Not accredited by NLNAC/CCNE but by State BON...

rpbear · Sep 15, 2004

The only problem I know of if your school is not accredited is when you go to get a license in another state. I was moving after nursing school and when I was applying for my license in another state one of the biggest criteria is that the school had to be nationally accredited. I hope this helps.

1savvydiva · Sep 21, 2004

Thanks for replying Molly.

What if you already have your license in the state that you reside. I live in SC, so if I chose to attend this school and took the boards in this state, wouldn't I be able to get a license in another state based on reciprocity?

chris_at_lucas_RN, RN · Sep 21, 2004

I moved from Oklahoma to Texas, and they recognized each other "by endorsement," which I think is pretty popular, for exactly the reason you are stating. They want to be able to see exactly what kind of professional they are granting a license to.

If the first state's standards for licensure are lower than the second's, #2 isn't going to just let anyone from #1 come in and practice without making sure they meet #2's standards. If they did, they would not be controlling the quality of, in our case, the nurses working there.

Carry it a little further. A nurse from state #1 gets her license in state #2 through reciprocity, even though she went to a nonaccredited school. She makes an error, a patient hurt and a lawsuit develops. I'll bet you dollars to donuts that the lawsuit includes the BON (or here in Texas, the BNE) because the BON granted the license to a poorly prepared nurse. (It is actually called "but for." But for state #2 granting the license to the nurse who caused the injury, the injury would not have occurred. Therefore, state #2 is liable.)

Makes sense from a practical standpoint, I believe.

Now, here's my question for you! Why would you attend a school that is not NLN or CCNE accredited? If the school is as good as an accredited school, don't you wonder why they aren't accredited?

If they are substandard, what are their NCLEX pass rates like? How confident will you feel even if you pass?

I attended a continuing ed class with a girl who had come here recently from another state. She had failed the NCLEX twice. She all but wailed, "but I passed nursing school and got good grades, I never had a problem!" I will tell you in all honesty that although she was a sweet and caring person, when it came to nursing, she was as smart as a post. She truly did not get it.

You don't want to be like that girl. Spend your time, money and hard work in an accredited school, so you know you are getting the best education you can get.

Good luck to you!!!! :)

Sheri257 · Sep 21, 2004

Accreditations apparently don't mean much, in at least some states. For example, here's a previous thread discussing several schools' withdrawls from the NLN across the country:

https://allnurses.com/forums/showthread.php?t=67399

In California they still won't give you a license if your school doesn't meet state requirements, regardless of any accreditation the school might have. So, outside accreditation doesn't really matter. The only thing that matters is whether BORN approves the school, and whether the school follows the cirriculum and requirements set by state law.

:coollook:

chris_at_lucas_RN, RN · Sep 21, 2004

In California they still won't give you a license if your school doesn't meet state requirements, regardless of any accreditation the school might have. So, outside accreditation doesn't really matter. The only thing that matters is whether BORN approves the school, and whether the school follows the cirriculum and requirements set by state law. (emphasis mine)

"So, outside accreditation does not matter" is an erroneous conclusion, misleads the poster and just plain is NOT TRUE. If it were, the vast majority of schools would not be attempting to get or attempting to retain accreditation!

California may or may not approve an RN for licensure. Surprise! The OP is in SC. Apparently the BON there approves nonaccredited schools. The most recent reply is only tangentially related to the thread.

1savvydiva, pose your question to your BON and see what they say. While you are at it, if you think you may be working in other states, ask the BON's in those states.

Sheri257 · Sep 21, 2004

"So, outside accreditation does not matter" is an erroneous conclusion, misleads the poster and just plain is NOT TRUE. If it were, the vast majority of schools would not be attempting to get or attempting to retain accreditation!

Actually, I amended my post to include this other thread, which discussed several schools' withdrawl from the NLN in Florida and around the country. Apparently they're not trying to retain accreditation because it doesn't matter, at least in some cases.

https://allnurses.com/forums/showthread.php?t=67399

chris_at_lucas_RN, RN · Sep 21, 2004

I won't be responsible for your later amendments.

