NLN vs. CCNE?

llg, PhD, RN · Sep 14, 2004

In the past, NLN was the only major accrediting agency. So, most admission policies, employment policies, etc. were written to say "NLN accreditation required." Recently, however, more and more schools are choosing to go with CCNE instead. I'm not sure of all the reasons why -- but because the CCNE accreditation comes from the American Association of Collegiate Nurses, I am sure that the whole "entry level into practice" issues come into play. It may take a while before the world outside academia realizes that so many schools are switching to CCNE and policy statements can be changed.

I would not switch schools or anything ... It doesn't say anything "bad" about your school ... but I would have some information on the CCNE accreditation available (from your school and/or the AACN website) to show anyone who was not familiar with that accreditation. Until the non-academic world catches up with the changes occuring in school accreditation, you might encounter some people who don't know that CCNE accreditation is quite legitimate and that many reputable schools are choosing it over NLN.

I am sure there are people out there who know more about this than I do. What do you all think?

llg

RN4NICU, LPN, LVN · Sep 16, 2004

Personally, I wouldn't attend a school that, out of sheer ignorance, considered the NLN the "be all end all". CCNE is very legitimate and any university program that is not current on accreditation issues...let's just say I'm not sure I would trust them to be current on anything else. We, as nurses, are expected to remain current in our areas of expertise. I expect nothing less from institutions of higher education. If nursing education (particularly at the graduate level) is their area of expertise, then there is no excuse for them to be ignorant of current accreditation issues.