Nursing School Accreditation

Nursing school accreditation is so important; it’s hard to overstress its significance. Financial aid programs for example, may not fund an education that comes from a nursing program that isn’t accredited by a nationally recognized agency. In addition, non-accredited nursing programs aren’t accepted into some of the nation’s most important and regarded entitlement programs.

The Dangers of Non-Accreditation

In the worst case, nursing students attending non-accredited schools may have trouble getting admitted into higher accredited nursing programs that offer coveted RN-to-BSN and masters degree programs. And if that doesn’t convince you that accreditation is a necessity, maybe this will: employers will hire a nurse who received his or her education from an accredited program over one who didn’t. Because health care is an exact science, employers don’t want to accept the risks of hiring anyone who wasn’t educated from an accredited school.

Who’s Accrediting Who

So who’s behind nursing school accreditation? Two of the most recognized agencies are The National League of Nursing Accrediting Commission (NLNAC) and The Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE). The NLNAC accredits masters, baccalaureate, associates and diploma nursing programs while the CCNE accredits masters and baccalaureate level nursing programs only.

Another widely recognized agency is The Council on Accreditation of Nurse Anesthesia Educational Programs (COA). This agency accredits nurse anesthesia and midwife programs.

Each of these agencies and more use nation-wide standards as a qualifying benchmark. Because those standards change over time, a nursing school’s accreditation can change as well, which is why you must inquire a school’s accreditation date. A nursing school may say it’s accredited, but that accreditation might have expired a year ago.

Nursing School Accreditation and Your Goals

Your goal as a diligent nursing student is to attend a school that’s currently accredited – not one that is no longer accredited. You may not want to attend a school that was just recently accredited or appears to sporadically hold an accreditation status either. Nursing schools with the best reputation have a steady record of accreditation so do your homework and apply to the ones that have an impressive record. You can find out if a school is accredited by looking for an accreditation logo next to its name.

Sometimes you’ll see an “Approved by the State Board of Nursing” blurb somewhere in a school’s literature, but that’s not the same as accreditation. A state accreditation agency doesn’t even begin to approach what nursing accreditation means to a nursing school or nursing student.

Individual states have their own set of standards that qualifies a school’s student for the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX).

Should you attend a nursing school that is not accredited? We don’t recommend it for reasons introduced earlier. A non-accredited nursing program isn’t necessarily a dead end – it only makes things harder for you in the long run should you decide to expand your career in nursing programs that expect to see an accredited work or school history. Nursing school accreditation is very important, but so is its accreditation! Check this reference to see if the nursing school you’re interested in is properly accredited.