Look for the Seal of Accredidation

I recently read an article about a woman who started fraudulent nursing schools and scammed many would-be students out of thousands of dollars of potential tuition. I remember how poor and broke I was when I started nursing school, and can’t imagine what a setback that would have been for me in that situation. This made me wonder … how could so many students be duped into this scheme? And did they know what to look for in an accredited nursing school?

Accredited means to be officially recognized or authorized. For nursing schools there are two organizations that do this: the National League of Nursing Accrediting Commission (NLNAC)and the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE). Their primary goal is to ensure that nursing programs meet the standards and criteria laid out before them for their particular program (diploma, associate’s, bachelor’s master’s, etc.). If for some reason a nursing program does not meet these standards laid before them, then they are not accredited. Or, in the case of the aforementioned woman, there was no request to be accredited in the first place.

The importance of going to an accredited nursing school is that it is nationally recognized and confirmed to meet the standards expected of that particular program. It also allows you to sit for the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX) in order to get your license. If you do not go to an accredited school you may not be able to become licensed (check with your state board of nursing), and then you would not be able to get a job as a nurse. It would also mean that you could not transfer to an accredited school if you decided to get your master’s degree, for instance.

So how do you know if your school is accredited? Most nursing schools proudly display their accreditation on their websites or in their information packets. But, you may also look up your particular school on the NLNAC website (www.nlnac.org) or the CCNE website (http://www.aacn.nche.edu/accreditation/) to make sure it is accredited.

How important is accreditation to you? Did you know your school was accredited before you applied?