Traditional BSN Program
Amanda Veesart, PhD, RN, CNE
Professor, Associate Dean/Department
Chair
Erin Gibson, PhD, RN, CCRN-K
Associate Professor, Director of Clinical and Simulation
Heather Guest, PhD, RN, CNE, CHSE
Assistant Professor, Director of Curriculum
Terry Hill, DNP, RN, CNE
Assistant Professor, Director of Curriculum
Brandy Pitts, DNP, RN
Assistant Professor, Director of Admissions and Retention
Program Overview
The Traditional BSN Program is for the student
who is not a registered nurse and wants to earn
an undergraduate degree (BSN) in nursing. The
combination of classroom and hands-on learning
using patient simulators and hospital settings
provides students the ability to learn skills using
the most current technology. Upon completion
of prerequisite courses, the BSN degree plan can
be completed in four consecutive semesters. The
program is offered in Abilene, Amarillo,
Lubbock, Mansfield and the Permian Basin (Odessa).
Application Dates
| Admission Term | Campus | Application Open | Application Deadline |
Fall
| Abilene, Amarillo, Lubbock, Mansfield, Odessa | February 15 | April 15 |
Spring
| Abilene, Amarillo, Lubbock, Mansfield, Odessa
| June 15
| August 15
|
Summer
| Abilene, Amarillo, Lubbock, Mansfield, Odessa
| October 15
| December 15
|
Admissions Requirements
All applicants to the Traditional BSN Program
complete an online application as directed on the
Traditional BSN Program website. Students must
meet the minimum requirements listed below for
admission consideration:
Academic Requirements
- Minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 is preferred. All grades earned at all schools attended are
calculated in the admission grade point average. Applicants with a cumulative GPA below 3.0 will
be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.
- Minimum science GPA of 3.0 is preferred.
- All non-nursing course prerequisites must be completed with a grade of C or better prior to
enrollment.
- Preference will be given to applicants without dropped and/or repeated courses.
- At time of application submission, applicants must have completed and/or have enrollment
verification to support completion of the required non-nursing prerequisite courses. A minimum of
45 credit hours of the required non-nursing prerequisite courses (60 hours total), including
completion of at least four of the five science courses: Chemistry with lab (4 hours), Human
Anatomy I (4 hours), Physiology II (4 hours), Microbiology with lab (4 hours), and Pathophysiology
(3 hours).
- Pathophysiology must be one of the four science courses completed to be eligible to apply.
- Grades earned in science core courses - Chemistry, Anatomy and Physiology I & II, Microbiology,
and Pathophysiology are preferred to have a minimal GPA of 3.0. Consideration is given for
repetition of science courses.
- Letter of academic good standing if prior enrollment in nursing program.
EFFECTIVE FALL 2023:
- Students must have successfully completed a certified nurse assistant (CNA) course PRIOR to the first day of class. Preference will be given to applicants certified at the time of the application deadline, along with proof of work experience as a CNA. Additionally special considerations will be given to other healthcare experiences such as a health unit coordinator (HUC), a patient care technician (PCT), life guard, etc...
Non-Academic Admission Considerations
- First generation college student
- Current healthcare work experience
- Military service and/or training
- Based upon fulfillment of all application eligibility requirements as outlined in the School of Nursing Catalog and posted on the BSN website, a determination will be made on an offer of an interview
- Performance in a face-to-face interview upon invitation
Applicants are reviewed by the Admissions
Committee and evaluated individually and
holistically, not allowing any single attribute to
be the determining attribute in the admission
decision. The actual number of students offered
admission is dependent upon a variety of
attributes, such as financial resources, classroom
space, and available clinical experiences.
IMPORTANT NOTE FOR APPLICANTS WHO ATTENDED A COLLEGE OR UNIVERSITY IN SPRING 2020
An explanation of how TTUHSC School of Nursing considers courses in which a student earns grades of Pass (P), Fail(F), Credit (CR) or No Credit (NC) is outlined below:
Official transcripts with courses awarded with P or CR during the spring 2020 semester can be used to meet prerequisite course requirements and will not be used in calculating either the cumulative or science GPA for admissions.
TTUHSC SON reserves the right to determine how, and if, courses awarded with P or CR during any semester, outside of spring 2020, will be calculated into a GPA and/or considered for transfer credit.
Official transcripts with courses awarded with a Fail (F) or No Credit (NC) during any semester cannot be used to meet prerequisite course requirements.
Additional Requirements for
Prospective Students
NCLEX-RN Examination Eligibility
See NCLEX-RN Examination Eligibility under the Eligibility Requirements section of this catalog.
Tuition for Repeated or Excessive Undergraduate
Hours
See Tuition for Repeated or Excessive Undergraduate Hours under the Financial Information section of this catalog.
