School Accreditation: Important?

Syncere · May 31, 2007

Does NLNAC or AACE/CCNE accreditation have any weight on which school you will attend? Why or why not? Does it determine the quality of the school? There are a couple of schools in Metro Detroit area that do not have any of the above affiliations - I'm considering applying to one. This school said they didn't want to pay the money to be accredited but I'm not sure if it should be minimized to a money or status thing. Any insight will be appreciated.
Thanks

Honestly, I would rather attend an accreditated school, BUT the nursing school that I will be going to is NOT. For me, it's not a big deal because the school that I go to for my BSN and MSN will be accreditated. As long as you don't have any plans to work in a VA hospital or join the military, you will be fine. I'm somewhat concerned about this issue because some do seem to think that having national accreditation does determine the quality of a school, but I've heard many good things about my school's nursing program. The students that I have talked to feel as if they are getting a quality education, so I'm going to make the best of it and use it as a stepping stone to get to where I want to be. Hope this helps and good luck!

llg, PhD, RN · May 31, 2007

It is very rare for a high quality school to choose not to be accredited. They may tell you that it was just that they didn't want to spend the money, but that is very unlikely. What is more likely is that they were having problems meeting the standards of accreditation and chose not to pursue it so that they would not risk the failure.

It sounds better to say, "We didn't try" than to say, "We tried and failed."

Also, some schools (for BSN and MSN) may hold it against you when you apply or when you try to get your nursing credits accepted.

Be careful.

Just_An_Illusion · May 31, 2007

It is very rare for a high quality school to choose not to be accredited. They may tell you that it was just that they didn't want to spend the money, but that is very unlikely. What is more likely is that they were having problems meeting the standards of accreditation and chose not to pursue it so that they would not risk the failure.
It sounds better to say, "We didn't try" than to say, "We tried and failed."
Also, some schools (for BSN and MSN) may hold it against you when you apply or when you try to get your nursing credits accepted.
Be careful.

The more I look into this, the more I'm agreeing with your statement. One of the schools I was considering applying to isn't accredited and their reasoning is they didn't want to pay the money. Based on my not so positive experiences with them over that past few months, I'm starting to believe that there is more to the story than a financial/status thing. To be safe, I'm think I'm going to go with my first two options that have accreditations.

nursemantobe · Jun 1, 2007

To a certain degree it is something to consider, however, its also important to determine where you plan on going career wise. Myself I plan on continuing on for my B.S.N, which will then make the issue of accreditation rather mute.

I researched this issue, when applying to the school I chose. There were only a few considerations. First the well known, you won't be able to work for the military or a VA facility. NLN accredits primarily community colleges, it is the recognized accrediting body for the Department of Education. I believe the CCNE accredits four year schools. The one concern I had, and decided that I can overcome it by completing my B.S.N, is the endorsement of a license in another state, most states don't really care if the school has the NLN or CCNE, so long as the program is approved by the states Board of Nursing. However there is one exception that I checked into, and its fairly vague. That is in California, since I plan on moving to the Bay area in a few years, this may or may not be a concern. Again it all depends on what your career goals are at present. Personally I decided that it was not worth omitting a school that has a fairly decent success rate. There are many variables that could prevent a school from obtaining a particular accreditation. Ultimately, it comes down to evaluating the program, its success rate, and employability of its graduates. Those were the factors I considered. Just my thoughts, hope this helps.

CRNA, DNSc · Jun 4, 2007

Make sure that the institution is at least accredited by a regional accrediting agency ( in Michigan that would be the North Central Regional) otherwise you risk being unable to be accepted at another college or university for completion of the BSN or graduate programs.

nursemantobe · Jun 10, 2007

Thanks for the heads up regarding the accreditation issue. After researching it a bit further, it seems many schools require the ADN program completed to be either NLN or CCNE accredited. However, this doesn't seem to be the case for most Michigan Universities. Though in my case since I was looking at BSN completion in another state, this will be an issue. I suppose if I was to stay in Michigan it probably would not be an issue. I am reconsidering my application and may just go the second degree option at another school, rather than encounter problems down the road.