Nursing (B.S.N.)
At-a-Glance
Degree granted: Bachelor of Science in Nursing
Admission to major, Basic Track: Admission is selective and will be granted only after successful completion of prerequisite courses. The application process uses multiple methods to evaluate candidates including, but not limited to, testing, references and interviews. Minimum overall GPA of 2.75 is required in prerequisite courses. Applications for fall semester must be submitted by March 1. Those students with a prerequisite GPA of 3.25 or above may apply for consideration of early admission status. Deadline for receipt of applications for early admission is January 1.
RN to BSN Track: Two-year program for registered nurses with associate degree or diploma in nursing. Nursing courses for the RN are one day a week except for the last half of spring semester of the senior year. Twelve hours a week for clinical are then required. Part-time program available to all students in major.
Accelerated Track: Admission is selective and is granted to persons who hold at least a bachelor's degree in a non-nursing field and who have completed the prerequisite courses.
Minimum hours required in the major: 68 hours for basic students, 28 hours for R.N. students
Advising: There is a recruiter/adviser for prospective students; phone 687-3810. Faculty serve as advisers for students in major.
Student organization: Student Nurse Association (SNA)
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.
Overview: The program is available to men and women who have been admitted to Cleveland State University and the College of Education and Human Services. High-school graduates and licensed practical nurses who fulfill admission requirements are considered for admission to the program. The RN to BSN track is designed for registered nurses. The accelerated track is especially designed for students who already have a bachelor's degree in a non-nursing field. This track, an accelerated option, permits qualified students to take nursing major courses at a fast pace to obtain a second bachelor's degree.
The baccalaureate nursing curriculum includes courses from the liberal arts and sciences and the professional Nursing major. The liberal arts component provides a foundation of knowledge from the natural and behavioral sciences and the humanities. The Nursing major provides students with the opportunity to develop attitudes, values, and skills essential for enacting the practice of professional nursing.
Students develop the ability to use a conceptual framework to implement the nursing process with clients. The baccalaureate nursing program prepares graduates to use critical thinking and therapeutic nursing interventions to provide direct and indirect care to individuals, families, groups, and communities. Clinical experience is provided in a variety of community-based settings: hospitals, ambulatory and long-term care facilities, and community health agencies in the Greater Cleveland area.
The purposes of the program are to prepare graduates for professional nursing practice, for undertaking graduate study in nursing, and for leadership in health care. Graduates are committed to the health and well-being of people and demonstrate respect for their dignity, worth, cultural diversity, and autonomy. The baccalaureate nursing curriculum provides learning opportunities that foster the development of self-direction, creativity, analytical thinking, and discriminative judgment.
Nursing Program Requirements
Pre-Nursing Program for Basic Students
Persons interested in the nursing program must first complete an application to Cleveland State University, listing college choice as Education and Human Services and intended major as Nursing.
Prospective students are required to make an appointment with the school's recruiter/adviser to discuss the nursing program and to plan a course of study. Prerequisite courses may be completed throughout the summer the year admission is sought.*
*Students with a prerequisite GPA of 3.25 or above may apply by January 1 and will be considered for early admission. Such students will be notified of their admission status by the end of February.
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, results on the standardized nursing entrance exam and related health-care experience and interviews. The number of available spaces in the program is limited. Students are notified of their acceptance by the end of the spring 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 the beginning of the fall semester to begin the Nursing major. Admission requirements include:
- Admission to Cleveland State University and the College of Education and Human Services. Applications are available through the Office of Admissions and should be submitted at least one month prior to the program application deadline (March 1).
- Application for fall-semester admission to the nursing program must be submitted to the School of Nursing by March 1 of that year. Applications are available in the School of Nursing.
- Completion of all prerequisite courses by fall semester 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 more than two failing grades may not meet admission criteria.
- Successful completion of two of the following science courses by the end of fall semester: BIO 264/265, BIO 266/267, BIO 268/269, CHM 251/256, CHM 252/257.
- A cumulative overall grade-point average of 2.50 or above in all course work.
- Adequate score on the standardized nursing entrance exam.
- Required meeting with recruiter/adviser.
- 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 Division of Continuing Education and arrange for additional prerequisites that must be completed by the student prior to enrollment in the nursing program.
- 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. 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 have the opportunity to test out of selected skill portions of the curriculum.
Registered Nurse Students
Admission requirements include:
- Completion of items 1 to 3, 5 and 7 above
- Current active Ohio license as a Registered Nurse
Credit for previous nursing course work will be awarded based on the school's participation in the Access in Nursing Model. Ohio graduates of both community colleges and diploma nursing programs will receive credit for prior nursing courses in which a grade of C or above was obtained. These credits granted at time of admission by Cleveland State's Office of Admission will be held in escrow until the student has successfully completed the junior year in the Nursing major. These credits will only count toward a baccalaureate degree in nursing.
