Nursing school rankings compare institutions using criteria described in the U.S. News & World Report and NIH Research Funding. As an individual interested in pursuing an online nursing degree, you must use nursing school rankings as a tool in paring down your choices. Schools with high rankings are generally higher quality schools, and although rankings differ from accreditation, they can be equally as important.
Institutions and individual nursing programs (LPN, RN, BSN, MSN) are ranked based on survey responses from executives, recruiters, school administrators, and students. US News & World Report for example, rates MSN programs from NLNAC accredited schools based on a survey of criteria rated from 1 (with 1 being marginal) to 5 (with 5 being outstanding).
What is the criteria we’re referring to?
Criteria used to rate nursing schools includes an institution’s classroom size (teacher-to-student ratio), postgraduate employment rates, starting salaries, and student preparation. Rankings from the National Institutes of Health are completely different from the criteria above and are based on the amount of research grant money allocated only.
Grant money funds research projects and fellowships, which can admittedly and seemingly indicate bias. But the value behind the grant money demonstrates investment worthiness. In other words, the more grant money that a nursing school receives, the more creditable it appears… especially since investors aren’t in the habit of granting funds to research projects that they don’t support.
As with anything else we measure, value, sort, and/or label, people question the true value of rankings. And so it is with nursing school rankings. Some people for instance, complain that rankings are just numbers and they don’t accurately describe the human quality of a nursing school’s character.
Other people question the criteria used to generate rankings. Is a school ranked highly for its low teacher-student ratio appropriate to an individual who prefers a low teacher-student ratio? (And vice versa?) What about campus life, the amount of homework, and extra curricular activities? Rankings don’t address those issues, yet it’s those issues that can influence an individuals decision to attend a nursing school.
Since the criteria above might not mesh with your own ideas of appropriate criteria, feel free to inquire further and match your own desired characteristics with what’s offered. You have the right to ask a nursing school about its ranking procedure, the criteria used to earn a ranking, and the ranking party. What you want to look out for is a potential conflict of interest since that may suggest a less than honest ranking.
A conflict of interest isn’t necessarily a hard case against honesty, but you should be aware of one in the event that (a) you’re torn between nursing schools and (b) ethics play a significant role in your decisions.
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