State does not approve CCNE BSN program

I'm a bit confused....I was looking into Western Governors University for RN-BSN program, however the BON of Iowa does not have it listed as an approved school for BSN. WGU has CCNE accreditation, so why wouldn't Iowa BON approve it? And will it affect employment oppurtunities if it is not approved by Iowa BON?

I don't think my state (PA) has it either but I do believe someone told me that once you have taken your NCLEX-RN boards by a SBON approved program of that state, then you may take continuing education degree courses at whatever school you please but being accredited is a plus for the school of choice

State BON's only 'approve' pre-licensure programs. WGU's Rn-to-BSN programs are not pre-licensure. (They DO have pre-licensure programs in several states- these are ALL BON approved.)

Iowa BON website has a list of approved school for adn, bsn, msn and so on. I guess i thought that it only mattered for adn and nclex

WGU has CCNE accreditation, so why wouldn't Iowa BON approve it?

This is because WGU has no pre-licensure programs in the state of Iowa. The diploma or associate degree nursing program that you attend needs state approval for you to be eligible to take NCLEX, but the RN-to-BSN completion program only needs national accreditation since it is not a pre-licensure program.

For instance, let's assume you wanted to attend Villanova's RN to BSN program. You will not see it anywhere on the Iowa BON's list of approved schools. The same goes for the RN to BSN programs offered through the University of Wyoming, Colorado Technical University, Drexel, Arizona State, or any other entity that does not offer prelicensure nursing education in Iowa.

Again, those are probably only pre-licensure programs.

If you already hold an RN license, it does not matter, from a BON perspective, where you get your BSN completion.

Thanks everyone. I got a bit worried when my supervisor asked if the school was approved through Iowa BON. I paniced thinking I was screwing myself signing up for wgu.

States only "approve" sschools located within their own geographical boundaries. That doesn't mean they don't accept degrees from schools in other places for licensure, even for initial licensure (as long as those programs meet the state's requirements for licensure eligibility), just that the state has no jurisdiction over schools in other states.

My state cares nothing about any nursing degree that lies between ASN/ADN and APRN....only interested in those degrees which are followed by licensure of some sort.