APU nursing accreditation: CCNE, the BRN and WSCUC

Three bodies, three different jobs

Each body answers a different question. CCNE accredits nursing degree and certificate programs. The BRN, a board inside the state's Department of Consumer Affairs, approves the programs that prepare students for California RN licensure and NP certification. WSCUC accredits Azusa Pacific as an institution.

The two nursing labels sit side by side rather than replacing each other. APU's master's program carries CCNE accreditation, and its NP program carries BRN approval, so an MSN NP student can accurately cite both.

CCNE: the nursing programs' accreditor

The CCNE directory lists four APU nursing programs, and all four share one accreditation cycle, so a single review covers them together.

CCNE's most recent action came on February 28, 2018, after an on-site review that same month, and the next on-site review is set for Spring 2028. If you finish after that review, the directory will show its outcome.

APU describes this coverage in two ways. The catalog says all of its nursing programs hold CCNE accreditation, while the BSN to DNP page names the baccalaureate, master's and DNP programs specifically.

BRN approval and what it asks of a program

The BRN approves APU's prelicensure programs, meaning the traditional BSN, the upper-division transfer and LVN options and the ELM, along with its nurse practitioner program. The BRN's approved NP program list shows APU with three tracks: Psych/Mental Health NP, Family Primary Care NP, and Pediatric and Adult Primary NP. The board also sets approved annual enrollment: 560 BSN students a year across Azusa/Monrovia, High Desert and the Inland Empire, and 180 ELM students a year across San Diego, the Inland Empire and Azusa/Monrovia.

Approval comes with clinical rules. California's NP regulation, 16 CCR 1484, requires 500 or more hours of direct patient care under supervision, spread over at least 12 semester units of clinical work, with three clinical hours a week across a semester counting as one unit. APU's MSN FNP and AGPCNP tracks set 12 units and 540 hours in GNRS 600, which matches APU's 45 hours per clinical unit. The same regulation has the program orient its preceptors and re-evaluate them no less than every two years.

Graduates of APU's APRN tracks can apply for California certification and sit for national certification exams in their population focus. The BRN NP certification page covers how California-program graduates apply.

Where APU's wording varies

APU's pages describe BRN standing in slightly different words, which matters when a form asks you to state it.

• The catalog page for the Advanced Practice Registered Nursing department says its programs are accredited by the BRN; other APU pages say approved, the term the BRN's own lists use.
• The catalog says every graduate nursing program is BRN-approved, while the accreditation note on apu.edu mentions just the NP and prelicensure programs.
• The BRN's list notes that CNS programs are reviewed but not formally approved, so for a CNS track, CCNE accreditation is the standing to cite.

When a site's onboarding form asks about your program, two answers are safe: CCNE-accredited for the BSN, MSN, DNP and post-graduate certificates, and BRN-approved for the prelicensure and NP programs.

WSCUC and the credential side

WSCUC accredits Azusa Pacific University as an institution. It first accredited APU in 1961 and reaffirmed that accreditation in June 2022. Its institution page also records special-visit Commission actions in June 2024 and on June 26, 2026, and lists APU's status as Accredited. Because WSCUC reviews the university as a whole, its accreditation sits alongside the program-level CCNE accreditation rather than replacing it.

Both the WSCUC record and APU's accreditation page are public, so if an employer or site asks about the special visits, point them to those pages rather than summarizing the actions yourself.

School nurse students answer to one more body. The California Commission on Teacher Credentialing approves APU's School Nurse Services Credential, which sits beside the nursing degree rather than inside it; the school nurse programs page lays out the credential options.

What clinical sites actually check

Southern California health systems that publish a student process ask first about the school's affiliation agreement. At Kaiser Permanente Southern California, every kind of placement depends on a current school affiliation agreement, and Scripps Health requires one and says setting it up takes 6-8 weeks. None of these public pages names APU, and none shows that any site has an agreement with APU; the affiliation agreements page covers how APU's agreements work.

Program approval turns into a gate for schools based outside California. Under 16 CCR 1486, an out-of-state NP program needs BRN approval before it may place students in the state, and UC San Diego Health says it will not affiliate with an out-of-state NP program that lacks that approval. APU is a California program on the BRN's approved list, so this hurdle belongs to other schools' students.

The preceptor's side is written down too. California's rule puts the preceptor's duties into an agreement among the agency, the preceptor and the program, and APU's placement coordinators send each preceptor a preceptor handbook and collect a Preceptor Agreement Form, both kept behind the APU login.

Where to verify APU's standing yourself

• CCNE's online directory of accredited programs, searched for California.
• The BRN's lists of approved RN and NP programs at rn.ca.gov.
• WSCUC's institution page for Azusa Pacific University.
• APU's own accreditation page on apu.edu.

Why APU students choose us

Sites care most about paperwork that is complete and correct, and that is where our effort goes. Our search pairs you with a preceptor whose practice fits your APU course; we also gather the office manager's contact, the legal signer and the clinic's legal name for the Graduate Preceptor Request form, and let you know early whether the clinic already works under an APU affiliation agreement or will need a new one.

When a site's onboarding asks about your program's standing, we help you answer accurately from APU's own sources. APU's placement team gives the final written clearance, and we send you into that review with every piece in place. Start with your program and campus in the form below.

Questions APU students ask