Computer Requirements
See Computer Requirements under the Student Information section of this catalog.
Criminal Background Checks
See Criminal Background Check Requirements under the Eligibility Requirements section of this catalog.
Drug Screening
See Drug Screening Requirements under the Eligibility Requirements section of this catalog.
Immunizations
See Immunization Requirements under the Eligibility Requirements section of this catalog.
Special Student Enrollment
Deferment of Admission
Admission may be deferred from one semester
to the next at the discretion of the admissions
committee on a case-by-case basis.
Provisional Admission
Provisional admission is not available for the
Traditional BSN Program.
Conditional Admission
If the requirements for full admission are not
met, conditional admission may be available. The
student is required to comply with “conditions”
stated in the letter of admission offer prior to
the first day of class for the semester the student
is applying for. Failing to do so will result in
retraction of the offer.
Readmission
Any student who has been dismissed or who
withdrew for academic or disciplinary causes or as
a result of a Complaint of Misconduct is ineligible
for readmission to the Traditional BSN Program.
Transfer Admission
The Traditional BSN Program does not accept transfer admission into the nursing program.
Enrollment without Credit/Course Audit
Students who wish to audit a course for no
grade must obtain approval from the Associate
Dean/Department Chair. Students who audit a
course will not be listed on the class roll, and no
notation of the audit will be made on the student’s
transcript. Students who are enrolled for 12
semester credit hours or more may audit a course
without paying an additional fee.
Prerequisite Courses and
Requirements
The prerequisite course requirements listed
should be completed with a grade of “C” or higher
in each course prior to enrollment in the first
nursing course. These requirements as detailed in
the following table include a total of 60 semester
credit hours and can be taken at any regionally
accredited college or university. A maximum
of 15 credit hours can be earned via credit by
examination.
The prerequisite courses listed in the following
table for the Traditional BSN Program also
incorporates the 42 hours of the Texas Tech
University Health Sciences Center Core
Curriculum for undergraduate nursing degrees.
Please see Core Curriculum Requirements under the Eligibility Requirements section of this catalog to review the Texas Core Curriculum
requirements.
Important Information about Prerequisite
Course Requirements
- Pass/Fail grades are not accepted for credit
toward degree requirements.
- Applicants may choose to request grades
for all non-nursing courses greater than
10 years old not be considered in the GPA
for admission. If this option is selected,
the credits excluded are not eligible for
prerequisite course consideration and must be
retaken for credit. The applicant must have at
least 34 credit hours within the past 10 years
to use this option.
- Grades earned at all schools attended are
calculated in the admission grade point
average. The quality points and semester
credit hours used to calculate the cumulative
grade point average for admission to the School of Nursing are taken from the official
transcripts submitted during the application
process.
- The School of Nursing accepts courses completed
via classroom, internet, correspondence, CLEP
(College Level Examination Program), or
advanced placement examination for which credit
with the grade of “C” or higher has been awarded
and posted on an official transcript from an
accredited college or university when determining
completion of prerequisite non-nursing course
requirements.
Traditional BSN Program Prerequisite Coursework Table
| HOURS
|
Pathophysiology (ZOOL 3303 or equivalent)
| 3
|
Microbiology w/lab (BIOL 2420 or BIOL 2421)
| 4
|
Human Anatomy & Physiology I w/lab (BIOL 2401)
| 4
|
Human Anatomy & Physiology II w/lab (BIOL 2402)
| 4
|
Chemistry w/lab (CHEM 1305/1105 or CHEM 1406/CHEM 1411)
| 4
|
Introduction to Nursing as a Profession (HUSC 3221)
| 2
|
General Psychology (PSY 2301)
| 3
|
Life Span Human Development (PSY 2314)
| 3
|
Statistics (MATH 1342, 1442, 2342 or 2442)
| 3
|
Science of Nutrition (BIOL 1322 or HECO 1322)
| 3
|
History of the United States to 1877 (HIST 1301)
| 3
|
History of the United States since 1877 (HIST 1302)
| 3
|
American Government Organization (GOVT 2305 or POLS 1301)
| 3
|
American Public Policy (GOVT 2306 or POLS 2302)
| 3
|
English Composition I (ENGL 1301)
| 3
|
English Composition II (ENGL 1302)
| 3
|
Any Texas core approved course in Creative Arts
| 3
|
Any Texas core approved course in Language, Philosophy, or Culture
| 3
|
Communication in Nursing (COMS 2320)
| 3
|
TOTAL
| 60
|
- Course numbers listed are based on the Texas Common Course Numbering System (TCCNS).
Check with your academic institution to verify the course number corresponds with the TCCNS
number.
