{"id":18,"date":"2023-01-03T01:28:16","date_gmt":"2023-01-03T01:28:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/abound.college\/nursing\/?page_id=18"},"modified":"2026-03-02T19:07:42","modified_gmt":"2026-03-02T19:07:42","slug":"how-schools-are-selected","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/abound.college\/nursing\/about\/how-schools-are-selected\/","title":{"rendered":"How Schools are Selected"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Degree-seeking nursing students\u2014especially working adults\u2014bring complex responsibilities to higher education. They need programs that fit demanding schedules, maintain rigorous clinical standards, remain financially responsible, and meaningfully support long-term career advancement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>At Abound, we evaluate nursing programs through a structured framework built around four principles: <strong>Accessibility<\/strong>, <strong>Affordability<\/strong>, <strong>Acceleration<\/strong>, and <strong>Advancement<\/strong>. These \u201cFour A\u2019s\u201d guide both our data review and our qualitative editorial assessment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-building-our-award-lists\">Building Our Nursing Cohort<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>For the 2026 recognition year, Abound evaluates institutions for two nursing distinctions: <a href=\"https:\/\/abound.college\/nursing\/best-masters-in-nursing\/\">Best Master\u2019s in Nursing<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/abound.college\/nursing\/best-bachelors-of-nursing\/\">Best Bachelor\u2019s in Nursing<\/a>. Institutions earning one or both distinctions are included in our <a href=\"https:\/\/abound.college\/nursing\/abound-best-nursing-programs\/\">Best Nursing Programs<\/a> cohort.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We do not rank programs from top to bottom. Instead, we curate a focused cohort of institutions that meet our accreditation standards and demonstrate sustained commitment to nursing education. The final cohort reflects a range of institutional types, sizes, geographic regions, and student populations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>All programs considered must be accredited at the bachelor\u2019s or master\u2019s level by either the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.aacnnursing.org\/ccne-accreditation\">Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE)<\/a> or the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.acenursing.org\/\">Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN)<\/a>, and offered by public or private nonprofit institutions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Programs are screened using publicly available data from the <a href=\"https:\/\/nces.ed.gov\/\">National Center for Education Statistics (NCES)<\/a> and the <a href=\"https:\/\/collegescorecard.ed.gov\/\">U.S. Department of Education\u2019s College Scorecard<\/a>, followed by qualitative review of program structure, clinical design, and student support infrastructure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-best-master-s-in-nursing\">Best Master\u2019s in Nursing Evaluation<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>For our Master\u2019s in Nursing recognition, we review public and nonprofit institutions reporting meaningful graduate nursing activity. Data indicators include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Faculty credentials and instructional investment<\/li>\n<li>Graduate student-to-faculty ratios<\/li>\n<li>Program size and scope within the institution<\/li>\n<li>Median earnings data for nursing graduates (when available)<\/li>\n<li>Median federal graduate loan debt levels<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>We also review program structure, flexibility, clinical coordination expectations, and graduate-level student support services to assess alignment with the Four A\u2019s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-best-bachelor-s-in-nursing\">Best Bachelor\u2019s in Nursing Evaluation<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>For our Bachelor\u2019s in Nursing recognition, we evaluate undergraduate nursing programs with sufficient enrollment and graduation volume to assess performance indicators. Data reviewed may include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Faculty qualifications and instructional ratios<\/li>\n<li>Six-year graduation rates (overall and Pell-eligible students)<\/li>\n<li>Program structure and availability of online or flexible pathways<\/li>\n<li>Median earnings data for graduates<\/li>\n<li>Median federal student loan debt levels<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>As with our graduate review, we assess program design clarity, clinical transparency, pathway options (traditional, accelerated, RN-to-BSN), and evidence of support for working or nontraditional students.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-the-four-a-s\">The Four A\u2019s Framework<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-accessibility\">Accessibility<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>We look for programs that make nursing education realistically accessible through flexible scheduling, online or hybrid options when appropriate, and student services that extend beyond traditional business hours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-affordability\">Affordability<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Recognized programs demonstrate transparency in tuition, fees, and financial aid information. We consider debt outcomes, cost structure, and evidence of responsible pricing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-acceleration\">Acceleration<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Programs should offer structured, efficient pathways to degree completion, including clear sequencing, predictable timelines, and support systems that reduce unnecessary barriers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-advancement\">Advancement<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>We evaluate how effectively programs prepare students for licensure, clinical excellence, and long-term professional advancement. This includes faculty expertise, experiential learning, and institutional investment in continuous improvement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Institutional Review Process<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Abound maintains a focused, selective nursing cohort. Institutions that believe their nursing programs align with our accreditation and evaluation standards may request consideration for a future review cycle through our institutional review process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Institutions requesting review are evaluated using the same data-informed and qualitative standards applied to all recognized programs. Submission does not guarantee inclusion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Institutions may request review here:<\/strong><br>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/abound.college\/institutional-review\/\">Request Institutional Review<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Degree-seeking nursing students\u2014especially working adults\u2014bring complex responsibilities to higher education. They need programs that fit demanding schedules, maintain rigorous clinical standards, remain financially responsible, and meaningfully support long-term career advancement. At Abound, we evaluate nursing programs through a structured framework built around four principles: Accessibility, Affordability, Acceleration, and Advancement. These \u201cFour A\u2019s\u201d guide both our [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":10,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"page-templates\/abound-about-subpage.php","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-18","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.4 (Yoast SEO v27.4) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>How Schools are Selected - Abound: Nursing<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/abound.college\/nursing\/about\/how-schools-are-selected\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How Schools are Selected\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Degree-seeking nursing students\u2014especially working adults\u2014bring complex responsibilities to higher education. 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