RN to BSN

Which price lists were you looking at for each school? I saw Canyon's BSN is $400/credit and Masters is $450/credit. For nursing, Phoenix is $385/undergraduate, $430/graduate. To me this price difference is not much. I am in RN-BSN through University of Phoenix and it is great. I have never really done research on the Canyon College, but I chose to go to University of Phoenix because of the great things I have read and the people I have talked to that graduated from there. Do lots of research before making a decision!

Jessica

Tooter,

Canyon prices are $400 a course, not a credit. Each course contains 4 credits, so 1 credit is $100.

Canyon is accreditated with:

1. Central States Consortium of Colleges and Schools

2. The National Board of Education

Is this accreditation alright? I have no idea which accreditation is OK and which isn't!:uhoh21:

Thanks :balloons:

These are the two big accrediting bodies, National League for Nursing (NLN) or the Commission on Collegiate Nursing education (CCNE). Will you need an accredited degree for later or are you just after the BSN? Some masters programs require a specific accredidation and the two I posted above are widely accepted.

Hope this helps.

Donn C.

This school is NOT accredited by either the NLN or CCNE. The closest it gets is being accredited by a group of naturopaths.

Not good for a nursing degree.

Also saw in their FAQ's that they give "college credit for life experience." This is treading the line of legitimacy as far as higher education goes.

If you are going to spend that kind of money, you deserve something you can be proud of and not something you hope no one will look too closely at.

Unless you are in California, or plan to practice there (at least until they change their minds again), you should investigate Excelsior College (clickable link) in Albany, NY. I just finished my ADN (already have a BA and masters from traditional programs in a state university). Excelsior is a "real" school, in that it has a campus, students who show up for class, etc., as well as a huge distance learning program (I think I read it was the first, it is certainly the largest for nursing students). It is NLN accredited and also accredited by the New York State Board of Education--it is part of the State University of New York (SUNY) system. I'm not sure about the CCNE.

The cost was extremely reasonable, IMHO. Tuition is by the year (about $850) and the course costs were by exam, one exam per course (usually 3 credit hours, sometimes 4), which was about $155 but is now up to $200. Tuition for subsequent years is something like $450. (Much, much less expensive than Univ of Phoenix Online or Canyon College, either one.)

You are not limited to the number of courses you take in a particular period of time, it is entirely self scheduled, and your degree is "real." I finished my ADN in 3 months (not counting the first five months when I was terrified I would fail my first exam and unable to get moving).

Was it easy? No, not by a long shot. But with hard work and focus, it was definitely doable.

I have no reason to think that their RN to BSN and their MSN programs are any less legitimate and solid.

Good luck!

With Excelsior - you need to be careful - Illinois is another state that doesn't recognize it.

You know, not to be argumentative or anything, but I have seen that posted about Excelsior grads and Illinois licensure only on this BB and every time I try to find anything to substantiate it, I come up with nothing but disinterested third party sites (such as those that list nursing programs by state, etc.).

Never anything that says EC graduate nurses cannot be licensed in Illinois.

Can you post an URL for an official Illinois site that specifies that EC grads need not apply? Just for the record?

Thanks!

So it doesn't eliminate Excelsior grads per se, it eliminates students of nontraditional programs without a concurrent clinical component.

Maybe I'm being picky, but I don't think those are the same thing (e.g., there are other nontraditional programs whose graduates would also be excluded, not just Excelsior).

Thanks for posting this. It does clarify the statement about Illinois "not recognizing" Excelsior graduates.

Can anyone recommend a nice and not very expencive online/distance learning RN to BSN program accreditated by National League for Nursing (NLN) or the Commission on Collegiate Nursing education (CCNE).

You might look at Oklahoma Panhandle State for RN to BSN. It is online, and accredited by NLNAC. The cost is $200 per course (not per credit); courses range from 2 hours to 4 hours.l I believe the clinical component is arranged through work you are already doing. I don't know if the cost is in-state, out-of-state, or if it is the same for both. Good luck!