RN to BSN Articulation Agreement Signed
Registered nurses with an associate degree from a North Carolina
community college may save time and money in earning a Bachelor of Science
in Nursing degree at 10 private colleges because of a new agreement between
the NC Community College System and NC Independent Colleges and
Universities.
NCCCS Acting President Jennifer Haygood and NCICU President Hope Williams signed the articulation agreement Feb. 15.
“This agreement reduces barriers for registered nurses with associate degrees who want to continue their education,” Haygood said. “It also creates a more seamless and rational transfer process for community college nursing students.”
“The RN to BSN articulation agreement is an important supplement to the
Independent Comprehensive Articulation Agreement and an excellent example
of the partnerships between NCICU and NCCCS, in this case benefiting
thousands of RNs across the state who seek to advance their careers with
Bachelor of Science degrees in Nursing,” Williams said. “NCICU and NCCCS
are already beginning work on additional supplemental agreements that are
discipline-specific.”
The agreement describes a progression degree plan that includes required
general education and nursing prerequisite courses acceptable to all
participating RN to BSN programs. Students who follow the plan and take those
courses at community colleges will meet the entrance requirements for those RN
to BSN programs. Nurses may apply to any of the programs without taking
duplicate courses.
“Students will be able to plan with confidence that their community college
courses will both transfer and satisfy requirements of participating NCICU
campuses,” Haygood said.
Under the agreement, a student who completes an Associate in Applied
Science degree in Nursing with a GPA of at least 2.0 and a grade of C or better
in specified courses, and who holds a current unrestricted license as a
Registered Nurse in North Carolina, will have fulfilled the lower-division general
education requirements and nursing program entry requirements for the
participating colleges and universities. Because nursing program admissions
are competitive, students are not guaranteed admission to the program of their
choice.
The NCICU Board approved the agreement Feb. 9, and the State Board of
Community Colleges approved it on Feb. 16.
As of Feb. 15, the following NCICU campuses had signed the nursing
articulation agreement:
Barton College
Cabarrus College of Health Sciences
Gardner-Webb University
Lees McRae College
Lenoir-Rhyne University
Mars Hill University
Pfeiffer University
Queens University of Charlotte
University of Mount Olive
Wingate University
Related to the agreement, the NCICU announced plans to build an online portal
to provide comprehensive information to community college students about
course equivalencies with independent colleges. The portal will be funded by a
$25,000 grant from the Council of Independent Colleges, with an additional
$25,000 raised by NCICU.