Ashworth RN to BSN

Discussion in 'Nursing and medical-related degrees' started by Kizmet, Jan 28, 2016.

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  1. Kizmet

    Kizmet Moderator

  2. AV8R

    AV8R Active Member

    I wonder what the utility of a DEAC accredited degree is in the nursing field.
     
  3. Abner

    Abner Well-Known Member

    I don't know myself. I suspect it is better for someone in nursing to obtain a degree that is also accredited by CCNE. The Aspen nursing degrees have that as an added bonus.
     
  4. Kizmet

    Kizmet Moderator

    In terms of employment it likely varies by employer. In terms of continuing education (MSN) t likely varies by school. So, "it depends . . ."
     
  5. cookderosa

    cookderosa Resident Chef

    that feels like an incredibly risky option.

    If it were me, I wouldn't earn a NA degree simply because it blocks you from advanced practice nursing!? You'd have to be 100% certain that you NEVER ever ever wanted to become a midlevel. I guess there are probably NA schools offering alternative MSN options like maybe nursing management or nursing information systems.....no, forget it, I'd say bad plan.
     
  6. Neuhaus

    Neuhaus Well-Known Member

    The Ashworth program is in the applicant phase of CCNE accreditation. It will be interesting to see if they get it.

    As more NA schools obtain CCNE I'm curious how RA/CCNE schools will respond to their degrees. That will impact utility much more than the standard RA vs NA argument. If a DEAC/CCNE degree can get you into an RA/CCNE program then the capacity will be significantly higher than if not.
     
  7. Abner

    Abner Well-Known Member

    Yeah, that will be interesting. On a side note. a few years ago, I somehow wound up in a nursing forum (I think I did a Aspen word search). From the little that I read, it seems that Aspen was mentioned in a favorable light and was being recommended as an affordable education option, and in some instances a way to move up the ladder.

    I believe Aspen was the first NA school to obtain CCNE accreditation. That happened under the watch of my good friend Dave Lady, ex President of Aspen. Good move. He always has been a trend setter and visionary.
     
  8. sanantone

    sanantone Well-Known Member

    Programmatic accreditation (CCNE and ACEN) and/or state board of nursing recognition are more important than institutional accreditation.
     
  9. Abner

    Abner Well-Known Member

    This is probably why Dave added CCNE, PMI and NAADAC to the Aspen's accreditation. His goal being on degree utility. He did not add the drug addiction and counseling program without being sure that NAADAC accreditation was secured, for example.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Jan 29, 2016
  10. Stanislav

    Stanislav Well-Known Member

    Nursing profession is in the middle of transition from ASN to BSN as entry-level credential, and this already seeps into job ads and requirements. Requirements on accreditation are not consistent state to state. Hence, I reckon there's a fair demand for a check-in-the-box RN to BSN programs from ASN nurses. Most of them will never go for midlevel. In this situation, Ashworth' program might fit very nicely. In fact, this is the same niche all Ashworth programs fill - convenient, inexpensive, generic check-in-the-box degrees.
    For example, I got curious about Florida nursing education scene after abrupt closing of a for-profit college, Dade Medical College. Apparently due to relaxed regulatory regime, large percentage of Florida nursing students attend for-profits, some accredited by obscure USDOE-recognized organizations (like DMC was), some just state-approved. In the list of potential issues for such programs (expensive, low board passing rates, might not be recognized out of state, ability to bill Medicare...) access to future MSN programs is not even on the radar - yet they find their students. In this climate, a degree from Ashworth College can be a viable alternative to one from say Carlene Home Health School (not a dig - I know nothing about them except that they exist). Potentially cheaper, too. I can see situations where I might recommend this program. We know from experience that the courses are not likely to be below a certain basic level of quality. Of course, I already recommended an Ashworth program to a friend with hmm... mixed results, so YMMV.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Jan 29, 2016
  11. AV8R

    AV8R Active Member

    One thing I don't understand... If a school is good enough to earn program accreditation (CCNE, PMI, etc), then why does it not go ahead and go for regional accreditation? I'm guessing that obtaining CCNE accreditation isn't easy. What am I missing?
     
  12. sanantone

    sanantone Well-Known Member

    1. Programmatic accreditation might be cheaper and quicker to obtain

    2. Raising the standards of one program is easier than raising the standards of the whole school

    When I taught at an NA for-profit, their nursing program had one of the best NCLEX pass rates in Texas. However, the rest of their programs were horrible.
     
  13. cookderosa

    cookderosa Resident Chef

    Even if we had that kind of crystal ball.... I doubt Ashworth is telling them.
     
  14. Ted Heiks

    Ted Heiks Moderator and Distinguished Senior Member

    And what is NAADAC?
     
  15. Abner

    Abner Well-Known Member

  16. Stanislav

    Stanislav Well-Known Member

    Ashworth is cheaper by quite a bit than any alternative DL degree I know of. I think the value is there. If they pulled off CCNA and won't raise tuition much, tremendous value. Obviously, it is not the best solution for every student, probably not even for most.
     
  17. Neuhaus

    Neuhaus Well-Known Member

    Degree utility comes in many forms and degree "acceptance" means different things in different settings. A BSN might be perfectly fine for getting a job but you might not be able to get into a grad program for a variety of reasons. A top flight University might hire a person with a degree from school X to work on staff but not hire a person with the same degree as faculty.

    So it's difficult to reduce everything to "will this degree be accepted?" Because there are simply too many possible outcomes for a graduate of virtually any program. Let's keep in mind that Ashworth has articulation agreements with a few (mostly for-profit) RA schools. All they would need is one agreement to get their BSNs into an RA/programmatically accredited MSN program for the degree to suddenly be considered "worth it" at a base level.

    Personally, I'm happy to see some NA schools stepping up to get programmatic accreditations. It took many years for for-profit schools to even be allowed to apply for RA. I feel like the tide is starting to turn on programmatic accreditatios and NA schools and it might have some very interesting consequences for what we know and assume about degree utility.
     
  18. Ebenezer Esau

    Ebenezer Esau New Member

    Distance Education Accrediting Commission. DEAC is a private, non-profit organization that operates as a national accreditor of distance education institutions.


     
  19. chrisjm18

    chrisjm18 Well-Known Member

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