School appealing loss of NLN accreditation - start over or take a chance?

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Student at Tri-C which is appealing its lost NLN accreditation. When we started, we all were told it was fully accredited. Tri-C is saying this is a technical issue that will be resolved and not to worry but little other info is forthcoming.

Halfway through the program, most younger students are jumping ship and starting over. But I'm 51 and can't imagine 3 more years to go through another waiting list and then starting over. It has been my dream to get a degree at my age. No one in my family even graduated high school, and I've struggled all my life after a brutal start. I was finally hopeful that I could make something of myself and accomplish that dream of walking to get a college diploma. To say that I'm devastated is an understatement.

I'm at a crossroads now and must decide whether to take a risk, to start over at another school or to just give up and realize I won't recoup my money and time if I only have 10 years to work after graduating.

Is it worth the pain and cost of nursing school just to get a degree from a nonaccredited school at my age? Should I cut my losses and wait a few more years to start over? I'm spiraling into deep depression over this.

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Specializes in GI, ER, ICU, Med/Surg, Stress Test Nurse.

Does their loss of accreditation mean you cannot take state boards?

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I take it you have been there a year? Some states allow nursing (RN) students to take the LPN NCLEX after 1 year of school...I would check with the BON-

If you can, take the LPN text then bridge somewhere else...

That sucks...

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Specializes in Pediatrics.
Does their loss of accreditation mean you cannot take state boards?

To answer your question, no. They can still take NCLEX. there are other schools out there that are not NLNAC accredited and students go on to take NCLEX. A d you can still go on for higher degrees.

as far as your school, did they lose it, or is their reaccreditation conditional? Many schools who attempt to renew their accreditation get a conditional renewal. They are told what they need to do to right their wrongs. The process is very long and complicated. If they have to start from scratch, this may be a red flag.

At any rate, the decision has to be yours, and only yours. You are in a different situation than your classmates, it seems. If you are half way through, you would likely be starting all over. Find out if your classes will be transferred. usually they will only consider 101 to transfer. You could be looking at a lot of time and money to invest. What if you don't get into another school, or another school is more difficult and you struggle? Do you like your current school (putting all this aside)? Think about all this before you make a decision, and by all means, finish out the semester!

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Specializes in Hospital Education Coordinator.

talk to someone at the BON. NLN accreditation may not be required to meet the state's standards. In some instances it is no more than a marketing tool. The state is the one who issues licenses and if the school is meeting state standards that may be sufficient. Better to go to the source

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I am due to start at Tri-C Nursing Program Fall 2013. I am 38yo, and I too feel I am at a loss right now on what to do. We are still able to take our NCLEX, because we are still recognized by the BON. However, most higher education in our area only take credits from accredited institutions. So to move on to you BSN after you graduate would be next to impossible, and most hospitals in our area will not hire an RN w/out a degree from an accredited institution.

I am going into this with a hope that they still retain their accreditation. The rumor is they will reapply (if their appeal is denied) and current students will be "grandfathered in" to the accreditation once they receive it back..That being said if they do lose it and have to reapply, I will switch gears and go thru the surgical tech program. I can't afford to go get my BSN so my plan was to get my ADN, and then move on to a BSN program after I had a year in the hospital and some experience. And hopefully have the hospital help with paying for the BSN. And being told I will be grandfathered into an accreditation just isn't enough security for me.

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Specializes in ICU.

I also was thinking of applying to this school for January 2014. How long is the actual process to regain accreditation? My adviser told me that they are still accredited but with "conditions." I am curious as to how this will turn out. I am 26 and paying for this second degree out of pocket. I do not want to waste my time and money.

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Specializes in Pediatrics.

Based in the name of your school (as you wrote it) and not knowing what state, i could not find it here. But take a look for yourself:

http://www.nlnac.org/forms/directory_search.htm

I'm not sure how long they take to update, it seems pretty quick. Look at others in your area, just to get a feel of the way it works. i.e., in my state, I found many who have to have follow ups; some in the next month, some next year. These are considered conditional accreditations.

