Contact Information
Nursing at NMU
The School of Nursing offers programs from the certificate level to graduate degree. Program options include: (1) LPN certificate program; (2) a BSN degree program; (3) an LPN to BSN program (for LPNs desiring to obtain a baccalaureate degree); (4) an RN to BSN degree program (for registered nurses who desire to obtain a baccalaureate degree in nursing); and (5) A DNP program with a clinical specialty as a family nurse practitioner.
The BSN program prepares students to function as professional nurses in a variety of hospital and community settings. Students acquire the requisite knowledge and skills to practice across a variety of settings with diverse populations within the health care system and to be independently skillful in the promotion and maintenance of health, the prevention of disease, and the management, coordination and supervision of client care.
Accreditation
Northern’s Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) is accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE).
Student Organization
- Student Nurses Association
BSN Program Policies
Pre-Admission Policies
The department strongly recommends that prospective nursing students prepare themselves in high school by taking the following courses: English (four years), mathematics (three or four years, including two years of algebra), social studies (four years) and one unit each of biology, chemistry and physics. Students without the necessary high school preparation in algebra and chemistry may need to take additional preparatory courses in these subjects, which will lengthen their program.
Prospective transfer students from community colleges should take courses equivalent to those listed as requirements for admission to the nursing sequence.
Entering students are assigned an adviser who helps them plan an academic program of pre-nursing courses. When the prerequisites are nearly completed, students may apply for admission to the baccalaureate nursing sequence in consultation with an adviser. For more information, contact the nursing department at bsnnurse@nmu.edu.
Note: Completion of prerequisites does not guarantee admission to the nursing program.
Criminal Background Checks
Student placement in a clinical site/agency assumes that the applicant possesses good moral character and the ability to successfully pass the rigors of a background investigation and criminal history check. In specific clinical sites, the State of Michigan requires a criminal background check and a criminal background check is required prior to licensure. All students are required to complete a criminal background check. Students are responsible for the costs of the background check. Students who do not complete a background check are ineligible for placement at some clinical agencies and therefore, may result in the student’s being unable to progress in the nursing program. More information about criminal background checks is provided in the BSN Student Handbook.
License Information for RNs and LPNs Applying to Nursing Programs
Applicants and students holding either an LPN or RN license must report any action involving their license during the admission process as well as during the student’s progression in the nursing program. This includes licenses that are revoked, suspended, or sanctioned in any manner. The applicant or student is required to report all changes in the status of the license to the Director of the School of Nursing and to their faculty advisor. A license that is sanctioned in any way is not considered an active license to practice and therefore does not meet the program requirements for RN to BSN or LPN to BSN programs.
Admission to the Baccalaureate Nursing Sequence
Before applying for admission to the nursing sequence, applicants must:
- Be admitted to Northern Michigan University.
- Have completed or be in the process of completing the following courses: BI 207 Human Anatomy and Physiology I, BI 208 Human Anatomy and Physiology II, BI 203 Medical Microbiology, CH 109 Chemistry, PY 100 Psychology, AH102 Human Growth and Development, HN 301 A and B Human Nutrition.
- Have a 2.75 or greater cumulative NMU grade point average.
- Students admitted to the BSN program are admitted based on the admission criteria, as seen in Appendix 4 of BSN Student Handbook.
Note: Admission to the BSN program is very competitive. Meeting prerequisites and minimum GPA criteria does not ensure admission.
Application Deadlines
All prospective BSN students must complete and submit the application found online at the School of Nursing website by February 1 for the succeeding fall semester, or by October 1 for the succeeding winter semester.
The School of Nursing admits a limited number of students to the baccalaureate nursing sequence each semester. Records and applications of all students are reviewed promptly, and students are notified of acceptance or rejection no later than the beginning of the pre-registration period. If the number of eligible applicants exceeds the number of placements available, the faculty reserves the right to select the applicants who shall be admitted. The remaining eligible applicants may apply for admission the following semester. Ordinarily, students may expect to complete the entire program in approximately five semesters after being admitted to the nursing sequence, assuming that they complete all of their courses satisfactorily and sequentially.
Admission of Licensed Practical Nurses to the Baccalaureate Program
Students with an LPN license who request admission to the BSN program and have graduated from an LPN program within five years of admission into the BSN program and/or have worked as an LPN within five years of admission into the BSN program, are granted, without testing, advanced placement credit for: NU 211 Foundations of Professional Nursing Practice (T) 4 credits and NU 212 Foundations of Professional Nursing Practice (C) 3 credits.
Applicants must submit a copy of their current unrestricted Michigan LPN license prior to acceptance into the BSN program. The license must be clear of current sanctions and restrictions.
Preadmission requirements are the same as delineated in Admission to the Baccalaureate Nursing Sequence.
Students must submit a copy of their current Michigan LPN license prior to acceptance into the BSN program.
Preadmission requirements are the same as delineated in “Admission to the Baccalaureate Nursing Sequence.”
Admission of Registered Nurses
Credit for a maximum of 47 semester hours of selected previous nursing courses will be granted to those individuals transferring from an accredited nursing program or community college. RNs that enter the BSN program with a deficit in nursing credits can make up the deficit with credits by taking courses offered within the School of Nursing including nursing electives. If the scheduling and/or staffing of nursing courses does not allow the student the opportunity to make up the credit deficit from nursing courses, other courses may be substituted with department approval.
To be admitted to the nursing major, RN to BSN applicants must:
1. Be admitted to Northern Michigan University
2. Have graduated from a state-approved diploma or associate degree program in nursing
3. provide a photocopy of a current unrestricted Michigan RN license (or proof of being in process of obtaining licensure)
4. Have a 2.75 or greater cumulative NMU grade point average. The transfer grade point average of those courses with a C- or above will be used until a student completes 12 credit hours at NMU.
5. Have completed or be currently enrolled in the following courses:
· BI 207 Human Anatomy and Physiology I
· BI 208 Human Anatomy and Physiology II
· BI 203a Medical Microbiology
· CH 109 Introductory Organic & Biochemistry
· HN 301A and HN 301B Nutrition for Health Professions
· PY 100 Psychology and
· AH102 Human Growth and Development
Non- nursing course prerequisites must be completed with a C- or higher.
In special circumstances the department may substitute BI 104 Human Anatomy and Physiology for BI 207 and waive HN 301 A and/or B Nutrition for Health Professions if HN 210 Nutrition for Humans or an equivalent course has been successfully completed.
Each student is responsible for reading the Northern Michigan University Undergraduate Bulletin and the BSN Student Handbook, and seeking consultation with their academic advisor/Department Head and/or Dean of Students if questions or concerns arise.
Programs
Bulletin Year: 2017 - 2018 Undergraduate Bulletin | View the current NMU Catalog.