Will losing accreditation affect me in the future?

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Specializes in Clinical Research Nurse/NICU.

I just got accepted into the Nursing program at the school I attend. Rumors had been going around saying that they had lost their accreditation. I asked a professor at school about it and she had told me I should be fine, they had just gotten back their accreditation last week. I had called the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN) and I asked if there was any way I could find out if my school had gotten the approval to become re-accredited. They told me they had not approved anyone and not re-accredited any schools in the past week. So,I found out it was the State accreditation that my professor was talking about. My problem is I am moving back home when I graduate. I won't be working as a nurse here in NY. Does this mean I must transfer to another school? How does this affect me getting a job or furthering my education later on? Do hospitals actually look for students coming from an accredited school? If I can take the NCLEX after graduating in NY, will I be able to transfer my license immediately after to FL?

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If I recall correctly losing accreditation means you will not be able to take the NCLEX. I'm not sure if this will affect you if they are accredited again before you graduate, but I think if it sounds like they are on shaky ground at any point you should probably find other options for your degree.

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Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.
If I recall correctly losing accreditation means you will not be able to take the NCLEX.
This is absolutely not correct information. No state board of nursing in the US requires nursing programs to be accredited. State boards of nursing are only concerned that the school has approval to operate, but they couldn't care less about accreditation.

Accreditation is a purely voluntary process that nursing programs undergo to prove to prospective students, the public, and the community that the education being provided meets certain standards of rigor and quality.

However, there are thousands of practicing nurses who attained licensure after having completed unaccredited nursing programs.

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Specializes in LTC.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe accreditation would be a problem if you wanted to attend school again, like a master's degree or higher. Most nursing schools want credits from an accredited program.

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This is absolutely not correct information. No state board of nursing in the US requires nursing programs to be accredited. State boards of nursing are only concerned that the school has approval to operate, but they couldn't care less about accreditation.

Accreditation is a purely voluntary process that nursing programs undergo to prove to prospective students, the public, and the community that the education being provided meets certain standards of rigor and quality.

However, there are thousands of practicing nurses who attained licensure after having completed unaccredited nursing programs.

Ah, I apologize! Thank you for correcting me. :)

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You will be able to get your RN, but most hospitals require their nurses to have graduated from an accredited nursing program. This is usually listed under the position requirements where they will often list if they require BSN, experience, etc. Graduating from an unaccredited school will most likely narrow your employment options to clinics and nursing homes.

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You can find many opinions here at this link

https://allnurses.com/general-nursing-student/accredited-not-accredited-742250.html

However, reading the information gives me some worries about the school. Not only is your school struggling to maintain an ACEN, but it also is having difficulty maintaining other forms of accreditation ? Is this a public or private school? If it's a private school, I would most likely pass, and transfer somewhere else.

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Specializes in ICU.

Accreditation means credits won't transfer anywhere. I'm assuming they lost their regional accreditation which is bad. If it is an ADN program, you will start from scratch to get your BSN. Most hospitals will not hire you if your college is not nationally accredited. That is what accreditation is about. Also you will need to look into state laws pertaining to transferring licenses.

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Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.

For clarification, nurses who completed non-accredited nursing programs might face three setbacks in their professional careers.

Firstly, the Department of Defense (also known as the military), the Veterans Administration, federal prisons, and other entities operated by the US Government will not hire RNs who completed nursing programs that lacked national nursing accreditation.

Second of all, several prestigious hospital systems avoid recruiting and hiring RNs who graduated from unaccredited schools of nursing.

Lastly, transferability of credits is a potential issue because graduates of unaccredited nursing programs who want to pursue higher education will be rejected by most accredited nursing programs. Many of the reputable RN-to-BSN degree programs require applicants to have earned an associate degree in nursing from a nationally accredited program. Most of the BSN-to-MSN degree programs require applicants to possess a BSN degree from a nationally accredited program. So without the nursing degree from a nationally accredited program, most schools will reject one's application.

The major exceptions include most of the private for-profit investor-owned entities (Kaplan, ITT Technical Institute, Univ of Phx, Walden, Everest, Chamberlain, Concorde, Brown Mackie, etc.).

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I just went through this with my school too. If your program loses it's BON approval you will not be able to sit for NCLEX.

As other posters have said if your school loses accreditation your credits will not transfer.

In my case I chose to transfer to another school. I wasn't comfortable taking the chance that my school may lose it's approval. While I was told that other schools in the network would enroll us if that happened, I still didn't feel it was worth the risk.

Read the meeting minutes from your states BON to find out what exactly is happening. Call the BON and also the director of the program you're enrolled in. Keep in mind the school may try to sugar coat it. Also check to see if the school has a transfer program. I was able to transfer without having any application fees and also got a scholarship for the next 4 years based on my GPA. Good luck!

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I just went through this with my school too. If your program loses it's BON approval you will not be able to sit for NCLEX./QUOTE]

This is not true. Call your BON. They are the authority in the matter.

In Florida, loss of BON approval does not stop a student for sitting for NCLEX. You have some options. Don't panic.

But, do yourself a favor, call the people that know the answers. Call your state BON.

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