You can also see which schools have applied for candidacy (in the process of initial accreditation). By no means, does this mean the school will get it. I know a school that is 'in the process' that will most likely not complete the self-study in the deadline shown (they have 2 years).

I also recently heard of a school in my area that lost their accreditation. The school is not even listed on the site, so I'm not sure what to make of that :/

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Our school is called Cuyahoga Community College. The appeal takes 90 Days and the school is telling us they will have an answer by July.

If you can't find a school on NLNACs website its because they are not accreditted. They only list the schools that are currently accreditted and their current status.

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Specializes in Pediatrics.
Our school is called Cuyahoga Community College. The appeal takes 90 Days and the school is telling us they will have an answer by July.

If you can't find a school on NLNACs website its because they are not accreditted. They only list the schools that are currently accreditted and their current status.

I know that's what it means. I was kind of saying that facetiously, (and that the rumor I heard must be true).

But what do you mean by appeal? Completely lost accreditation? Or did not receive full accreditation until they right their wrongs? Normally for schools that have issues to sort out, the NLNAC will revisit the school at a later date (and that date is listed on the site under the specific school).

Just asking for your benefit, so you can see what's really going on. Also, you can call the NLNAC, they will tell you exactly what the status is, if the school is being vague about it. I used to work for a school that didn't have it, and ppl would call them all the time to verify.

Edited to add: I just noticed that their last visit was in 2010. As an innocent bystander (who just went through the process in my program last year, and has some working knowledge of the process), that would be of concern to me (why it has taken them 3 years to appeal).

I also just happened upon an editorial, where many students made some very protective and defensive comments about the school. It may very well still be a great school. Just because it is not accredited doesn't mean it isn't a great school. I know nothing about life in the tri-C area. So I can't say how it would affect your opportunities for employment and higher education though.

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one of our local schools in Lackawanna county PA has lost their accreditation (they've been on probation for a few years and didn't get the necessary corrections done) and from what I understand this years senior class is ok as far as graduating from an accredited school, but the juniors (this is a BSN program) can still graduate next year and take NCLEX but they won't be able to apply for masters degrees, and they may not get jobs because of the "graduation from an accredited nursing school" that is in every job description...

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Sorry didn't know you knew that.

In 2010 they were downgraded from Accreditted to Accreditted with Conditions, and they were to correct their wrongs. They came back in March 2013, to review the school and see if they had corrected the issues. According to NLNAC they did not so at their next meeting the voted to deny Tri-C of their Accreditation, which our school immediately appealed that and paid a fee to file an appeal and maintain their status of Accreditation with Conditions.

I'm curious, you said your school just recently went through this, did their accreditation get denied or were they just warned? I am really praying that everything works out. The editorials really paint our school in a bad light, however I know a ton of people who have graduated from the program and are amazing nurses. But it is a shame we were not made aware that the accreditation was with conditions prior to the article coming out in the paper.

I know that's what it means. I was kind of saying that facetiously, (and that the rumor I heard must be true).

But what do you mean by appeal? Completely lost accreditation? Or did not receive full accreditation until they right their wrongs? Normally for schools that have issues to sort out, the NLNAC will revisit the school at a later date (and that date is listed on the site under the specific school).

Just asking for your benefit, so you can see what's really going on. Also, you can call the NLNAC, they will tell you exactly what the status is, if the school is being vague about it. I used to work for a school that didn't have it, and ppl would call them all the time to verify.

Edited to add: I just noticed that their last visit was in 2010. As an innocent bystander (who just went through the process in my program last year, and has some working knowledge of the process), that would be of concern to me (why it has taken them 3 years to appeal).

I also just happened upon an editorial, where many students made some very protective and defensive comments about the school. It may very well still be a great school. Just because it is not accredited doesn't mean it isn't a great school. I know nothing about life in the tri-C area. So I can't say how it would affect your opportunities for employment and higher education though.

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