Suspended enrollment for NC nursing students

[WandaRN2BSN]

[COLOR=#000000]Recently a nurse in a NP program in North Carolina told me her current program is on hold because it entails "field experience." I recently found out that WGU has suspended enrollment for North Carolina perspective students and it may be some type of bump in the road for its current students. I wonder how long this will be an issue. What in the world is truly going on? What can be done about this? Is this a state or legislative issue? Anyone with any information please address.[/COLOR]

[mmc51264, BSN, MSN, RN]

Have you talked to WGU to find out from them; what their story is?

[elkpark]

There are existing threads about this, and you can do a general on-line search and find the information from the UNC board and NC BON. A growing number of states (the state education authorities, not the BON specifically -- this has nothing to do with nursing specifically) are starting to set limits on on-line educational programs. The UNC board has taken the position that, if a school in another state is providing education to NC residents, that school has to meet the same requirements and be subject to the same oversight that schools physically located within the state of NC are required to meet. The other schools have to register with the state and prove to the UNC board that they meet the state's requirements. Some on-line programs that want to be able to enroll NC students have done that.

It's nothing something that would ever affect me personally, but I think it's a good thing that NC (and the other states doing this) want to protect their citizens and make sure that the education they are getting meets the same minimum quality standards as other education offered in the state. (Same as when you buy insurance from a national insurance company, the policy they sell you has to meet the standards established by your specific state.) It's a basic consumer protection issue.