Graduates from schools of nursing outside of Ohio will have their prior nursing course work evaluated on an individual basis.
Required Courses:
Elective Courses
The school offers several elective courses that are open to all university students. These include NUR 250 and NUR 498.
Prerequisite Courses for Basic Students
All prerequisite courses must be completed prior to entry into the program in the fall semester. The prerequisite GPA is composed of all grades earned in the following courses:
- BIO 264/265 Introductory Microbiology, Medical
- BIO 266/267 Anatomy and Physiology, Human I
- BIO 268/269 Anatomy and Physiology, Human II
- *CHM 251/256 College Chemistry I
- CHM 252/257 College Chemistry II
- ENG 101 English I
- ENG 102 English II
- MTH 118 (or higher)
- NUR 345 Computers in Health Care
- PSY 101 Principles of Psychology
- SOC 101 Principles of Sociology
Prerequisite Courses for R.N. Students
All prerequisite courses must be completed prior to entry into the program in the fall semester. The prerequisite GPA is composed of all grades earned in the following courses:
- BIO 264/265 Introductory Microbiology, Medical
- BIO 266/267 Anatomy and Physiology, Human I
- BIO 268/269 Anatomy and Physiology, Human II
- CHM 252/257 College Chemistry II
- ENG 101 English I
- ENG 102 English II
- NUR 345 Computers in Health Care
- PSY 101 Principles of Psychology
- SOC 101 Principles of Sociology
AND
one of the following courses in statistics:
- COM 303 Communication Inquiry/Behavioral Science Statistics
- PSY 311 Quantitative Methods
- SOC 354 Quantitative Sociologic Research
Support Courses for Basic Students
Support courses are prerequisite or corequisite to nursing courses. Their content is required for courses in the nursing curriculum. They may be completed at any time prior to the nursing course for which they are prerequisite. See Course Descriptions section of this catalog for required sequence.
- PHL 240 Health Care Ethics
AND
- one of the following courses in statistics:
Support Courses for R.N. Students
Support courses are corequisite to nursing courses. Their content is required for courses in the nursing curriculum. They may be completed at any time prior to the nursing course for which they are prerequisite. See Course Descriptions section of this catalog for required sequence.
Nursing Courses for Basic Students
- NUR 200 Stress: A Framework for Professional Nursing
- NUR 215 Strategies for Nursing Practice
- NUR 216 Strategies for Nursing Practice Clinical
- NUR 218 Nursing Pharmacology
- NUR 219 Nursing Pathophysiology
- NUR 220 Health Assessment
- NUR 221 Health Assessment - Lab
- NUR 222 Tertiary Preventive Strategies for the Elderly Experiencing Stress
- NUR 225 Tertiary Preventive Strategies for Adults Experiencing Stress
- NUR 226 Tertiary Preventive Strategies for Adults Experiencing Stress- Clinical
- NUR 300 Nursing Leadership and Management
- NUR 305 Secondary Preventive Strategies for Adults Experiencing Stress
- NUR 306 Secondary Preventive Strategies for Adults Experiencing Stress - Clinical
- NUR 310 Nursing Research or NUR 360 Nursing Research
- NUR 312 Secondary Preventive Strategies for Adults Experiencing Psychosocial Stressors
- NUR 313 Secondary Preventive Strategies for Adults Experiencing Psychosocial Stressors - Clinical
- NUR 325 Secondary Preventive Strategies for Children Experiencing Stress
- NUR 326 Secondary Preventive Strategies for Children Experiencing Stress - Clinical
- NUR 380 Primary Preventive Strategies for Childbearing Families
- NUR 382 Primary Preventive Strategies for Childbearing Families - Clinical
- NUR 410 Primary Preventive Strategies for Communities I
- NUR 411 Primary Preventive Strategies for Communities I - Clinical
- NUR 412 Primary Preventive Strategies for Communities II
- NUR 414 Primary Preventive Strategies for Communities II - Clinical
- NUR 415 Preventive Strategies in Complex and Critical Situations
- NUR 416 Preventive Strategies in Complex and Critical
- NUR 420 Role Practicum
- NUR 430 Professional Seminar
Nursing Courses for Registered Nurse Students
- NUR 340 Stress: A Framework for Professional Nursing
- NUR 350 Nursing Leadership and Management
- NUR 360 Nursing Research or NUR 310 Nursing Research
- NUR 407 Preventive Strategies for Gerontologic Nursing
- NUR 408 Preventive Strategies for Nursing - Home Care
- NUR 409 Preventive Strategies for Nursing - Clinical
- NUR 430 Professional Seminar
- NUR 440 Primary Preventive Strategies for Communities
- NUR 441 Primary Preventive Strategies for Communities - Clinical
- NUR 460 Role Practicum
Clinicals for R.N.s are scheduled only during the senior year of the program. They are designed to enhance the students' professional development and to provide new learning opportunities.