September 2022 Undergraduate Catalog 
    
    Sep 27, 2024  
September 2022 Undergraduate Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Bachelor of Science in Nursing - Accelerated Option - Brookfield, Kenosha, Madison, Minneapolis, Orlando and Tampa


**Brookfield students starting prior to January 2021, click here  for the BSN - Accelerated BSN Option Program Outline.

**Kenosha and Madison students starting prior to May 2021, click here  for the BSN - Accelerated BSN Option Program Outline.

**Minneapolis students starting prior to May 2021, click here  for the BSN - Accelerated BSN Option Program Outline. 

**Orlando students starting prior to September 2021, click here  for the BSN - Program Outline. 

Program Description

The accelerated bachelor’s degree in nursing program is designed for those holding bachelor’s or master’s degrees in other fields who want to become a bachelor-prepared registered nursing (BSN). The program is designed to facilitate a career change to prepare the generalist nurse as a member of the healthcare team in a variety of settings.  The program focuses on patient-centered care, teamwork, and collaboration, evidence-based practice, safety, quality improvement, and informatics. The program emphasizes the use of innovative technologies and preparation for assuming leadership roles.

Program Outcomes

Upon completion of their program, the student should be able to:

  1. Prioritize patient-centered care using clinical judgment and the nursing process.
  2. Collaborate with patients, families and team members to provide safe and culturally competent care.
  3. Integrate evidence-based practice within diverse clinical settings to deliver optimal care.
  4. Minimize risk of harm to patients and providers through both systems effectiveness and individual performance.
  5. Use informational technology to communicate, mitigate error, support decision making, and manage patient care.
  6. Evaluate quality improvement processes to enhance patient outcomes.
  7. Integrate professionalism and advanced leadership skills within the interdisciplinary healthcare environment.
  8. Analyze national and global policies, legislative concepts, and economics to address population outcomes.

Potential Occupational Titles

Potential occupational titles for this program include, but are not limited to, registered nurse.

Program Content

A minimum of 120.00 semester credit hours is required for graduation. Students will receive 35.00 semester credit hours of block transfer credit for coursework completed in their previous degree.

Third Party Testing

Assessment and remediation are critical components of nursing education. Students in the nursing program may be required to take third-party, standardized, proctored exams in an electronic format throughout the curriculum. Students may be required to go to a third-party testing site to complete exams. These standardized tests are valid and reliable predictors of success on the NCLEX examination and provide valuable feedback concerning student strengths and weaknesses. Student learning outcome data identifies content areas that require remediation, allowing faculty to personalize student support and intervention. Courses that utilize third-party exams will incorporate the points earned on the test as a percentage of the final grade earned for the course as specified in the course syllabus.

BSN Nursing Curriculum Progression Milestone Exams and Policy

The purpose of the nursing progression milestone exams and policy is to ensure preparation of the student for the NCLEX exam. This process validates knowledge acquisition and application through standardized, third-party exams. Students will be required to complete three progression milestone exams at key points in the curriculum as well as an exit exam during the final semester.  Each progression milestone exam is a comprehensive assessment of all content covered in the program up to exam administration.

Progression Milestone exam #1 is administered after or while completing NSG 121 , NSG 122 , and NSG 124 .

Progression Milestone exam #2 is administered after or while completing NSG 123 , NSG 221 , NSG 222 , and NSG 223 .

Progression Milestone exam #3 is a Pharmacology exam and will be administered during the term prior to NSG 426 .

If the *benchmark score on the first formal attempt is not attained, a plan for remediation will be developed in collaboration with the faculty/program chair/NCLEX coach and a second attempt will be provided.

If the student is below the *benchmark score on the second attempt, the student cannot enroll in the next semester clinical courses. The student will be enrolled in any outstanding general education courses as well as a nursing remediation course to provide remediation of content. At the end of the 8-week remediation course, students will be provided a final attempt to demonstrate competency.

