YSU nursing accreditation: who accredits what, and through when
Youngstown State University's graduate nurse practitioner programs are accredited by CCNE, whose listing covers YSU's BSN, MSN and post-graduate APRN certificates through December 31, 2032. ACEN accredits the BSN only, COA accredits the nurse anesthesia DNP through YSU's partner school, and the Ohio Board of Nursing approves prelicensure programs rather than NP tracks. Here is each body's role, the dates each one publishes, and two places where YSU's wording and the accreditors' listings part ways.
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Who accredits which YSU nursing program
Accreditation at YSU splits by program level. The table follows each accreditor's own listing, checked in September 2026; YSU's descriptions come in the sections below.
| Program | Accreditor or approver | Status and dates (accreditor's listing) |
|---|---|---|
| MSN: FNP, AGACNP and Nursing Education options | CCNE (master's) | Accredited; term expires Dec 31, 2032 |
| Post-master's FNP and AGACNP certificates | CCNE (post-graduate APRN certificate) | Accredited; term expires Dec 31, 2032 |
| BSN (baccalaureate) | CCNE and ACEN | CCNE through Dec 31, 2032; ACEN accredited, next visit spring 2030 |
| ADN and BSN (prelicensure) | Ohio Board of Nursing approval | Fully approved, per YSU's catalog |
| DNP Nurse Anesthesia | COA (listed under St. Elizabeth Health Center School for Nurse Anesthetists) | Continued review: onsite visit fall 2026, decision spring 2027 |
| The university | Higher Learning Commission | Accredited, per YSU's catalog |
CCNE: the MSN and post-graduate APRN certificates through 2032
The Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education lists three YSU programs: baccalaureate, master's and post-graduate APRN certificate. Its directory gives initial accreditation on February 6, 2017, the most recent action on February 14, 2022, and a term that expires December 31, 2032. CCNE's most recent on-site visit was in February 2022, and the next is due in spring 2032.
YSU's graduate handbook says the same in its own words: the Master of Science in Nursing program is CCNE-accredited. CCNE's listing names the master's program, and YSU's FNP, AGACNP and Nursing Education options are all tracks within that one MSN. The post-master's FNP and AGACNP certificates sit under CCNE's separate post-graduate APRN certificate listing, which shares the 2032 term.
The DNP does not appear among CCNE's YSU programs. Its accreditor is COA, covered below.
ACEN: the BSN only
The Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing lists a single YSU program, the baccalaureate. ACEN's page, last updated July 31, 2026, shows initial accreditation in December 1981, a site visit on April 11 to 13, 2022, the most recent action on September 9, 2022, and the next visit in spring 2030.
One YSU page reads differently. The title of the online nursing hub page describes ACEN-accredited online nursing programs at YSU, while ACEN's own listing includes only the BSN. For the online MSN and post-master's certificates, CCNE is the accreditor the records support, and it is the one to name when an application, employer or licensing board asks.
If a form asks who accredits your YSU MSN or post-master's certificate, the answer is CCNE. ACEN's listing covers YSU's BSN.
COA: the DNP Nurse Anesthesia program
The Council on Accreditation (COA), the accrediting body for nurse anesthesia education, accredits the program YSU offers with St. Elizabeth Health Center School for Nurse Anesthetists, Inc., and lists it under the anesthesia school's name. COA's March 6, 2026 list describes an entry-level Doctor of Nursing Practice, 36 months long with a May start, last reviewed in May 2017 with a next review date of May 2027.
That review is under way. COA lists the program under reviews for continued accreditation, showing an onsite visit in fall 2026 and an accreditation decision in spring 2027. YSU reports its nurse anesthesia pass rate on the national certification exam as 84% in 2024, which it calls a transition year, and 100% in 2025, with 2026 pending.
The DNP is a campus program whose clinical sites come through the partnership with Mercy Health, so the DNP Nurse Anesthesia guide covers it on its own.
The Ohio Board of Nursing: prelicensure approval
The Ohio Board of Nursing approves prelicensure nursing education, meaning programs that lead to initial licensure as a nurse. YSU's catalog says its ADN and BSN are fully approved by the Board. The Board's 2025 guide to APRN licensure is explicit that graduate programs training nurses for APRN roles fall outside its oversight, and it publishes no roster of them.
