on passing boards), but the board feels it must approve institutions itself. I wonder if, and if so, how much these schools will have to pay to get approved. Because this could very well be a money thing as well. Reputable NP schools that I had considered and and began preparing to apply to, such as: Frontier and University of Cincinnati have all announced that they can no longer accept new students from NC.

I know a few if the school, like the two I mentioned above, have stated they are seeking approval, but it seems like such a hindrance when we don't have many distance NP programs in NC, or affordable distance NP programs (thinking of Duke). The closest B&M NP program is 2.25 hours away from me. All only admit only one time a year (unlike many online and distance programs that are out-of-state which have multiple start options). Most of these programs, like ECU (which does have an online program) only accept 25-30 students each year.

The situation is just frustrating. Sorry for the length and likely numerous grammatical errors. I am typing in my iphone and aggravated. lol!

Thanks guys!!!

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Specializes in Nursing Education, CVICU, Float Pool.

Anyone??? Doesn't have I be NC specifically.

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I'm glad that NC (my home state most of my adult life, although I'm not there now) takes its responsibilities to its citizens seriously, and doesn't let "just anybody" offer educational programs in the state. The issue of on-line education is similar to the issue of on-line shopping and purchasing (and sales tax). If the company is physically located in state A and you, the purchaser, are located in state B, is the transaction taking place in state A or state B? Which state should be collecting sales tax on the purchase? Similar questions have come up about on-line education, and some states have made a determination that, if the school is physically located in state A and you, the student, are located in state B, the education is taking place where you, the student are physically located and that state may require that the school, regardless of where it is physically located, meet the requirements and be approved by the appropriate authorities in state B. Makes sense to me.

There is a lot more to an academic institution than whether it has ACEN or CCNE accreditation.

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Specializes in Nursing Education, CVICU, Float Pool.
I'm glad that NC (my home state most of my adult life although I'm not there now) takes its responsibilities to its citizens seriously, and doesn't let "just anybody" offer educational programs in the state. The issue of on-line education is similar to the issue of on-line shopping and purchasing (and sales tax). If the company is physically located in state A and you, the purchaser, are located in state B, is the transaction taking place in state A or state B? Which state should be collecting sales tax on the purchase? Similar questions have come up about on-line education, and some states have made a determination that, if the school is physically located in state A and you, the student, are located in state B, the education is taking place where you, the student are physically located and that state may require that the school, regardless of where it is physically located, meet the requirements and be approved by the appropriate authorities in state B. Makes sense to me. There is a lot more to an academic institution than whether it has ACEN or CCNE accreditation.[/quote'] I agree that it's good the just any institutions can come here. I guess u just think it's a catch 22. NC has a slightly more limited selection of Options for ones to pursue APRN for those of us who live and work in the rural areas of the state. I wouldn't be as perturbed with this whole ordeal if the schools here (non-private) had more in-state distance options or twice a year start times etc..... Something to make APRN educational accessible to everyone.

I guess we will just have to see what the future holds. We are now cut-off from many good and reputable programs, at least for a while, that are offering the accessibility that many NC APRN programs aren't.

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I've lived and worked in a v. rural part of the state for much of my career, and I managed to complete a BSN and a graduate program. I commuted a significant distance to complete a B&M state uni BSN completion program, and I packed up and moved to attend my first choice graduate program. I'm not someone who has a great deal of sympathy for how hard it is to further your education if you live in a rural area. People who really want to do this find a way to do it. Best wishes for your journey!

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Specializes in Nursing Education, CVICU, Float Pool.
I've lived and worked in a v. rural part of the state for much of my career and I managed to complete a BSN and a graduate program. I commuted a significant distance to complete a B&M state uni BSN completion program, and I packed up and moved to attend my first choice graduate program. I'm not someone who has a great deal of sympathy for how hard it is to further your education if you live in a rural area. People who really want to do this find a way to do it. Best wishes for your journey![/quote'] Well, I can appreciate you opinion. We are just different. Completing my RN to BSN online hasn't been an issue since it doesn't require clinicals or teaching to be done. I personally will not travel the distances that I would to go to some of the schools close by me, at this time, for various reasons. I also will not pay an arm and a leg for private school tuition, but I do realize that no graduate education is truly "cheap". Not to mention that I would likely have to travel extensively for clinicals as well.

Im not sure I could handle weekly travel to a campus that's 100+ miles away twice a week and travel extensively for clinicals and then be able to work and study effectively. Anyways, it will work out somehow.

Maybe one day I will live closer to an institution that offers a APRN or a more viable option will appear. Until then I will bide my time and apply where I can. I've only just turned 21, I've got time to figure out what I want. Thanks for your comments! And I wholeheartedly agree that people who want it find a way to get it!

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Could you point out where you have found information reguarding NC not allowing some online NP programs?

I currently live in NC but attended undergrad in Alabama, where I plan on contiuning for my grad degree for FNP. I emailed the Alabama school about the program with information about where I live and question about 1 month ago, however they mentioned nothing about not being able to go to school because I live in NC. You stated that these restrictions were placed in the beginning of 2013. If so they are fairly new and most schools across the country would not have applied to the UNC Board to get their program accepted in NC and the out of state online programs would know this.

Just trying to do more research, I googled all the keywords and even looked on the UNC Board page but found nothing reguarding this matter.

Thanks.

