R.N. to B.S.N. Track

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Application and Admission Information

The R.N. to B.S.N. track is a fully online program. A concerted effort is made to individualize the program to meet the needs of different learners and classes are specifically tailored to registered nurses. Students can complete in three consecutive semesters, with admissions cycles in the fall, spring, and summer semesters. Whether the student elects to attend full- or part-time, he/she must complete the program in two years from the time of initial enrollment.

Admission is on a rolling basis and is divided into the admission review periods outlined below. To be considered for a particular rolling admission period, application materials must be submitted by the deadlines below:

Application Dates
Spring Rolling Admission:

• Deadline - November 1st at midnight

Summer Rolling Admission:

• Deadline - April 1st at midnight

Fall Rolling Admission:

• Deadline - July 1st at midnight

Application Requirements (Contact office of student affairs for questions):

• Submit official, sealed transcripts from all institutions of higher education attended to:

Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso
Gayle Greve Hunt School of Nursing
Attn: Office of Student Affairs
210 Rick Francis St., MSC 22002
El Paso, Texas 79905
or
Email: gghson@ttuhsc.edu

• Submission of a GGHSON admission application. A $75, non-refundable, application fee is required.
• Upon acceptance, students are required to pay a $100 placement fee. Instructions on payment are included in the offer letter.

After You Apply
All application and placement fees are non-refundable. It is the responsibility of the applicant to ensure all required documents are complete and submitted by the admission deadline. If admission components are incomplete or are not received by the deadline, the application will not be considered. All applications are reviewed in an individual and holistic manner. No single factor will be used to determine a student’s admission. Please allow up to 4 weeks for processing.

Admission Requirements for applicants with an RN license

• A 2.5 cumulative grade point average (GPA) for nursing prerequisites is required to be considered for admission. Cumulative GPA is calculated and includes the 52 credit hours of required prerequisite courses and 38 credit hours of nursing courses.
• All pre-requisite coursework must be completed with a grade of C or better prior to enrolling in the first nursing course.
• At the time the application is submitted, all applicants must have completed a minimum of 84 out of the 90 credit hours required for admission.
• If applicable, test of English as a foreign language (TOEFL) score. Must have a minimum score of 20.76 on all sections: (reading, listening, speaking, and writing) with a minimum total score of 83 to be considered for admission.
• Students must have an unencumbered RN license.

Admission Requirements for applicants who are Pre-Licensure

• A 2.5 cumulative grade point average (GPA) for nursing prerequisites is required to be considered for admission. Cumulative GPA is calculated and includes the 52 credit hours of required prerequisite courses and 38 credit hours of nursing courses.
• At the time the application is submitted, all applicants must have completed a minimum of 84 credit hours required for admission.
• All prerequisite coursework must be completed with a grade of C or higher prior to enrolling in the first nursing course.

Offers of Admission
Offers of admission will be made approximately 8 to 10 weeks following the application deadline. Applicants are required to respond to the offer of admission by the deadline stated in the letter. Acceptance of the offer is established once the student pays the non-refundable placement fee. Failure to respond by the deadline will result in withdrawal of the offer of admission. Request for deferment must be submitted in writing to the Office of Student Affairs by the deadline stated in the offer letter. If granted, deferment can occur one time and not exceed one semester beyond intended admission. Deferment petitions are reviewed by the Admissions Committee along with new applicants. Deferred students may or may not receive an offer of admission based on review.

Upon acceptance, students are required to pay a $100 placement fee. Instructions on payment are included in the offer letter. Please note that all application and placement fees are non-refundable. It is the responsibility of the applicant to ensure the correct program and campus is selected.

Important Information About General Education and Associate Degree in Nursing Requirements

• Pass/fail grades for general education prerequisites are not accepted for credit toward degree requirements.
• Pass/fail grades for nursing prerequisites are awarded a 2.0 grade value in the admission grade point average (GPA) calculation. Students may not take any courses required for a degree in nursing on a pass/fail basis.
• Any nursing degree course previously taken on a pass/fail basis is not transferrable.
• Applicants may request that grades for non-nursing courses more than 10 years old not be excluded from their admission GPA. If a student does elect this option, any credits excluded are not eligible for prerequisite course consideration. The applicant must have at least 34 credit hours within the past 10 years to use this option.
• After a student has been admitted to the Gayle Greve Hunt School of Nursing (GGHSON), no previous coursework is factored into his/her GPA. However, all grades earned at all schools previously attended are calculated in the admission cumulative GPA. Quality points and semester credit hours used to calculate the cumulative GPA for admission are taken from the official transcripts submitted during the application process.
• The GGHSON accepts prerequisite coursework completed via classroom, College Level Examination Program (CLEP), or advanced placement examination for which credit has been awarded and posted on an official transcript from an accredited university or college.

