Nursing

Policies

Admission to Major

Application for admission to the School of Nursing is a separate process and in addition to being admitted to the University. Requirements for application to the nursing major are:

• completion of at least 30 semester credits.
• a minimum career grade point average of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale.
• minimum grade of “C” in all required prerequisite and support course.
• All core science prerequisite courses (BIOL 220, BIOL 330, and CHEM 111) must be completed within 5 years of the program application deadline. Students with science credits older than five years will need to retake the applicable coursework. An appeal is not needed if courses are retaken due to 5-year-limit. 
• All core prerequisites may only be repeated one time each (two overall attempts), regardless of letter grade.  The School of Nursing will use the average grade from the two attempts to calculate the core prerequisite GPA for admission.  A withdraw from a core prerequisite will be considered one attempt, and a (-0.33) quality point deduction will be assigned to determine the average grade.  Refer to the prenursing student handbook for examples.

Students must have a minimum grade of a “C” in both BIOL 220 and BIOL 330 in order to enroll in NURS 282: Pathophysiology for Healthcare Professionals and NURS 284: Pharmacology for Healthcare Professionals.

Students in the applicant pool are rank ordered according to a pre-nursing GPA figured using grades earned in the core pre-requisites: BIOL 220, BIOL 330, CHEM 111, ENG 101, GEOG 103, KSP 235, NURS 101W and STAT 154. All eight courses must be completed at the time of application. 

Students are considered for admission into program based on GPA for the eight core prerequisite courses as well as composite score on the ATI Test of Essential Academic Skills (TEAS). The TEAS test includes mathematics, science, reading, and English & language usage, and must be completed at the time of application.

Applicants must also successfully complete the following support courses prior to admission into the nursing program: BIOL 270, FCS 242, NURS 282, NURS 284, NURS 286 and PSYC 101.A grade of “C” or better must be achieved in these courses for admission. 

In addition to the above criteria, an interview may be required in the application process.

Nursing Assistant Admission Requirement

Admitted students must be certified as nursing assistants and listed as active on a Nursing Assistant Registry within the United States.

English Language Proficiency. Applicants to the  Pre-Licensure Program from non-English speaking countries must demonstrate minimum English proficiency requirements in one of the following ways:

• TOEFL iBT minimum score of 84 with a minimum speaking score of 26
• TOEFL PBT minimum score of 560
• IELTS overall score of 6.5 with a minimum of 6.0 on all modules

GPA Policy. A grade of “C” or better must be achieved in all pre-requisite courses. Nursing courses are sequentially arranged, and progression is based on successful completion of the pre-requisite nursing course(s). To continue in the nursing major, all students must achieve and maintain at least a “C” or “P” grade in each required nursing course. A grade of “D”, “F”, or NC in a nursing course is unacceptable, and the student must repeat the course to continue in the nursing major. In addition, it is required that each student maintain at least a “C” (2.0) average in all courses completed.

P/N Grading Policy. All of the pre-nursing and “major” courses must be taken for a letter grade; P/N is not acceptable. A grade of “C” must be achieved.

Course Repeat Policy. A student who is unsuccessful in two nursing courses will not be allowed to continue in the nursing program.  Additionally, a student can only repeat a nursing course once.  If a nursing course is not successfully completed after the second attempt, the student will not be allowed to continue in the nursing program.

Travel to Clinical: The School of Nursing utilizes a variety of healthcare agencies for students’ clinical experiences including the Twin Cities. All clinical experiences are planned and conducted by the School of Nursing faculty. The student is responsible for travel to clinical agencies and for housing arrangements when necessary.

Background Study:  Criminal background studies must be completed each year prior to beginning clinical courses.

Transfer Students. It is often possible for students to complete the required pre-nursing curriculum at another college or university and then have these courses and credits transferred to Minnesota State University, Mankato. Pre-Licensure Nursing Program courses begin both fall and spring semesters.

Standardized Exams. All students enrolled in the School of Nursing will be required to take standardized achievement examinations at periodic intervals during their program. Exam results are used for student self-evaluation as well as program evaluation of learning outcomes.

Health. All nursing students are required to maintain a program of health examinations and immunizations. Students will be advised of these requirements and must assume responsibility for meeting the health requirement before starting clinical and/or experiential learning.

Expenses. Each student is responsible for costs related to travel for nursing course experiences, student uniforms, health examinations, immunizations, and Mantoux; health insurance, malpractice insurance coverage, and CPR certification. In the case of accidental exposure to blood and body fluids, students are responsible for testing and follow-up care costs.

General Education requirements for Pre-Licensure Program: Students in the Pre-Licensure Program are required to complete 40 credits of General Education courses in 11 Goal Areas for graduation.

Student Dismissal.  Students who demonstrate behaviors and/or actions that threaten the health or safety of others may be dismissed from the program.

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RN BACCALAUREATE COMPLETION PROGRAM

Students must be admitted into the School of Nursing prior to taking any nursing courses. RNs accepted during the fall and spring semester. The application for RN Baccalaureate Completion Program admission may be obtained from the School of Nursing website.

Transfer Credits: In accordance with the statewide MN Articulation Agreement, 30 semester nursing credits and 30 semester non-nursing credits are transferred for RNs.

Admission to RN Baccalaureate Completion Program. Requirements for admission to the RN Baccalaureate Completion Program are:

1. Proof of active unrestricted RN license,
2. A minimum career grade point average (GPA) of 2.8 on a 4.0 scale,
3. Minimum grade of “C” in all previous nursing courses,

Other requirements:

1. Completion of RN Baccalaureate Completion Program Application
2. Liability insurance-purchased through Minnesota State Mankato
3. CPR certification
4. Background study

Progression requirements:

1. To progress in the RN-Baccalaureate Completion Program, students must obtain a “C” grade in all required courses.
2. A student is allowed to repeat the same nursing course only once (including for course withdraw or earning a non-passing grade). If a nursing course is not successfully completed after taking a second time, the student will not be allowed to continue in the nursing program.
3. After being admitted to the School of Nursing, a student is allowed a total of 3 course withdraws throughout the program. After 3 withdraws, a student will be placed on a Student Performance Contract with the RN Baccalaureate Completion Program Coordinator. Students who withdraw from a course a fourth time will not be allowed to continue in the nursing program.
4. After being admitted to the School of Nursing, if a student receives two No Credits, D’s, F’s, NO PASSES, the student will not be allowed to continue in the nursing program. Students who have earned two “no credit” grades cannot reapply to the nursing major.
5. Students who withdraw from and/or earn a non-passing grade in all courses their first semester in the program will be exited from the program unless they either a) enroll in courses the following semester, or b) contact the program coordinator and advisor to discuss a plan of study for the remainder of the program.
6. A student may be dismissed from the nursing major for behavior or actions which threaten the health or safety of clients/patients.