How We Ranked the Best RN to BSN Programs in Your State for 2023?

To start with, ranking an RN to BSN program is no mean feat as there is no sure shot formula or indicator that tells us which program is the best. With several schools offering RN to BSN programs across each state, it can get rather daunting to make a choice. To simplify your search for the best RN to BSN program in your state, we have ranked schools based on several factors, which we believe are important in defining your learning experience and career preparedness. Our rankings are totally fair and unbiased as we are a neutral third party who, in no way is associated with any of the schools. On this page, you can learn about our detailed ranking methodology and the various factors we have considered to come up with our list of Best RN to BSN programs in your state.

Minimum Requirements to be Eligible for our Rankings

We only considered RN to BSN programs that were accredited by either the ACEN or CCNE.

Ranking Factors and Weightage

We developed our ranking methodology by considering three important areas that influence a student's choice while deciding on the best RN to BSN program. We looked into a school's academic quality, affordability, and overall reputation.

Factor		Weightage
Academic Quality		40%
Enrollment Rate	33.33%
Retention Rate	33.33%
Graduation Rate	33.33%
Affordability		30%
The School's Reputation		30%

Why Were Our Rankings Based on the Above Factors?

The reason behind considering the three factors mentioned above has been explained below for you to better understand our rankings.

1. Academic Quality

A school's quality of education is the most important factor while making a choice, and seemingly so, this factor constitutes 40% of our total ranking score. To measure a school's academic quality, we have taken-into-account its enrollment, retention, and graduation rate.

Enrollment Rate: Enrollment rate is the percentage of students choosing to enroll in a college after their application has been accepted. Higher enrollment points towards the college being a preferred choice among students for the positive learning experience it offers.

Retention Rate: Retention rate of a school indicates the number of students choosing to continue with the college to complete the program. A higher retention rate signifies fewer transfers and dropouts, telling us that students are happy with their learning experience at the college.

Graduation Rate: Graduation rate signifies the number of students graduating from a school within the stipulated time frame. A higher graduation rate indicates a supportive learning environment.

2. Affordability

Affordability is an important factor to be considered while making a choice of RN to BSN program. A lower cost of education equates to a higher return on investment and helps you recover the cost much sooner. Keeping this in mind, we have given 30% weightage to a school's net price while devising our rankings.

3. The School's Reputation

Out of our total ranking score of 100%, 30% weightage has been given to a school's reputation. The reputation of a school was gauged from several pointers, some of which are internal such as faculty credentials, industry partnerships, and a school's NCLEX-RN pass rates over the last four years. Furthermore, to obtain an outside viewpoint, we have looked into college rankings, ratings and, student reviews from respected online publications such as US News, Niche, Grad Reports and Rate My Professors. This way, we were able to get an overall idea of the reputation a school carries.

Where did we Gather the data from?

• The list of RN to BSN programs in each state was collected from the accrediting body websites - ACEN and CCNE.
• Enrollment Rate, Retention Rate, Graduation Rate, and, the Net Price was gathered from the National Center for Education Statistics.
• NCLEX-RN First time Pass Rates for each school was collected from the respective State Board of Nursing websites.

Disclaimer

As a nursing educational resource, we understand that our rankings can influence a student's decision in choosing an RN to BSN program. As such, there is no one definition of a best program, and rankings of any nature must not be construed as a barometer of a program's success. Having said that, Nursingprocess.org has tried its best in bringing you a list of the best RN to BSN programs based on an in-house ranking methodology. We do not promote or endorse any school; neither do we disregard schools that haven't made it to our list. Our ranking list is fair and unbiased and can certainly be used as a helpful guide for students and their families in their search for the right program. We advise students to use our rankings as a starting point and make a final decision only after extensive research.