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BSN admissions

Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) Program Research College of Nursing offers a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree through two distinct tracks:

  • Accelerated BSN (ABSN): Designed for students who already hold a bachelor’s degree in another field. This intensive, full-time program is completed in one calendar year.
  • Traditional BSN (TBSN): Designed for transfer students. This full-time program is completed over the course of four semesters.

All applicants must be a U.S. citizen or hold a Permanent Residency Card to enroll at Research College of Nursing.

BSN Admissions Testing Requirements

As part of the admissions process, the College requires applicants to complete the ATI Test of Essential Academic Skills (ATI TEAS®) for Nursing Students. This standardized exam assesses academic readiness in the following areas: Reading, Mathematics, Science, English and Language Usage.

The TEAS exam must be taken within 24 months of the applicant’s intended start date. To register for the ATI TEAS® for Nursing Students, visit: www.atitesting.com.

ABSN Track (Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing)

Eligibility

Applicants must hold a non-nursing bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited institution and apply via NursingCAS.
For NursingCAS support:
(617) 612-2880 | Mon–Fri, 9am–5pm ET
nursingcasinfo@nursingcas.org

Application Window: Rolling admissions until class is full

Admission Requirements

  • Cumulative college GPA of 3.0* or higher
  • Completion of all prerequisite courses with a grade of C or better
  • ATI TEAS® score at Proficient level or higher
  • Non-nursing bachelor’s degree

TBSN Track (Traditional Bachelor of Science in Nursing)

Application Window: Rolling admissions until class is full.

Apply via: NursingCAS
For support:
(617) 612-2880 | Mon–Fri, 9am–5pm ET
nursingcasinfo@nursingcas.org

 Admission Requirements

  • Cumulative college GPA of 3.0* or higher
  • Completion of all prerequisite courses with a grade of C or better
  • ATI TEAS® score at Proficient level or higher

*Will accept a cumulative college GPA of 2.8, if it includes a grade of B– or better in Anatomy & Physiology

Applicants with Nursing Credits

Applicants who have nursing credit from another college or university must also submit a letter from the previous nursing program’s administrator (Dean, Chair, or Director) that indicates the student is “in good standing” and eligible to return, or explains why the student is not eligible to return.

Early Admission to Traditional BSN Program (Early Admit)

High school seniors and college freshmen are eligible to apply for the Early Admit program, offering an opportunity to reserve a place in Research College of Nursing’s Traditional BSN (TBSN) track.

Interested high school students can submit their early admission application through the College website.

Admission Requirements

  • ACT Composite Score of 22 or higher
  • High School GPA of 3.0 or higher

OR

  • ACT Composite Score of 21
  • High School GPA of 3.2 or higher

Criminal background check and drug screen

Upon admission, students must complete a criminal background check and drug screen. The College reserves the right to revoke admission based on an adverse criminal background check and/or drug screen. If a student has an interruption in enrollment, they are required to submit a new criminal background check and drug screen upon return.

It is the applicant’s responsibility to inform the College of any legal issues that may be revealed in the criminal background check.

The following are included in the criminal background check:

  • Name, Social Security Number and Address Verification
  • Felony/misdemeanor criminal record search in all jurisdictions of residence within the past 7 years
  • National Sex Offender Registry
  • Missouri Family Care Safety Registry (MO FCSR) which includes following:
    • State criminal history records maintained by the Missouri State Highway Patrol
    • Child abuse/neglect records maintained by the Missouri Department of Social Services
    • Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services Employee Disqualification List
    • Missouri Department of Mental Health Disqualification Registry Report
    • Missouri Sex Offender Registry
    • Child-care facility licensure records maintained by the Missouri Department of Elementary
    • and Secondary Education
    • Foster parent licensure records maintained by the Missouri Department of Social Services
    • Kansas Department of Health and Environment
    • Kansas Department of Aging and Disability Services
    • Office of the Inspector General (OIG)
    • General Services Administration (GSA)/Excluded Parties List System (aka SAM- System for Award
    • Management)
    • United States Treasury - SDN and Blocked Persons List
    • Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC)

The drugs included in the drug screen include:

  • Amphetamines
  • Barbiturates
  • Benzodiazepines
  • Cocaine Metabolites
  • Marijuana Metabolites
  • Methadone
  • MDA (Sass
  • MDMA (Ecstasy)
  • Opiates
  • Phencyclidine
  • Propoxyphene
  • Methaqualone
  • Oxycodone
  • Oxymorphone

A positive drug screen without appropriate documentation will be considered a failed drug screen. In addition, even with appropriate documentation, a positive drug screen for marijuana will be considered a failed drug screen.

