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 courses.
• All core science prerequiste 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.

All prerequisite and support courses must be taken for a letter grade; P/N is not acceptable. A prenursing student may repeat a prerequisite class for admission to the School of Nursing once and only once for the purpose of improving a “C” or lower grade.

Students in the applicant pool are rank ordered according to a prenursing GPA figured using grades earned in English Composition, Introduction to Cultural Geography, Human Anatomy, Human Physiology, Chemistry of Life Processes, Courage, Caring, and Teambuilding, Elementary Statistics, and Human Development. All eight of these 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 Evolve Reach Admission Assessment Exam. The Evolve Reach Admission Assessment Exam includes math, grammar, reading comprehension, vocabulary, anatomy & physiology, and chemistry 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: Microbiology, Pathophysiology for Healthcare Professionals, Pharmacology for Healthcare Professionals, Relationship-based Care in Nursing Practice, Nutrition for Allied Health Professionals, and Psychology. 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. Students admitted to the Pre-licensure Nursing program must be certified as nursing assistants and listed on a Nursing Assistant Registry in the United States or be tested out by faculty in the School of Nursing, Nursing Assistant course. 

English Language Proficiency. Applicants to the Pre-licensure Nursing 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 prerequisite and support courses. Nursing courses are sequentially arranged and progression is based on successful completion of the prerequisite nursing course(s). All classroom courses are offered for grade only and all clinical courses are offered for P/N only. 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.

The School of Nursing utilizes a variety of health-care 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. 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 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 yearly health examinations and immunizations. Students will be advised of these requirements and must assume responsibility for meeting the health requirement before starting clinical experiences each year, beginning with the sophomore year.

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

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RN BACCALAUREATE COMPLETION PROGRAM

Students must be admitted into the RN Baccalaureate Completion Program prior to taking any nursing courses. RNs are accepted during the fall, spring and summer semesters. 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. Completion of at least 30 college semester credits,
3. A minimum career grade point average (GPA) of 2.5 on a 4.0 scale,
4. Minimum grade of “C” in all previous 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