- Students must complete 3 credit hours of math to meet core curriculum requirements. Students
who take math statistics will simultaneously meet the requirements for the nursing prerequisite
and the core curriculum. Students, who take any other statistics course as the nursing prerequisite,
must also take an upper level mathematics course in order to meet the core curriculum
requirement.
- All courses are considered prerequisite to admission and beginning first semester of nursing
course work.
|
Offer of Admission
Offers of admission will be made from the
Traditional BSN Admissions Chair approximately
eight (8) weeks following the application deadline.
Applicants are required to respond to the offer of
admission no later than the deadline stated in the
letter offering admission by returning a $175 nonrefundable
placement guarantee/orientation fee,
as well as a signed response form accepting the
offer. Failure to respond by the deadline results in
withdrawal of the offer of admission.
Degree Requirements for Students
Admitted to Program
Graduation Under a Particular Catalog
A student is expected to complete the degree
requirements set forth in the School of Nursing
Catalog in effect at the time the student enters
the chosen degree or area of study. Only with the
specific approval from the appropriate
Associate Dean/Department Chair may a different
Catalog be selected. Students, in all cases are
prohibited from completing the requirements
set forth in a catalog more than seven years old.
The School of Nursing Catalog is published at
least biennially and its provisions are applicable
during the following academic year (September 1
through August 31).
Maintaining Minimum Academic Requirements
- Maintain a 2.0 GPA for each semester and
overall cumulative.
- A minimum grade of “C” required in all
degree required (nursing) courses.
- Students receiving a “D”, “F” or “WF” in a
nursing course are eligible to repeat the course
one time only pursuant to recommendation of
course faculty.
- Students earning an overall cumulative
GPA or a semester GPA less than a 2.0 in
the semester of graduation are ineligible for
graduation.
Academic Dismissal from the School of Nursing
will result from the following circumstances:
- A student earning a “D”, “F” or “WF” in two
or more nursing courses in one semester is
cause for academic dismissal.
- Students earning a “D”, “F” or “WF” in a
second nursing course, even when students
successfully complete the courses in which the
previous “D”s, “F”s or “WF”s were earned.
- Earning less than a 2.0 per semester or
cumulative GPA for two consecutive
semesters.
Comprehensive Examinations
Undergraduate (prelicensure) students must
have a passing score on the comprehensive
examination administered in NURS 4710 for
the Traditional BSN Undergraduate Program. If
the student is not successful on the examination,
the student is required to meet with the
course facilitator(s) to determine next steps in
progression.
Residence Credit
The minimum actual residence credit required
of each undergraduate student is 30 hours at
TTUHSC, including the final 15 hours in nursing
courses taken for a grade. The remaining hours
may include transfer credit and correspondence
course work. Residence credit as used here
means credit for work done while enrolled in and
attending classes at TTUHSC and should not be
confused with “residence” in the State of Texas for
tuition purposes.
Semester Credit Hours and Course Loads
The semester credit hour is the unit of measure
for credit purposes. Didactic (lecture) hours are
measured on a one-to-one basis; clinical hours are
measured on a one-to-three basis. Approximately
two hours in preparation for each hour of lecture
or recitation and an appropriate amount of time
for preparation for clinical activity is required. The
number of semester credit hours a student may
carry (course load) is regulated by the Associate
Dean/Department Chair. In determining course
load, the Associate Dean/Department Chair 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. Traditional BSN students are required to complete
60 hours of prerequisite courses and 60 hours of
nursing courses, totaling 120 credit hours.
Traditional BSN Undergraduate Program
|
60
| Semester Hours from general education prerequisite courses
|
60
| Semester Hours from the Traditional BSN Undergraduate curriculum
|
120
| Total Semester Hours
|
Recognition of Previous Nursing
Learning
Transfer of Credit
- The Traditional BSN program does not accept transfers into the nursing program.
- Students who attended a previous nursing program may apply to the Traditional Nursing program.
- Due to the nature of the Traditional BSN program, transfer credits for nursing courses are not given.
- Credit for nursing courses cannot be earned via credit by examination.
Degree Plan
Degree plans are generally completed by the
appropriate Student Affairs Coordinator during
new student orientation. The degree plan may be
revised by the Program Director of Curriculum
based on a student’s ability to successfully progress
through the curriculum. Course enrollment may
be limited based on available resources, including
but not limited to, availability of clinical sites
within the community. The following degree plan
is designed for applicants without a RN license.
The sample degree plan provides an overview
of a basic course schedule for full-time students.
All non-nursing courses should be completed
prior to taking the first nursing course. When
necessary, methods for limiting enrollment will
be determined by the Traditional BSN Associate
Dean/Department Chair.
