Rasmussen Regionally or Nationally accredited ? CCNE OR ACEN

[zummacansu]

I have Bachelor`s degree in unrelated field from different country and decided to go back to school. I am searching for nursing programs and going nuts. I am lost. I went to session to Rasmussen college in Minnesota. They have accelerated BSN program. First it seemed cool but I haven`t heard anything good about Rasmussen and they said they are regionally accredited by CCNE. So what does that mean ? what is difference between regionally and nationally accredited ? Will it be problem after graduated if they are not nationally accredited ? and i am also searching for other schools. Some of them are accredited by CCNE OR ACEN. So what is difference ? Also if you know a good nursing program in Minnesota who doesnt have a long waiting list please give me some advice. Thank you.

[NICU_Nurse_Casti, BSN, RN]

The CCNE or ACEN accreditations indicate that the program or programs meet a minimum standard for nursing education. It can affect your ability to find a job at a hospital or can affect acceptance into a graduate program later on.

I am attending Rasmussen in Fort Myers, Florida and enrolled in the Accelerated BSN program. I’m in my second quarter and so far I have had a pretty positive experience. There are certainly areas that could use improvement, but it is more instructor issues and not necessarily the program curriculum. That being said, there will be issues in nearly any program you find. Rasmussen is very fast-paced and you have to be disciplined in order to be successful.

[CamMc]

To address the regionally/nationally accredited part of your question, having worked as an enrollment advisor I have learned the difference and helped many students to understand this. Nationally accredited schools are typically trade schools and/or private and potentially for-profit, in most cases if you were to go on to pursue a masters or doctoral degree it will be from a regionally accredited school and they most likely will not accept your degree from a nationally accredited institution. Regionally accredited schools are accredited by the US Dept of Education and may fall under one of several different specific accreditations usually named by the geographic location, as long as it is regionally accredited your degree should be sufficient to meet any future entrance requirements or transfer credits depending on the case. Rasmussen is regionally accredited, so you should be able to go on to get a Masters from another regionally accredited school or if you started the BSN and needed to transfer they would have the potential to transfer. Here's a link to the website where you can verify accreditation if you should need it for any other schools. https://ope.ed.gov/dapip/#/institution-profile/210012