YSU's online nursing pages describe both the BSN and the MSN as carrying Ohio Board of Nursing approval, which reads more broadly than the Board's own account of its role and more broadly than YSU's catalog, which limits its Board-approval claim to the ADN and BSN. For the MSN, the quality review comes from CCNE; the Board enters an NP's career at licensure, when it issues the APRN license.
Ohio law still shapes NP clinicals. It lets an enrolled APRN student practice within the program's auspices with an APRN supervising, whether that APRN is program faculty, a teaching assistant or a preceptor. The Ohio Board of Nursing guide explains that exemption.
Why accreditation matters after the practicums
Certification and licensure both look back at the program you finished. In the catalog's words, FNP graduates can sit for ANCC or AANP certification and AGACNP graduates for ANCC's, and in Ohio the APRN license follows national certification. The certification exams guide walks through the boards and the license, including the AACN exam the handbook adds for AGACNP.
For clinicals, sites look at different paperwork. Many large Ohio health systems want a signed affiliation agreement with a student's school in place before the first shift, and that agreement, rather than accreditation, usually decides whether a site can host you in time. The affiliation agreements guide explains how that works at YSU, and checking whether a site will need one is part of how our placement desk vets every site before proposing it to you.
Outcomes YSU reports
YSU publishes its own outcome figures on a program outcome data page. Every number below is YSU's report, not an accreditor's finding or our calculation.
- FNP certification, 2023 to 2025: YSU reports 83% to 92% on the AANP exam and 90% to 91% on ANCC's.
- AGACNP certification: YSU reports 85% in each of 2023, 2024 and 2025.
- Post-graduate APRN certificate certification: YSU reports 100% in each of 2023, 2024 and 2025.
- Job rate one year after graduation for BSN, MSN and post-master's certificate graduates: YSU reports 100% for 2022 through 2025.
- BSN NCLEX-RN pass rate: YSU reports 81.55% for 2021, rising to 88.24% for 2025.
The outcomes page does not say whether its certification years are calendar or academic years, and it gives no test-taker counts, so treat year-to-year swings with some caution.
Questions YSU students ask
Is YSU's online MSN accredited by CCNE or ACEN?
CCNE. Its directory lists YSU's master's program and post-graduate APRN certificates, accredited through December 31, 2032, and the graduate handbook names CCNE as the MSN's accreditor. ACEN accredits only YSU's baccalaureate program, even though the title of one online page pairs ACEN's name with YSU's online nursing programs.
Is YSU's DNP Nurse Anesthesia program accredited?
Yes. COA accredits it and lists it under St. Elizabeth Health Center School for Nurse Anesthetists, Inc., YSU's partner in the program. A continued-accreditation review is in progress, with an onsite visit listed for fall 2026 and a decision for spring 2027. CCNE's YSU listing does not include the DNP.
Does the Ohio Board of Nursing approve YSU's nurse practitioner programs?
No. The Board approves prelicensure programs, and YSU's catalog names its ADN and BSN as Board-approved. By the Board's own account, graduate programs that train nurses for APRN roles sit outside its oversight. Its role for YSU's NP graduates comes later, when it issues the Ohio APRN license after national certification.
Is Youngstown State University regionally accredited?
Yes. YSU's catalog says the university is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. That institutional accreditation sits alongside the nursing accreditors: CCNE, ACEN and COA each review specific nursing programs, while HLC reviews the university as a whole. For a question about your MSN or certificate, cite CCNE.
Does YSU's accreditation matter if I move to another state?
It can. Each state board sets its own NP rules. Pennsylvania, for example, asks out-of-state graduates seeking CRNP certification to have completed an accredited, Board-approved master's or post-master's NP program or an equivalent course of study. YSU publishes no state licensure determinations for its MSN, so check the board where you plan to practice; see state authorization and Pennsylvania.
Related pages
Last checked 2026-09-26
We check these pages against YSU's own catalog, graduate handbook, online program pages and FAQ, and Ohio rules. Your clinical faculty, the Graduate Clinical Coordinator and your advisor have the final word.
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