Number of Accredited Nursing Schools?

[searay]

Hi everyone,

I've been reading these boards for over a year now but just joined :)

It seems that relatively few (and with large discrepancies) schools are accredited by the two major institutions (according to what I've read, mostly on this site) NLNAC and CCNE. According to their respective websites, the numbers of accredited bachelors programs in the two states I'm looking at, California and Oregon, are as follows:

NLNAC

California - 3 schools

Oregon - 1 school

CCNE

California - 28 schools

Oregon - 4 schools

Why are so few schools NLNAC accredited? And I just want to be sure, it can really be a problem to have attended a school not accredited by one of these, right? I'm just finding it frustrating that some schools I'm interested are not properly accredited, and it's very confusing to figure all of this out. Can anyone give me some advice on what is necessary and/or helpful when looking into schools? Between accreditation, location, and worry about not getting in, there doesn't seem to be enough schools out there!

[ExpatHopeful, LPN, LVN]

I haven't given this a whole lot of thought or research, but it could be that it is either very difficult to get NLNAC certification or that it's expensive to get. Being certified means that an independent group has taken the time to verify that the school does what it claims and adheres to good standards. My hospital unit is ISO certified, which is like accreditation for a business, and it means that every year we get audited and all of our paperwork and procedures and checked to make sure that we're doing the right things in terms of patient safety and finances etc. So when people see that certification they can be sure that we're not embezzling money or using out of date drugs or hiring nurses who aren't actually registered.

The danger of going to an unaccredited school is that you don't have a guarantee of what you're getting. Also, many (or all?) government loans are only available if you go to an accredited school. For instance the education tax credits you can claim for being a student are only if you attend accredited schools. It is frustrating that there aren't more nursing schools, but that's because there's such a shortage of teaching faculty I think. I wouldn't risk going to an unaccredited school personally.

[acshartman]

It is important to understand that a school, in fact most schools are accredited with a national accrediting body, even technical schools have their own accrediting body - this is the accreditation that allows for the use of government loans, etc. The nursing accreditations are in addition to the national or regional accreditations granted to the schools, a school without the nursing accreditations does not mean that you cannot be licensed (as long as the program is approved by the state you can get your license) or that you cannot transfer credits to continue your education, it simply means that you might have to look a little harder for a school to transfer to that will take the credits.

Just my two cents, but that is the way that I understand it.

[ExpatHopeful, LPN, LVN]

Thanks for clearing that up acshartman. Guess I got the national/regional accreditation a little confused with the NLNAC/CCNE one as far as funding and loans goes. Also your point about transferring credits is a good one.