South College

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I have applied to a nearby college that's regionally accredited it seems. The Southern Association of Colleges provides it. I'm curious as is this good or bad? Will this help or hurt me getting a job after completing the nursing program? I appreciate any help given.

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Specializes in OR, Nursing Professional Development.

Welcome to AN! There are several key things to investigate about nursing programs you are considering.

Things you should investigate:

Is the school approved by the BON so that you will be eligible to sit for NCLEX?

Is the school approved by ACEN or CCNE so that you have no issues with further education or with employers who may require graduation from an accredited school?

What is the percent of students who pass NCLEX on the first try? A high percentage indicates the school prepares its students for minimal competency to begin working as a nurse. A school with a low percentage does not.

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The only thing provided on the school website is upon completion of the program students must apply to sit for the nclex. I'll look for the other points you provided thanks.

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Specializes in OR, Nursing Professional Development.

Accreditation can be verified on ACEN and CCNE websites. BON approval can be verified on the BON website, and that may also be where you can find NCLEX pass rates.

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Okay thanks for the information. I did find the last stat for the exam passing rate for 2014 was 91% passed the exam.

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The school isn't showing on either the acen or ccne. I want to get my master's and become either a cnra or fnp. If the school isn't accredited through one of those two site's then is it really a nursing education?

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Specializes in OR, Nursing Professional Development.

If it allows you to sit for NCLEX, yes, it's nursing education. However, not being accredited can lead to problems when applying for grad school.

Here's MSN program criteria from Vanderbilt (NLNAC is now ACEN):

RN applicants must have graduated from an N.L.N.A.C. or C.C.N.E. accredited school and hold an unencumbered RN license. Students admitted contingent upon NCLEX–RN examination results are subject to immediate withdrawal from courses with a clinical component if they aren't successful on the NCLEX-RN.

Criteria for Duke:

A bachelor of science in nursing (BSN) degree with an upper division nursing major from a program accredited by the National League for Nursing (NLNAC) or the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE), or an associate degree in nursing or a diploma in nursing with a BS/BA from a regionally accredited program in another field of study.
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I appreciate your help.

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Hello,

Have you heard any more information about South College ? I was thinking about going there but unsure if it was legit.

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any results?

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Regional accreditation is actually the highest level of accreditation. National accreditation is the one to be aware of - you will find national accreditation typically in vocational schools (hair, automotive, etc.). The country is divided into five "regions" that govern schools in their area. In the Southeast, the Southern Assoc. of Colleges is the gold standard. This accreditation acknowledges the college overall and it's quality in delivering all programs.

Programmatic accreditation is sought by programs of study like nursing, occupational health, medicine, etc. ACEN and CCNE are fairly standard in nursing, however CCNE tends to be preferred when colleges begin adding graduate programs.

South College nursing has had ACEN accreditation for many years. Last Fall, they decided to make the switch to CCNE because of their FNP and other graduate programs. The visit went very well and the expectation is that the full approval will be announced next Month when they meet. It is customary for this process to take a while. The college so far has never applied for programmatic accreditation that they have not been approved for.

The FNP students will all be grandfathered in, as will all graduates.

Also, because South College is headquartered in Knoxville, the other campuses (i.e. Nashville) won't show up on accreditation sites. The accreditation is for the program itself across multiple locations and will be noted as Knoxville.

Hope this answers your questions!

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