**Minneapolis students starting in or after January 2021, Click Here  for the BSN Program Outline.  

Program Description

This comprehensive Bachelor of Science degree in nursing curriculum focuses on health promotion, risk reduction, disease prevention, illness, and disease management throughout the lifespan and includes information about healthcare technologies using evidence-based practice. The liberal arts education core provides a strong foundation for developing clinical judgment and critical thinking skills required in professional nursing.

The BSN program prepares students to take the National Council Licensing Examination for Registered Nurses (NCLEX-RN) upon completion of the program. Graduates who successfully pass this national examination will be qualified to practice as registered nurses in the state in which they took the examination and will also be qualified to apply for licensure in all 50 states.

Students will begin the program by taking general education courses the first semester. The following semesters, the general education and nursing courses will build on each other and will be integrated throughout the program. Theoretical instruction is integrated with clinical experience in a variety of healthcare settings in order to provide a broad, holistic, and reality-based understanding of the roles and responsibilities of a professional nurse.

Utilizing The Essentials of Baccalaureate Education for Professional Nursing Practice as a framework, graduates will be primary providers of direct and indirect care in many different settings, including acute care, chronic care, and public health. In providing care, nurses will also serve as patient advocates and educators. The focus of care may be an individual, a group, or a specific population. Graduates will also be prepared to assume first-line management positions.

Program Outcomes

Upon completion of this program, students will be able to:

1. Utilize theoretical foundations from the liberal arts to support nursing practice.
2. Practice in roles appropriate for the baccalaureate nurse generalist in providing, designing, managing, and coordinating care for individuals, families, populations, and communities.
3. Incorporate levels of prevention in providing care to diverse populations across the lifespan.
4. Critically analyze information to make defensible nursing judgments and utilize evidence-based practice and health policy in providing patient care.
5. Provide culturally competent care.
6. Utilize the nursing process to provide competent, safe, and holistic care that encompasses the physical, psychological, developmental, sociocultural, and spiritual dimensions of patients across the lifespan.
7. Demonstrate effective verbal, written, and group communication skills.
8. Demonstrate ethical practice individually and within an interdisciplinary healthcare environment.
9. Demonstrate a commitment to the role of the professional nurse.
10. Think critically at a conceptual level and by using mathematical analysis as well as the scientific method, write and speak effectively, use basic computer applications, and understand human behavior in the context of the greater society in a culturally diverse world.

Special Admission Requirements

Please refer to the “Undergraduate Nursing Program Requirements ” policy in the Admissions Information section of this catalog for nursing program admission requirements.

Program Content

A minimum of 120.00 semester credit hours is required for graduation.

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 exams in an electronic format throughout the curriculum. 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.