You win. I don't care. Sorry I bothered. I forgot myself.

:rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:

Assuming your facts are right (which I don't care enogh to check, frankly), how is that "apparent?" Another illogical conclusion, apparently.

Nothing personal, of course.

Sheri257 · Sep 21, 2004

If a bunch of schools are dropping accreditations (i.e. as mentioned in the previously posted thread) then, I think it's obvious that it doesn't matter in at least some cases.

My only point was that it's up to the state boards. What the state boards require is the bottom line, and this may vary from state to state.

If state boards require accreditation then, obviously, it does matter on those cases. But if there are other states like Calfornia that don't require it then, it doesn't matter. I was only using California as an example since it is a similar situation mentioned by the OP.

I hope this clarifies my point. I wasn't trying to get into a major argument about it.

:rolleyes:

RN34TX · Sep 21, 2004

Apparently they're not trying to retain accreditation because it doesn't matter.
https://allnurses.com/forums/showthread.php?t=67399

Lizz, with all due respect, after many many posts of being vague as to your status in nursing you finally admitted that you a are currently a student on some level and not yet a licensed RN or LVN.

That tells me that you personally have not attempted to gain licensure in any state and CLEARLY do not understand the endorsement process.

Any traveling nurse will tell you that NLN accreditation MATTERS when getting an endorsement into another state. It does not necessarily mean that if your school is not NLN that you won't gain licensure but it will make things a lot easier as far as scrutiny of your application.

I read your link to the previous posts and all were from other members, nothing was documented from any school or state board.

I have worked in 4 states in 3 different regions of the country, I know how it works.

Telling someone that it doesn't matter is very bad advice just because some schools in FL do not want to pay the fees involved with NLN.

And where else "around the country" is this all happening? I didn't read every post but did not see anyone other than FL mentioned.

To the OP, what "state approved" means is that your school is approved by SC to be eligible for graduates to sit for SC's NCLEX exam. If you plan on staying in SC you need not worry about NLN accreditation but I would be cautious as to why they are not. Not wanting to pay fees involved is hardly an acceptable reason. Most likely there are reasons that they couldn't meet NLN standards such as student to faculty ratio or the credentials/degrees that the faculty are required to have in order to teach at a NLN accredited school which could impact your learning experience.

Sheri257 · Sep 21, 2004

Lizz, with all due respect, after many many posts of being vague as to your status in nursing you finally admitted that you a are currently a student on some level and not yet a licensed RN or LVN.

Read my very early posts on this board. I have NEVER said I was anything but a nursing student. I have always been up front about being a nursing student. To say otherwise is, quite frankly, insulting.

As far as the previously mentioned thread, here is a quote about schools outside of Florida withdrawing from the NLN:

"I'm looking further across the country and it appears ALL the very large public universities are voluntarily withdrawing."

If you don't believe the information posted on that thread, fine. And if NLN accreditation is not required but still helps in other states, great. I won't argue with that. My point is that it doesn't matter in at least SOME states. I did NOT say all states.

Again, I was merely citing California as an example. If you attend an NLN accredited school, but didn't take all of the courses required by California law, you cannot endorse into this state. Therefore, in a case like that, outside accreditations don't, for all practical purposes, matter. The bottom line is what the board requires.

:rolleyes:

tmarie75 · Sep 21, 2004

I, personally, would not attend an unaccredited school simply because I want to keep all my employment options open. I'm considering possible military employment in the future and I know for a fact that you MUST be a graduate of an accredited nursing program. I also intend on going to graduate school, and most of the schools I've looked at require graduation from an accredited nursing program. Some programs are dropping the NLN accreditation and picking up the CCNE accreditation instead, but they're still accredited. Some scholarships require accreditation also. Please think things through very carefully before making a decision about whether or not to attend a school without accreditation. Good luck!