Transfer credits

The College accepts transfer credits* under the following guidelines:

  1. Grade of straight C or better 
  2. Pass/fail credit accepted if pass is defined as straight C or better in the institution’s academic catalog or other official documentation
  3. Practicum, cooperative education, field experience, internships, etc., are not accepted
  4. Credit by assessment from another institution will not be accepted
  5. Single course transfer will not satisfy multiple course prerequisites
  6. Correspondence work is accepted only under special circumstances, and with prior approval
  7. Credits earned outside of the United Students require a course-by-course evaluation by a member of the National Association of Credential Evaluation Services (NACES)

Transfer institutions must be accredited by one of the following higher education accreditors:

  1. Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges Western Association of Schools and Colleges
  2. Higher Learning Commission
  3. Middle States Commission on Higher Education
  4. New England Commission on Higher Education
  5. Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities
  6. Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges
  7. Western Association for Schools and Colleges Senior College and University Commission

If the evaluated course meets credit hour requirements and is substantially similar, the course may be accepted as a substitution. If similarity of a course is unable to be determined by the course title and description alone, a syllabus will be required for review. If substantial similarity is unable to be a determined from the review of the syllabus, the College will use publicly available online transfer credit tools to determine similarity.

If a course has been previously evaluated, the course substitution is stored in a transfer credit database and credit is assigned based upon those prior decisions. Courses that have not been previously evaluated, are reviewed on a case-by-case basis.

The College will award transfer credit in the following ways for courses completed at institutions not operating on a semester calendar:

  • Credit from schools operating on a quarter calendar will be awarded at a 0.67 (two-thirds) conversion
  • Credit from schools operating on a trimester calendar will be awarded at a 0.83 conversion.

For institutional accreditation reasons, the College is required to have on file official transcripts from all institutions of higher education a degree-seeking student has attended, whether or not the credit is applied to their RCoN degree program. The College reserves the right to reject course work from unaccredited institutions as determined by the Registrar’s Office. Such course work is not accepted for transfer or satisfaction of degree requirements at the College. Undergraduate nursing courses are not accepted for transfer except as a completed degree.

Credit for nontraditional work

College Level Examinations: Students who wish to take Subject Level Examinations in various areas of the College Level Examination Program (CLEP) may submit official score reports to the Director of Admission. Contact the Educational Testing Service to request an official report of your test score. A score of 50 is considered the minimum qualifying score for college credit. The College will accept up to a maximum of 30 credit hours from CLEP exams.

Advanced Placement Tests: Students who received a score of 3 or above on an Advanced Placement Test administered by the College Entrance Examination board can receive college credit. Official score reports must be submitted to the Director of Admission.

International Baccalaureate Credit: Students who completed the International Baccalaureate program are eligible to receive college credit for the courses completed. A score of 5-7 on the higher-level examinations will result in the granting of college credit. Official score reports must be submitted to the Director of Admission.

Change from ABSN to TBSN track

BSN students in good standing wishing to change from the ABSN track to the TBSN track must request the Change of Track form from the Registrar’s Office.

The request to make the change is based on available space in the track as well as the student’s ability to be successful. The ability to switch tracks is not guaranteed. Changing from the TBSN track to the ABSN track is not allowed.

Readmission following dismissal

Dismissal from the College is a serious action. Therefore, a student who has been dismissed should not expect to be readmitted. A student who is dismissed may choose to apply for readmission to the track and program they were enrolled.

The following must be submitted:

  1. Application for Readmission – to the Director of Admission. Applications for summer or fall readmission are due by April 15; applications for a spring readmission is due October 15th.
  2. An essay describing:
    • Actions that have been taken to warrant consideration for readmission,
    • Evidence to support probability of future academic success, and
    • Plan for achieving future academic success.
  3. Two letters of support from RCoN faculty. If necessary, students may substitute one (1) nursing faculty letter with a letter of support from a faculty at another institution of higher education.

The Associate Dean will make the decision regarding readmission. If readmitted, course registration will be decided by the Associate Dean on a space available basis. Any failure in a future nursing course will result in immediate dismissal from the program without possibility of readmission.

Readmission following leave of absence

The following must be submitted:

  1. Application for Readmission – Applications for summer or fall readmission are due April 15; applications for a spring readmission are due October 15th.

A College administrator will determine whether courses must be repeated and/or any additional requirements are needed. As a condition of admission, readmitted students must submit a new criminal background check and drug screen.