The American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) is the only remaining national organization of nurses in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 that is dedicated exclusively to advancing nursing education at the baccalaureate

Bachelor's degree

A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...

 and graduate

Graduate school

A graduate school is a school that awards advanced academic degrees with the general requirement that students must have earned a previous undergraduate degree...

levels. Established in 1969, it now represents nursing schools at 547 universities and four-year colleges in the United States. The program of the AACN is focused on the following key areas or goals:

• To establish quality standards for bachelor’s degree and graduate-degree nursing education
• To assist deans and directors of nursing schools to implement those quality standards
• To influence the nursing profession to improve health care
• To promote public support of baccalaureate and graduate education, research, and practice in nursing.