Nursing, B.S.N.

Minimum hours required for the degree: 120

Minimum hours required in the major: 69 hours for all pre-licensure students, 30 hours for R.N. students

Membership and Accreditation:

• The School of Nursing is a member of the Council of Baccalaureate and Higher Degree Programs and the American Association of Colleges of Nursing.
• The School of Nursing offers an undergraduate curriculum in professional nursing leading to the Bachelor of Science in Nursing (B.S.N.). The professional nursing curriculum is approved by the Ohio Board of Nursing, and is accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE), One Dupont Circle, NW, Suite 530, Washington, DC, 20036-1120.

Nursing Program Requirements

Pre-Nursing Program for Basic and Accelerated Students

Persons interested in the nursing program must first complete an application to Cleveland State University, listing their college choice as School of Nursing and intended major as Nursing.

Prospective students are encouraged to attend an advising session or to make an appointment with one of the school’s recruiter/advisers to discuss the nursing program and to plan a course of study.

For early admission to the Basic Track: Those students with an overall GPA of 3.25 and prerequisite GPA of at least 3.25 may apply for consideration of early admission status. They must have no prerequisite grades below a B and all prerequisites completed with a grade of B or better. Deadline for receipt of applications for early admission is January 1.

Admission to the Nursing Major

Admission to the Nursing major is selective and is granted on a competitive basis. Selection of students for the Nursing major is based on a number of criteria including prerequisite and overall grade-point  averages, essays, interviews and related health-care experience. The number of available spaces in the program is limited.

Students applying to the basic track are notified of their acceptance by the end of the spring semester. Those students with a previous undergraduate degree who are applying to the Accelerated Option track are notified of their acceptance by the end of the summer semester.  Students not admitted may formally reapply to the program for admission in the following year. Students who are accepted and who choose not to enter the program in the year for which they have been accepted will not be deferred to the following year. They must reapply to the program. Prior acceptance does not guarantee acceptance at a later date.

All admission requirements must be completed prior to beginning the Nursing major. Admission requirements include the following:

1. Admission to Cleveland State University and the School of Nursing. CSU Admissions Applications are available through the Office of Admissions and should be submitted six weeks prior to the application deadline of the program for which they are applying. For the Basic program, CSU Admission must be submitted by February 1 and for the Accelerated program the deadline is May 1 which are one month prior to the School of Nursing application deadlines. Students must be matriculated to CSU before they can be accepted by the School of Nursing.
2. All application materials for fall-semester admission to the basic-track nursing program must be submitted to the School of Nursing by March 1 of that year. Applications for all Nursing programs are available in the School of Nursing and on the School of Nursing’s website.  All application materials for spring semester admission to the accelerated option track of the nursing program must be submitted to the School of Nursing by June 1st of the preceding year.
3. Completion of all prerequisite courses by start of fall semester (for basic track) or by start of Spring semester (for accelerated track) with a prerequisite grade-point average of 2.75 or above and at least a C in each prerequisite course. Please note that all former grades earned in prerequisite courses are factored into the prerequisite GPA. Students who have two or more failing grades do not meet admission criteria and will not be considered for admission.
4. Successful completion of two of the following science courses (these CSU courses or their equivalent) by the application deadline prior to submitting an application: BIO 264 /BIO 265 , BIO 266 /BIO 267 , BIO 268 /BIO 269 , CHM 251 /CHM 256 ,
   CHM 252
     /CHM 257 .
5. Basic BSN Program - A cumulative overall grade-point average of 2.50 or above in all course work at CSU and all other schools of higher education.  Accelerated BSN Program - requires a cumulative overall grade-point average of 2.5 or above on the previously earned Baccalaureate degree.
6. Attending an advising session or speaking with the recruiter/adviser.
7. English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL): Students who have received their secondary or tertiary education in a language other than English will be required to contact the English as a Second Language Program in the College of Education and Human Services and arrange for additional prerequisites that must be completed by the student prior to enrollment in the nursing program.
8. Candidates who have satisfied all other requirements for admission and who are competitively placed for admission will be interviewed.

Transferring From Other Nursing Programs

Students previously enrolled in a nursing program at another institution who are interested in transferring to Cleveland State University should contact the  recruiter/adviser to begin a transcript evaluation. Acceptance of transfer students into the university’s nursing program depends on the student’s profile, prior standing in the previous nursing school, a nursing GPA above 2.5 each term in the nursing major from the previous school, and space availability. The level of the program into which the student transfers (sophomore, junior, or senior) depends on the evaluation of previous nursing course work by the Admission, Progression, and Academic Standard Committee of the School of Nursing.

Students accepted via transfer must complete a minimum of 20 semester credits in the Nursing major at CSU. Students who need to complete a nursing course at Cleveland State in order to graduate from another institution will be reviewed on an individual basis.

Licensed Practical Nurses

LPNs follow the basic student sequence but may have the opportunity to test out of selected skill portions of the curriculum.

Registered Nurse Students

Admission requirements include:

1. Completion of items 1 to 3, 5 to 7 from above list of admission requirements

2. Current active Ohio license as a Registered Nurse (or in the U.S. state of residence)

Credit for previous nursing course work will be awarded based on the school’s participation in Ohio Nursing Articulation Model Agreements among Ohio Nursing Schools. Graduates from schools of nursing outside of Ohio will have their prior nursing course work evaluated on an individual basis.