Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing Track, A.B.S.N.

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Application and Admission Information

The Gayle Greve Hunt School of Nursing (GGHSON) Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing track offers students the opportunity to complete the Bachelor of Science in Nursing in four consecutive semesters over a period of 16 months. Admissions cycles occur twice per year. The office of student affairs manages the application and admission processes described below. For more information call the Office of Student Affairs at 915-215-6124.

Application Dates

Fall Admissions:

• Opens - December 15^th
• Closes - February 1^st at midnight

Spring Admissions:

• Opens - June 1^st
• Closes - August 15^th at midnight

Application Requirements (Contact office of student affairs for submission deadlines):

• The Nursing Centralized Application Service (NursingCAS) application - Follow the NursingCAS Application Portal link to complete the application. A $50 application fee is required.
• GGHSON Supplemental Application - Upon submission of the NursingCAS application, applicants must complete the GGHSON supplemental application. A $75 application fee is required.
• Upon acceptance, students are required to pay a $100 placement fee. Instructions on payment are included in the offer letter.
• 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

• Please note that all application and placement fees are non-refundable and it is the responsibility of the applicant to ensure the correct program and campus is selected. All applications are reviewed in an individual and holistic manner. No single factor will be used to determine a student’s admission.
• Complete the Health Education Systems Incorporated (HESI) Admissions Examination offered by Elsevier and submit to the office of student affairs.
• Submit additional required documentation, e.g., TOEFL score to the office of student affairs.
• Transfer Credit: Non-nurisng pre-requisite courses taken at other institutions with equivalent course content are evaluated by the dean and may be 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. For more information on institutional transfer of credit, refer to HSCEP OP 77.17.
• Credit by exam: If any prerequisite courses have been or will be taken for credit by examination, students may not receive credit toward their TTUHSC El Paso calculated GPA. Credit by examination credit must appear on an official college transcript for acceptance. Maximum credit allowed for credit by examination is 15 credit hours.

Note: 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 reviewed or considered.

Admission Requirements:

All applicants to the Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing (B.S.N.) track must complete online applications listed on the Accelerated B.S.N. website. Students must meet the minimum requirements listed below to be considered for admission:

• A 3.0 cumulative grade point average (GPA) for prerequisites is required to be considered for admission.
• At the time the application is submitted, all applicants must have completed a minimum of 44 credit hours of the required prerequisite coursework (55 hours total).
• All pre-requisite coursework must be completed with a grade of C or better prior to enrolling in the first nursing course.
• Completion of the standardized admission examination Heath Education Systems Incorporated (HESI) is required for admission. All sections required must be completed in one seating, and official scores must be dated within a calendar year from the date of submission. Scores cannot be combined.
• 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.

Applicants are reviewed by the Admissions Committee and evaluated individually; therefore, no single attribute may be the determining factor in the admission decision. The actual number of students offered admission is dependent on a variety of factors, such as financial resources, classroom space, and available clinical experiences.

Offer 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.

Residence Credit

“Residence credit” refers to coursework completed while enrolled in classes at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso (TTUHSC El Paso) and should not be confused with resident status in the state of Texas for tuition purposes. The minimum TTUHSC El Paso residence credit required for the Accelerated B.S.N. program is 32 hours, including the final 15 hours in nursing courses taken for a grade.

Credit/Course Audit

The Gayle Greve Hunt School of Nursing allows students to audit courses.

International Applicants Requiring an F-1 Visa

The TTUHSC El Paso campus is currently not authorized to grant F-1 visas.

English Proficiency Requirement

International applicants must demonstrate adequate proficiency in the English language before they can be considered for admission. All international applicants are required to take the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) and have an official score report sent directly to the University from Educational Testing Service (ETS). Because all educational programs in the School rely heavily or totally on computer and internet supported learning material, only the TOEFL iBT Test is accepted for purposes of making admission decisions.

Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL)

• Students whose predominant language is not English - including permanent residents of the U.S. - must also present a score of at least 550 (paper exam), 213 (computer exam), or 79 (internet exam) on the TOEFL. The TOEFL requirement may be waived if the student has graduated from a U.S. high school with a minimum of two years attendance or if the student is a citizen of a country where English is the native language.
• Countries/regions commonly considered to have English as the predominant language include:
• Australia, Canada (except the Province of Quebec), Commonwealth Caribbean countries (Anguilla, Antigua, the Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, British Virgin Islands, Bermuda, Cayman Islands, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Montserrat, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent, Trinidad and Tobago, and Turks and Caicos Islands), Ireland, Liberia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom (England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales), and the U.S.
• Applicants holding degrees from a U.S. college and/or university are not required to submit TOEFL scores.
• Information concerning the TOEFL may be obtained from Educational Testing Service (ETS) at 660 Rosedale Road, Princeton, New Jersey 08540, U.S., or online at ets.org/toefl.

TOEFL iBT minimum recognized scores:

Applicants 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.

Foreign Academic Credentials

• In addition to stated admissions requirements, applicants with foreign academic credentials must provide a transcribed academic transcript completed by a certified English translation and U.S. grade equivalencies.

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 nursing 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.

Degree Plan - Prerequisite Courses

Degree Requirements for Accelerated B.S.N. Program

Students in the Accelerated B.S.N. track are required to complete 55 credit hours of prerequisite coursework and 65 credit hours of nursing coursework, totaling 120 credit hours.

Course Loads

Full-time students can complete the Accelerated B.S.N. track if they carry 16-17 credit hours per semester. 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.

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 Requirements

All Texas Core Curriculum requirements, as established by Texas legislation, must be successfully completed prior to enrollment in the Accelerated 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. Additional coursework may be required to satisfy Texas core curriculum requirements.

Through the Texas Core Curriculum, students will gain a foundation of knowledge of human cultures and the physical and natural world, develop principles of personal and social responsibility for living in a diverse world, and advance intellectual and practical skills that are essential for all learning.

Texas Core Curriculum Objectives

• 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 credit hours

Course numbers listed in the following table 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 track, the GGHSON conducts 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 the requirements of the Texas Core Curriculum, please find below the necessary prerequisites for admission into the Accelerated B.S.N. Track. Some prerequisites may count as Texas Core Curriculum. For additional information, you may contact our advising staff at http://elpaso.ttuhsc.edu/son/bsn/contact.aspx.