If the student is unsuccessful on the final attempt to demonstrate competency, the student will be dismissed from the ASN/AASN or BSN program and will not be eligible to re-enter into either program. A student who is dismissed may appeal to transfer into the Practical Nursing (PN) program or any other non-nursing program offered at Herzing University. Note: the PN program is not offered at all locations.

Students who are successful on the final retake exam will be rescheduled by Registrar Services

Students who are unsuccessful on the final retake exam will be dismissed from the nursing program and provided advisement on alternative program pathways.

RN Exit Exam

The exit exam will cover content from all nursing courses, is reflective of NCLEX readiness and is administered in the final semester. Students will take practice assessments during the NSG426 course, in conjunction with individualized remediation and completion of assignments focused on NCLEX readiness.  This is followed by a final exit exam.

Students who are unable to reach the *benchmark score on the exit exam will receive an Incomplete (I) grade for their NSG 426 course and will be required to successfully reach this benchmark on the final exit exam by the second week of the subsequent semester to resolve the (I) grade. 

If they are unable to resolve the (I) grade by the second week of the subsequent semester, the grade will convert to an (F) grade and the student will be placed on “Approved Break” for the remainder of the semester, during which time they must remain actively engaged in formal remediation.  This will cause a delay in program completion and graduation.  Students should discuss the implications of being on “Approved Break” with their financial aid advisor.

*Threshold benchmark scores required to pass the milestone or exit exams are based upon national student performance data and may be changed at any time by the university.

DOSAGE CALCULATION EXAMS

Dosage calculation exams are required at multiple points throughout the program. A student who is unable to pass any of the exams will not be allowed to progress without completion of remediation and demonstration of competency as evidenced by reaching the required score on a final dosage calculation exam attempt. 

Required Courses in Nursing


57.00 semester credit hours are required.

Dual Credit Option for Taking Graduate Level Courses


Undergraduate students in the Accelerated BSN program will be assigned to take 9 semester credits of graduate courses in lieu of 9 required undergraduate courses.  Students may request to take the corresponding undergraduate course for the following graduate courses. The Dual Credit Option is not available to Orlando or Tampa students. See Academic Information for full requirements under title Dual Credit-Undergraduate Students Taking MSN Program Courses.

Undergraduate Course

Graduate Course Equivalency

NSG 321 Advanced Leadership and Management  

NU 530 Organizational Systems and Behaviors

NSG 324 Evidence Based Practice in Nursing  

NU 560 Research Methods and Evidence-Based Practice

NSG 421 Nursing Informatics  

NU 525 Technology and Nursing Informatics in Advanced Practice

NSG 423 Policy, Trends, & Ethics in Nursing  

HA 610 Health Policy and Management

Transfer Credits for General Education and Open Electives


Students enrolling in the Accelerated BSN option will receive block transfer credit for coursework completed in their previous degree. A minimum of 35.00 semester credit hours of general education and open elective credits will be awarded from a previously earned bachelor’s degree. Additional transfer credits may be considered for the programmatic support and non-clinical nursing courses on a course-by-course basis.    

Additional Required Courses in General Education


Students enrolled in the BSN Accelerated program must complete a minimum of 19.00 semester credit hours in general education distributed among the following disciplines.  The Herzing University General Education offerings are listed below.

Special General Education Grading Requirements for Nursing Support Courses


  • The following science courses must be completed with a grade of “B” (80%) or better. Only two attempts are permitted for each course and a student who fails to successfully complete in the maximum attempts is subject to dismissal from the nursing program.

     

  • Semester Credit Hours: 4.00
  • Semester Credit Hours: 4.00
  •  

    The following general education courses must be completed with a grade of “C” (70%) or better for a student to continue in the nursing program.

     

  • Semester Credit Hours: 2.00
  • Semester Credit Hours: 3.00
  • Semester Credit Hours: 3.00
  • Semester Credit Hours: 3.00
  •  

    A student who is dropped from the nursing program for failing to achieve the minimum grade specified in the courses listed above, but who otherwise meets the academic standards of the University may transfer to another Herzing degree program and/or may appeal to reapply to the BSN nursing program in a future semester.