Online/Distance Education Student Orientation
To help students be successful, an online orientation is required. Please read the information on the R.N. to B.S.N. web page under Online Orientation and navigate through the orientation process and familiarize yourself with some of the services the school offers.

Identification Badge Requirements - Distance Education Students
Per HSCEP OP 76.02, enrolled students are required to obtain an official student identification badge. This requirement also applies to distance education students even though they are not on campus. Should a distance education student be on campus, they must visibly wear the official student badge. Distance students may be required to wear a TTUHSC EP badge during clinical site rotations. For more information, refer to HSCEP OP 76.02.

All enrolled students to the R.N. to B.S.N. program are required to:

1. Complete and submit the following forms: https://elpaso.ttuhsc.edu/son/rntobsn/online-orientation.aspx under TTUHSC El Paso Student ID tab:
   1. Notarized ID Verification form.
   2. Identification/Security Access form.
2. Mail to:
   Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso
   Gayle Greve Hunt School of Nursing
   Office of Student Affairs
   210 Rick Francis St., MSC 22002
   El Paso, Texas 79905
3. To submit a photo per TTUHSC El Paso guidelines go to:
   https://elpaso.ttuhsc.edu/son/rntobsn/online-orientation.aspx under TTUHSC El Paso ID:
   1. Follow the instructions for submission.
   2. Students will receive an email if photo is not within the specified guidelines.
4. Once the Office of Student Affairs receives a completed notarized ID verification, AND a completed identification/security access form AND an acceptable electronic photo, the student will receive a student badge, via mail, to the address provided on the Identification/Security Access form.

Lost or stolen student IDs must be reported immediately to the security office and are subject to a replacement fee. If you have any questions or need further clarification, please contact the Office of Student Affairs at 915-215-6124 or GGHSON@ttuhsc.edu.

Progression

Once admitted, students must meet minimal academic requirements during this program of study. Inability to do so can result in dismissal from the program.

Minimum Academic Requirements

• Earn a minimum grade of 75 in all required nursing courses.
• A failure in any nursing course requires review with recommendations from the Admissions and Progressions Committee.

Readmission
Consideration for readmission of students who have withdrawn are based on the following criteria:

• 3.0 cumulative RN to BSN nursing courses GPA
• Space available.

All petitions for readmission must be submitted in writing to the Office of Students Affairs following the published application deadlines. The Admissions Committee may assign requirements to be met as a condition of readmission, e.g. successful completion of a comprehensive examination, renewed criminal background check and drug screening, etc.

Conditions for Academic Dismissal

• Two F’s or WF’s earned in nursing courses.

Transfer Students
Students requesting transfer to the R.N. to B.S.N. program from another university must meet the following criteria:

• Be eligible to return and in good standing from the institution from which he/she is requesting transfer.
• Satisfy all Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso (TTUHSC El Paso) standards for transfer credit.
• Have completed all program prerequisites.
• Have already completed or be eligible to complete at least 25 percent of all degree credits while enrolled at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso (i.e., at least 30 of the 120 credits required for a bachelor’s degree in the state of Texas).

Recognition of Previous Nursing Coursework
The Gayle Greve Hunt School of Nursing (GGHSON) uses two methods to acknowledge previous nursing coursework. They are: (a) transfer of credit and (b) advanced placement. Both methods are described below.

Advanced Placement
Students who have completed courses in nursing are eligible to receive advanced placement credit. Advanced placement credit may be awarded for credit earned at an agency that is not part of an institution of higher education, such as a diploma-granting nursing school.

Conditional Admission
If a student does not meet the requirements for full admission, conditional admission may be granted. Under a conditional admission, the student is required to comply with conditions stated in the offer letter prior to the start of the term for which he/she was admitted. Examples of admission conditions include, but are not limited to:

• Verification of nursing degree completion - typically, if a student is graduating from his/her degree program at the time of application to the R.N. to B.S.N. program, the verification of degree completion is not available until the end of the semester.
• Official transcripts for completed prerequisite coursework with cumulative GPA of 2.5 or better.

Degree Plan - Prerquisite Courses

Course Loads
R.N. to B.S.N. track enrollment in 12 or more credit hours per semester (six hours for each of the two summer sessions or 12 hours for both) is considered full-time. The number of semester credit hours a student may carry (i.e., course load) is regulated by the dean. In determining this load, the dean takes into account the quality of prior scholastic work performed and the types of courses involved. Permission is needed to enroll in more than 20 semester credit hours.

