Excelsior College School of Nursing is the largest in the nation!

[dmjacobsen]

Lots of interesting discussion in this thread. Unfortunately, there seems to be a fundamental misunderstanding of the politics behind why Excelsior is not unilaterally accepted by all states. It simply comes down to this: money. Nursing schools bring in a lot of tuition money, and states are losing that money to out of state programs. For another example, see North Carolina versus WGU. It has nothing to do with accreditation. It has to do with NC missing out on the tuition money.

Also, there's a fundamental misunderstanding as to how nursing schools operate in general. The CPNE is absolutely a method for Excelsior to keep their NCLEX pass rates up. But, as others have mentioned, traditional nursing schools use a series of HESI exams throughout the program to flunk people out, along with a comprehensive HESI at the end to catch any that may have slipped past the guards along the way. Is it right to intentionally try to wash people out? I'm on the fence. This can be a life-or-death profession. Is this flunk-out process unique to Excelsior? Absolutely not.

Having said that, and speaking as an Excelsior grad, Excelsior certainly is not for everyone. It's a tough ride, and not for those that are not self-motivated. The CPNE is actually pretty easy if you're prepared, but it's absolutely BRUTAL if you are not prepared. Excelsior could definitely do a little better screening earlier on to keep people from flunking out at this critical point.