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Discussion

Program accreditation

Hello everyone!

I am about to finish my ADN. My goal is to do a BSN-DNP (Anesthesia) program. Looking at many schools where that program is available they say they prefer or mainly mention the following organizations that accreditate a BSN program (as admission requirement in their program): CCEN and/or NLN.

My school's associate and BSN/BSN Completion program is accredited by ACEN. I am aware of the news involving the former NLNAC and that it was a law suit of some sort thus it was separated into two independent organizations: NLN and ACEN.

Now I can choose what to do in regards of my Bachelor Completion. I do not know if I would be ok taking the Completion at my current school if they are accredited by ACEN since many universities that offer BSN to DNP programs mainly mention CCEN or NLN. I do not even know if ACEN is just a regional accreditation, if also reaches a national level or if it is as valid as CCEN or NLN. I would hate to go through the Bachelor's Completion, work for two years towards having all the requirements completed for the BSN-DNP program and then not being admitted or taking into less consideration because my program was not CCEN or NLN accredited.

Is there someone who knows about this whole ordeal? Should I be ok with an ACEN accredited BSN diploma or should I switch schools after my ADN to an institution that is CCEN or NLN accredited in order to be ok in the future?

Thank you in advance!

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    It's actually CCNE not CCEN (Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education). CCNE is an arm of AACN (American Association of Colleges of Nursing). My understanding is the former NLNAC is now ACEN (Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing). ACEN is an arm of NLN (National League for Nursing). I am not aware of the reason for the change in name from NLNAC to ACEN. It sounds like you may actually know more about the reason for this development.

    Having said that, it shouldn't matter whether your undergraduate degree (BSN) program is accredited by CCNE or ACEN. Historically, both are recognized in the academia as legitimate entities that accredit nursing programs in the US. There has been a move between universities and colleges offering baccalaureate nursing programs and higher to pursue CCNE accreditation for some years now.

    Community colleges offering associate's degrees are not eligible for CCNE accreditation (or AACN membership), hence, they are largely accredited by ACEN. However, I doubt that graduating from a BSN program accredited by ACEN will hurt your chances in getting into a DNP level CRNA program. To me, there are far more requirements in CRNA school that you should worry about other than whether school accreditation is by CCNE or ACEN.

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    thank you for your detailed response and sorry about the confusion between CCNE and CCEN :). I guess the accreditation differences just get complicated. My school is AACN member and ACEN though. I was curious about the whole thing because as for now this is the only requirement I saw that I could modify somehow based on my option for the completion. Regarding the other requirements for the program, I will sure take care of them when the time comes. Thank you again! :)

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    You should be fine if your school is ACEN accredited, but your best bet would be to contact the admissions office of the school you are wanting to apply to and ask them to be certain.

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