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Old Dominion University RN to BSN

Old Dominion University has been pleased to offer its RN-to-BSN distance learning program for many years, in partnership with the Virginia Community College System and also specifically with the SVCC campuses in Alberta and Keysville. Because ODU’s general education requirements exceed those required within the RN degree program at the community college, many of our BSN students come to ODU needing to complete several additional courses beyond what they will complete at SVCC. This often results in significant delays in completing the BSN degree, and for some students, the degree is never completed even if they finish all of their ODU coursework.

With that in mind, the ODU School of Nursing is instituting the following changes as to prerequisite requirements. PLEASE NOTE: these changes in no way affect any course requirements or the recent articulation agreement that was signed between ODU and SVCC. The School of Nursing merely wants to ensure success for its students in terms of degree completion by requiring that requirements that need to be fulfilled at the community college level are completed prior to starting the RN-to-BSN program.

For fall 2008 admission the successful RN to BSN applicant must have completed:

  • English 110C (SVCC: ENG 111)
  • English 111C (SVCC: ENG 112)
  • Literature perspective (SVCC: ENG 241, 242, 243, 244, 251, or 252)
  • Human Anatomy & Physiology (BIOL 250 and 251) (SVCC: NAS 161/162)
  • Psychology 203S (SVCC: PSY 230)
  • Sociology 201S (SVCC: SOC 200)
  • Statistics 130M (SVCC: MTH 241)

Foreign Language (6 credits unless exempt) (SVCC: SPA 101/102 or FRE 101/102) can be exempted if one of the following conditions are met:

  • Completion of a university parallel (AA&S) degree
  • High school graduation prior to 1986
  • Successful completion of three years of foreign language, or two years of two different foreign languages, in high school

For fall 2009 admission the successful RN to BSN applicant must have completed:

  • English 110C
  • English 111C
  • Literature perspective
  • Human Anatomy & Physiology (Biology 250 and 251)
  • Bacteriology or Microbiology (Biology 103) (SVCC: BIO 150)
  • Chemistry (CHEM 101N and 102N or 115N and 116N) (SVCC: CHM 111/112)
  • Psychology 203S
  • Sociology 201S
  • Statistics 130M
  • Foreign Language (6 credits unless exempt)
  • History perspective (SVCC: HIS 101, 102, 121, or 122)
  • Philosophy perspective (SVCC: PHI 100, 220, or REL 230)
  • Fine Arts perspective (SVCC: ART 101, 102, MUS 121, or 122)

The Rationale: Students entering the RN to BSN curriculum with the lower division requirements completed are more likely to be able to complete BSN degree requirements within a six semester time frame – and certainly within three to four years of admission.

Please let your students know that if they choose, they can still begin at ODU immediately after completing their Associates’ degrees! Here’s how this can work, with a little background information:

Besides the course requirements for the BSN major, ODU also requires its students to complete either a minor or a cluster to fulfill its upper-division general education requirements. A minor is basically a mini-major: 12 or more credits in another academic discipline. A cluster is a group of courses focused around a theme rather than an academic area. While some students may prefer to select a minor based on their specific career goals (for instance, a minor in Human Services), the vast majority of ODU’s nursing students select our “Administrative Leadership and Ethics in Professional Roles” cluster. Not only does a cluster require only nine credits rather than 12 or more, but three credits from the BSN program requirements (NURS 490W, specifically) can also be applied toward that particular cluster. So, in effect the student declaring that cluster needs only to complete two additional courses at ODU beyond his or her major.

THE PREREQUISITE REQUIREMENTS NOTED ABOVE APPLY ONLY TO ADMISSION TO THE ODU SCHOOL OF NURSING, NOT TO OLD DOMINION UNIVERSITY AS A WHOLE. Students intent on the RN-to-BSN program complete two applications: one to the university, and another to the department. With that, plus the minor/cluster requirements in mind, a student can apply for admission to ODU to begin immediately after completion of the associates’ degree.

An example: SVCC has a new nursing student in Fall 2007 who will graduate in Spring 2009. The ODU BSN program only starts in the Fall semester, and the student needs several more lower-division courses to fulfill all of ODU’s prerequisites. However, during her last semester at SVCC, she applies for admission to ODU to begin in Fall 2009 (as just an ODU student, not as a BSN student). The student wishes to pursue the Administrative Leadership cluster.

In both Fall 2009 and Spring 2010, the student registers for one ODU course that is appropriate toward her cluster requirement. AT THE SAME TIME, she registers for the coursework she needs to complete at SVCC: the Chemistry courses, fine arts, history, etc. Because of the consortium agreements between the VCCS and ODU, her credit hours from BOTH schools can be included in figuring her ODU financial aid. She likely can spread her load so that she is a full-time student for both semesters. Whatever aid she receives between grants and loans will first go to pay her ODU tuition and fees; whatever is left can be sent to her to defray her SVCC expenses.

Once all prerequisite courses are either completed or underway, the student can then apply to the department as a BSN student for Fall 2010.