Transfer Credit Allowance
Courses provided from other institutions with equivalent course content are acceptable for transfer credit if a C or better was earned. NOTE: pass/fail courses are not acceptable for transfer. Maximum credit allowed for credit by examination is 15 credit hours and must be on an official college transcript for acceptance. For more information on institutional transfer of credit, see HSCEP OP 77.17.

Transfer of Credit

• Applicants must submit original copies of official college transcripts from all institutions in which the they have been enrolled. The transcripts are reviewed and coursework is evaluated by the program administrator’s office. Final determination regarding applicability of completed coursework toward degree requirements is made by the undergraduate department chair for the R.N. to B.S.N. program.
• Course equivalencies for transfer credit are assessed based on the catalog course description or the course syllabus and/or notes provided by the student. Generally, courses of equivalent content completed with the grade of C or better at any accredited educational institution are accepted for transfer credit toward degree requirements.
• The GGHSON accepts prerequisite courses completed via classroom, College Level Examination Program (CLEP), or advanced placement examination for which credit has been awarded and posted on an official transcript from an accredited college or university.
• No more than 52 general education course hours may be transferred. A minimum of 38 credit hours of basic nursing education coursework is required, for a total of 90 (52 general education + 38 basic nursing) semester credit hours to meet the R.N. to B.S.N. degree requirements. Transfer credit is posted by Registrar’s office upon admission, automatically classifying all R.N. to B.S.N. students as seniors.

Texas Success Initiative (TSI)

The Texas Success Initiative (TSI), formerly known as the Texas Academic Skills Program (TASP), is a state required program that is designed to help ensure undergraduate students’ success in their college studies. All students seeking an undergraduate degree from any Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center program or campus must satisfy the TSI requirement before enrollment. To obtain TSI details pertaining to the TSI, see Texas Success Initiative.

Texas Core Curriculum and Prerequisites
All Texas Core Curriculum requirements as established by Texas legislation must be successfully completed prior to enrollment in the R.N. to B.S.N. track, and prior to course attendance at the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso (TTUHSC El Paso) campus. TTUHSC El Paso does not offer general education courses. General education requirements completed at a private or out-of-state institution may not be equivalents of the required Texas Core Curriculum, and may not excuse a student from not completing the core curriculum. In addition to the required prerequisites listed below, students receiving a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree from TTUHSC El Paso must satisfy the coursework requirements of the TTUHSC El Paso Core Curriculum (CC).

Texas Core Curriculum Requirements

• Critical Thinking Skills (CT) - creative thinking, innovation, inquiry, and analysis, evaluation and synthesis of information
• Communication Skills (COM) - effective development, interpretation and expression of ideas through written, oral and visual communication
• Empirical and Quantitative Skills (EQS) - manipulation and analysis of numerical data or observable facts resulting in informed conclusions
• Teamwork (TW) - ability to consider different points of view and to work effectively with others to support a shared purpose or goal
• Social Responsibility (SR) - intercultural competence, knowledge of civic responsibility, and the ability to engage effectively in regional, national, and global communities
• Personal Responsibility (PR) - ability to connect choices, actions and consequences to ethical decision-making

Foundational Component Areas

• Communication - 6 credit hours
• Mathematics - 3 credit hours
• Life and Physical Sciences - 6 credit hours
• Language, Philosophy and Culture - 3 credit hours
• Any literature, philosophy, modern or classical language/literature, or cultural studies course
• Creative Arts - 3 credit hours
• American History - 6 credit hours
• Government and Political Science - 6 credit hours (Must include Texas Government course)
• Social and Behavioral Sciences - 3 credit hours
• Component Option Area - 6 credit hours

Total: 42 course credit hours

Course numbers listed are based on the Texas Common Course Numbering System (TCCNS). All Texas public institutions are required to maintain a crosswalk with TCCNS course numbers and titles if they use a different number and title. Students seeking to earn a Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing (B.S.N.) at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso (TTUHSC El Paso) Gayle Greve Hunt School of Nursing (GGHSON) must satisfy the course requirements of the TTUHSC El Paso nursing core curriculum in accordance with Title 19 of the Texas Administrative Code § 4.28. Upon full admission into the R.N. to B.S.N. track, TTUHSC El Paso GGHSON conduct a degree audit on all students’ official transcript(s). Students whose transcript(s) indicate that they are “Core Complete” at another Texas public college or university will have no additional Core Curriculum requirements imposed. For more information on institutional core requirements refer to HSCEP OP 77.16.

In addition to being Texas Core Curriculum complete, below are the necessary prerequisites for admission into the R.N. to B.S.N. track. Some prerequisites may count as Texas Core Curriculum complete. For additional information, you may contact our advising staff at http://elpaso.ttuhsc.edu/son/rntobsn/contact.aspx.