The Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE) and the National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission or NLNAC are two of the most identified accrediting organizations in the country. They are also two of the most significant organizations, often identifying qualifications for student aid or career practicality. Economical aid organizations simply will not finance non-accredited nursing programs and companies are not comfortable choosing graduates from non-accredited nursing educational institutions. To ensure nurses can secure sufficient educational funding and secure a job, both the CCNE and National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission encourage tight requirements onto a wide range of eligible programs. CCNE and NLNAC accreditation varies in the sense that the CCNE does not accredit LPN, Diploma, or ADN programs while the National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission does.
All baccalaureate, graduates and residence nursing programs operating under CCNE accreditation do so according to nationally identified requirements. Nursing certification, diploma and professional degree programs operating under NLNAC accreditation do so using the same requirements as well. And contribution in both is completely non-reflex.
The National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission follows the same concepts and procedures as does the CCNE. The organization accredits about 200 new nursing programs per year and watches 1300 programs per year. However, being the earliest accreditation program of the two, it offers a bit more than the CCNE. While the CCNE apparently places most of its focus on implementing requirements for nursing institutions, the NLNAC combines the same educational requirements with unique undergraduate conditions. It also works much more closely with government requirements than the CCNE does. For example, the NLNAC is the gatekeeper to Title IV-HEA programs, which lets practical nursing and hospital accreditation programs participate in DOE or other federal agency programs. With such a close relationship with various government departments, the NLNAC is capable of providing a variety of undergraduate nurse assistance programs, not just financial aid programs.