RN-BSN Program

Required nursing courses for the RN-BSN consists of 5 non-clinical courses, 2 clinical courses and a Practicum. 

• Students enrolled in courses with clinical components work with a preceptor who holds the qualifications required by the Georgia Board of Nursing. Students are responsible for arranging their precepted experiences with guidance from the Clinical Services Manager. (The preceptor should be BSN prepared and have worked in an area of nursing where preceptorship occurs for one year.)
• NURS 3397 Health Assessment has a 30 hour lab component (NURS 3398). (Student will record and submit video as well as documentation of the history and exam.)
• NURS 4497 Community Health has a 15 hour lab component (NURS 4498). Student may complete clinical hours in facilities such as public health, school health, occupational health, correctional care, rural health, or migrant health care.
• NURS 4900 Practicum is taken after all core and GSW requirements are completed. 
• Testing is online and will be proctored using ProctorU. (Information will be provided by the course faculty.)

Prior Learning Assessment (PLA)

Some nursing courses in the RN-BSN program may be satisfied with the Prior Learning Assessment (PLA) Program.

Prior Learning Assessment (PLA) is a process through which students identify areas of learning from their past experiences, demonstrate that learning through appropriate documentation, and submit their materials related to specific course objectives so that they can be assessed and possibly awarded academic credit. PLA will reduce the repetition of relevant, course-related material for students with prior learning (or with prior degrees). Students must complete PLA 2000, Prior Learning Documentation Course, to be eligible to apply for PLA credit.

RN - BSN Program Eligibility Requirements

• Must meet the requirements of the Georgia RN-BSN Articulation Model. (The GSW College of Nursing and Health Sciences supports the Georgia RN-BSN Articulation Model.) The purpose of this model is to facilitate the educational mobility of registered nurses who elect to pursue a baccalaureate degree in nursing. 
• Must provide proof of an active, unencumbered licensure as a registered nurse in Georgia.
  (An unencumbered license means a license that is not currently on probation, monitoring, suspension, and/or does not have any other type of limitation including current participation in an alternative to discipline program.)
• Have not been excluded from another nursing program for any reason, including (but not limited to) academic misconduct, disruptive behavior, or program failure. A nursing course failure in another institution counts as a failure in this institution.

NOTE: International students with F1 or J1 Visa Status may not enroll in the RN-BSN Program. The RN-BSN Completion program would require students to enroll in courses not taught online according to federal regulations. Applicants may obtain more information about regulations by contacting the Primary Designated School Official (PDSO) at the Office of the Registrar at GSW for information.

Curriculum guidelines: Students complete approximately 61 hours of general education courses. The junior and senior nursing courses total approximately 61 hours.

• Math 2204 Statistics is a pre-requisite for NURS 4800 Nursing Research
• All non-nursing course requirements (excluding the PE core curriculum) must be completed before taking NURS 4900 Practicum in Nursing
• RN-BSN students are awarded 33 nursing credit hours after successfully completing 6 semester hours of nursing credit. Review the Curriculum sheet for RN-BSN Program Track

It is recommended that NURS 3010 Professional Nursing Practice be taken the first semester that the student takes nursing courses.

Validation testing:  Completion of validation testing will be required of all associate degree or diploma graduates who graduated from non-NLNAC accredited schools outside the state of Georgia, who graduated more than four years ago, and who have less than 1,000 clinical practice hours.  Validation testing includes standardized exams and clinical competencies. 

Proctored exams:  Students enrolled in online courses through the College of Nursing and Health Sciences may be required to take one or more proctored exams per semester. You can go to http://www.proctoru.com/gsw for more information.  Students should be aware that they are responsible for ProctorU testing fees.  The projected cost for a two hour exam is $25.00.

Each of the states has its own approval processes for out-of-state institutions offering distance education. While Georgia Southwestern State University endeavors to offer all of its programs to as wide an audience as possible, all Georgia Southwestern State University distance education programs may not be available in all states.

All theory (didactic/lecture) courses are offered online via GOVIEW online platform. Delivery will be both synchronous and asynchronous.

All GSW transfer students must complete the Transfer Online Orientation in addition to the eMajor Introduction Quiz. 

Transfer applications will require a transcript evaluation so be sure to apply early so these documents can be completed before the deadline.

• Upon applicant’s acceptance to GSW, a letter of acceptance and transcript evaluation will be available to the College of Nursing and Health Sciences. These documents must be on file in GSW office of admissions and are required before the Admission & Progression Committee can review the College of Nursing and Health Sciences application.
• If applicant is taking or in progression of courses at other institutions during the admission process, applicants must make note of what courses they are taking on their nursing application.
• Applicant must submit an official transcript verifying final course grades to Registrars office and an unofficial transcript verifying final course grades to the College of Nursing and Health Sciences Student Services Coordinators office ASAP after completion.

RNs wishing to reapply to the College of Nursing and Health Sciences may do so one time and should use the Application for Readmission. This Readmission Application should be accompanied with an updated resume and a copy of your active Georgia RN license.  

Former GSW students who have not been enrolled within one calendar year must apply for readmission to GSW Admissions Office.  Applicants applying for readmission who have attended other institutions since their last enrollment at GSW must submit an official transcript from those institutions.

Review of applications by the Admission Committee will take place shortly after the application deadline. Applicants will be notified of their acceptance status approximately one month from the application deadline.

The first step is to apply to GSW as RN-BSN Track and be accepted by the University. Please see the Undergraduate Admissions for more information.

Once accepted to GSW, the student will apply to the College of Nursing and Health Sciences RN-BSN program and submit all required documentation (application, two sealed reference forms, and a copy of active RN license).

• RN-BSN Application Instructions & Checklist     
• RN-BSN Application Form (Requires CanesNet Credentials)                                
• BSN Reference Form                                      
• RN-BSN Readmission Application (Only for previous RN students requesting readmission to the program)
• RN-BSN Handbook