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Specializes in Nursing Education, CVICU, Float Pool.
Could you point out where you have found information reguarding NC not allowing some online NP programs? I currently live in NC but attended undergrad in Alabama where I plan on contiuning for my grad degree for FNP. I emailed the Alabama school about the program with information about where I live and question about 1 month ago, however they mentioned nothing about not being able to go to school because I live in NC. You stated that these restrictions were placed in the beginning of 2013. If so they are fairly new and most schools across the country would not have applied to the UNC Board to get their program accepted in NC and the out of state online programs would know this. Just trying to do more research, I googled all the keywords and even looked on the UNC Board page but found nothing reguarding this matter. Thanks.[/quote']

Here's the email I received from the university of Cincinnati's FNP program yesterday:

"On behalf of Robert Zierolf, Dean of the Graduate School

We are very sorry to inform you that, due to state regulations regarding the delivery of distance education to out-of-state residents, the University of Cincinnati is not currently accepting applications for admissions to distance education programs from students residing in the state of North Carolina.

Please do not submit your application and pay the application fee since your application cannot be considered for acceptance at this time. The university will continue to monitor state laws and developments, with the intent of pursuing authorization in each state as appropriate. Therefore, you may wish to check back with us in the future for pertinent updates. In addition, we will keep your information on file and notify you if there is a change of status in your state.

We very much appreciate your interest in the University of Cincinnati and we hope to be able to serve you in the near future via the delivery of high quality educational opportunities in your state.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact the Graduate School staff via e-mail at [email protected] or by telephone at 513-556-1496.

Here's the link to Another distance FNP program not accepting NC students look towards the lower half of the page:

Frontier Nursing university:

http://www.frontier.edu/admissions

Georgetown University:

http://online.nursing.georgetown.edu/aacn-launches-new-graduate-nursing-student-academy/

- Look in the comment section at the bottom of the page. It also says it somewhere on Georgetown's main website too.

This are only two examples. Apparently as schools realize this new rule they are notifying the interested applicants as they go along.

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Specializes in Nursing Education, CVICU, Float Pool.

Also here's a link to the UNC Board of Governor's page for: Licensure for Non-Public/Out-of-State institutions:

On this page it has info about institutions that are already licensed as well.

http://www.northcarolina.edu/aa_planning/licensure/index.htm

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I too live in NC and am trying to apply to NP programs. The FNP program at UNCW is available online. I am also applying to UNCC but I live here in Charlotte. ECU has changed their program to a DNP option and consequently have jacked their admission requirements through the roof. I have a coworker that just missed the cutoff for Cincinnati. The unc website listing approved programs indicated South University as an approved school but they told me when I called that they were not. It really is rather maddening. Western carolina has a hybrid program that requires a portion of your classes to be taken in person. I do have a friend that went to UMASS for her fnp but she did a post masters certificate. Hope you can find somewhere to do your studies that works for you!!

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Specializes in Nursing Education, CVICU, Float Pool.
I too live in NC and am trying to apply to NP programs. The FNP program at UNCW is available online. I am also applying to UNCC but I live here in Charlotte. ECU has changed their program to a DNP option and consequently have jacked their admission requirements through the roof. I have a coworker that just missed the cutoff for Cincinnati. The unc website listing approved programs indicated South University as an approved school but they told me when I called that they were not. It really is rather maddening. Western carolina has a hybrid program that requires a portion of your classes to be taken in person. I do have a friend that went to UMASS for her fnp but she did a post masters certificate. Hope you can find somewhere to do your studies that works for you!!
Yes Chadley, UNCW, ECU, and Duke are the only schools with distance and/or online programs. Like you said ECU is now BSN to DNP and the requirements have increased, but not too bad. However, when they only had the online MSN the website stated they only took approx 25 students, idk if this has changed with the Introduction of the BSN to DNP. Many FNPs, most in fact, I know went to UNCW. They want applicants to have 1 year of experience as a BSN prepared nurse before applying.

All these schools are very competitive, especially Duke and ECU. I guess I will just have to be patient and focus on making stronger applications to these schools and seeing what out-of-state programs get approved.

I also encountered the confusing thing with

South University being approved. I was kind of leery on for-profit schools as an option for NP school, someone told me they were starting a FNP program and put of curiosity I checked it out, it wasn't much, if any, higher (tuition wise) than many other in line programs, cheaper than a few and seemed to have a good curriculum set up. If I decided to attend a for profit school for NP it would be at South University or Chamberlain, they both have longstanding histories and established and successful campus based program, South even has a Pharmacy School.

Thanks for the well wishes. Same to you.

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"Dec 9 by elkpark

I've lived and worked in a v. rural part of the state for much of my career, and I managed to complete a BSN and a graduate program. I commuted a significant distance to complete a B&M state uni BSN completion program, and I packed up and moved to attend my first choice graduate program. I'm not someone who has a great deal of sympathy for how hard it is to further your education if you live in a rural area. People who really want to do this find a way to do it. Best wishes for your journey!"

I respect your opinion, but it is not always just a matter of how hard you are willing to work or how determined that you are. I understand what you are saying, and agree that those things are critical in these situations, but every situation is different. For me, attending a B&M school or traveling extensive distances would likely not be feasible. I do not work a fixed schedule, and work primarily during the week. It would be nearly impossible for me to work full-time AND be able to make classes even if it was local, due to the class start times and availability. I am single, so I must work full-time. I am determined, and will complete my educational goals, but there are more complicating factors than just will and determination. Have a great day. =0)

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