Universities with good nursing programs?

RNsRWe, ASN, RN · Aug 7, 2015

Pretty much everything you need to know you can find through Google :)

Do a search of colleges in the area you're interested in, look up the nursing program portion of each website, and look SPECIFICALLY for their NCLEX-RN pass rate. Do not choose a school with less than a 90% passing rate for its graduates; frankly, the higher the better.

Look for a school with national accreditation; there are regional accreditations as well, but you want a school that will have transferrable credits in the event you need to go elsewhere later on.

Good luck!

llg, PhD, RN · Aug 7, 2015

Actually, to clarify a bit about accreditations:

You want the university as a whole to have a regional accreditation, not a national one. Major universities are accredited by a group of boards that split the country into regions -- North Central, South, West, etc. I think there are 7 regions in the US, but I am not 100% sure of that and don't have time to look that up right now. But if you check the websites of the major universities in your state (e.g. U of Michigan, Michigan State, etc.) you will see that they have a regional accreditation for the university as a whole educational institution.

The nursing program should be accredited by one of 2 national agencies that specialize in nursing programs. The first agency is the CCNE -- the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education. This is an agency that grew out of the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) -- comprised of members from most of the major university-based nursing programs. This agency accredits programs at the BSN level and above.

The other agency is the ACEN -- the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing. This a new organization that is based on an old one. The National League for Nursing (NLN) is an old organization that used to be the major accrediting body for nursing, but in recent decades, it was fading a bit and focusing mostly on Associate Degree programs and hospital-based Diploma programs. Internal political squabbling resulted in a split between its sub-groups and the ACEN was established 2-3 years ago to begin accrediting programs at all levels.

So there are now these 2 accrediting agencies competing with each other, both offering accreditations for BSN programs and graduate programs -- but only the ACEN offering accreditation to ADN programs and Diploma programs. Both the ACEN and the CCNE accreditations are considered legitimate and respectable.

So ... to re-iterate the bottom line: A nursing school should have either the national CCNE or ACEN accreditation as a nursing program ... along with regional academic accreditation for the overall educational institution. Nursing programs also need to be approved by the home state's Board of Nursing, but all schools have that or they wouldn't be allowed to accept students.

There are some good programs in Michigan ... but don't be afraid to look out of state. However, if you look out-of-state, pay extra attention to costs. The tuition for most state-supported schools is much higher for out-of-state students than it is for in-state students. It might be a lot cheaper to stay in Michigan.

Good luck!

KAThftf · Aug 7, 2015

University of Evansville in Idiana, Milwaukee School of Engineering in Wyoming, Mount Union University in Ohio, Belmont University in Tennessee (way too expensive with up to 55,000 annual), Mount Mercy College in Iowa, St.Xavier University in Illinois, Lewis University in Illinois, University of Michigan, University of Detroit Mercy in Michigan, Coe College in Iowa.

All of them are accredited national and regional with some 100% NCLEX pass rate and some 90%.

All these colleges I have done research on in the past are private colleges and have good nursing programs with all direct entry BSN programs (I can name more but they are too far away with your standards).

It will be real hard to find a direct entry program in a public university, you might have to look far and wide for that one.

I suggest to find the cheapest college (or however much your willing to spend) in Michigan to get your degree though.