Mar 28, 2024  
2021-2022 Catalog and Handbook 
    
2021-2022 Catalog and Handbook [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Bachelor of Science in Nursing


Academic Director: Margaret Reilly, DNS, APRN, CNE 
CUNY School of Professional Studies
101 West 31st Street, 7th Floor
New York, NY 10001
Email Contact: Nursing@sps.cuny.edu

Mission

The mission and vision of the School of Professional Studies online nursing programs is to offer a liberal arts-based educational experience which will guide students in attaining the knowledge, skills, and values essential for professional nurse leaders and managers, including the ability to make sound judgments and address the health needs of diverse cultural groups.

Program Learning Outcomes

Graduates of the BS in Nursing will be able to:

  1. Provide care that is cognizant of and respectful of the patient’s cultural beliefs and practices.
  2. Participate in patient safety and quality initiatives within the context of an inter-professional team.
  3. Practice the profession of nursing based on a set of core values that incorporate a humanitarian, altruistic, and social justice perspective.
  4. Communicate and collaborate effectively with patients, families, communities, and other health-care providers.
  5. Integrate reliable evidence to provide the highest quality patient care.
  6. Advocate for relevant local and global healthcare policy.
  7. Apply leadership and management concepts to ensure best possible health care outcomes.
  8. Use critical thinking skills to make sound clinical judgments.
  9. Utilize and manage all available health information technology to provide safe and effective patient care.

The Program

The online BS in Nursing (R.N. to B.S. in Nursing) program provides registered nurses with the academic credential necessary to help them advance in the field. Through the flexibility of online study, students of this program build on prior knowledge gained at the associate’s degree level, and explore pressing issues related to today’s changing global healthcare environment. The program is designed to assist students in developing intellectual curiosity and a spirit of inquiry essential to professional development.

Dedicated CUNY faculty and expert practitioners draw on the Essentials of Baccalaureate Education for Professional Nursing Practice by the American Association of Colleges of Nursing to help students develop and demonstrate competency in:

  • Health assessment
  • Leadership and management
  • Nursing research
  • Care of culturally diverse populations
  • Global Health and policy issues

By building on prior learning, the curriculum prepares associate’s degree and diploma nurses for the increasingly complex and varied roles that they will be expected to assume. These include:

  • Providing a safe environment for the delivery of care;
  • Practicing nursing through a humanitarian, altruistic and philanthropic lens;
  • Communicating effectively;
  • Making sound clinical judgment;
  • Working with an interdisciplinary team, including clients, families and other stakeholders; and,
  • Effectively managing patient care to ensure best possible healthcare outcomes.

Accreditation

CCNE Accreditation SealThe RN to BS in Nursing at CUNY School of Professional Studies is accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (http://www.ccneaccreditation.org).

Admission Criteria

In addition to the admission criteria for undergraduate degree programs, applicants to the online Bachelor’s Degree in Nursing program must meet the following criteria:

  • Associate’s degree in nursing from the City University of New York or from a non-CUNY regional or nationally accredited credit-granting institution with an overall GPA of 3.0 or higher on a 4.0 scale.
  • Nurses who hold a nursing diploma from a non-credit granting institution may also apply. Diploma applicants will be awarded 36 credits for their nursing education, if they have passed the NCLEX-RN and have an NYS RN license to practice, and will be required to complete 84 credits of coursework to be awarded the BS in Nursing degree.
  • Current licensure in New York State as a Registered Professional Nurse, or eligibility to sit for the National Council Licensure Examination - RN (NCLEX-RN) - in New York State. Students who do not currently hold an RN license may apply to the program in the last semester of their pre-licensure program in anticipation of licensure. Unlicensed students who meet the eligibility criteria will be admitted on a case by case basis and will be required to obtain their RN license before beginning their second term in the program.

The online application requires students to complete a personal essay that will help us understand your educational goals and readiness to return to college.

Program Requirements


Progression and Retention:​

  1. The program of study must be completed within five (5) calendar years after admission, or students will need to re-apply to the program.
  2. A minimum grade of a C is required in all courses in the Nursing major. A student may not progress to the next course in the sequence without having a C in the prerequisite course.
  3. Students may repeat only one nursing course, one time only. This includes students who withdrew from a course for any reason and students who completed the course with a grade below C. Students earning less than a C grade in a Nursing Program course may repeat the course one time and must attain a grade of C or better. A second earned grade of less than C in any Nursing Program Course will result in dismissal from the program.

 

120 credits are required for the online Bachelor’s Degree program in Nursing, broken down as follows:

General Education 

30 credits General Education   required (12 credits common core, 18 credits flexible core). Some of these will be transfer credits from students’ associate’s degree programs.

AAS Nursing Credits

30-40 nursing credits transferred in from the students’ associates or diploma degrees. In most cases students will transfer in 45 or more credits.

BS Requirements

  • 9 credits non-nursing courses
  • 27 credits nursing courses (includes 6 credits from the SPS College Option Core)
    • Clinical Practice Experiences - among the 27 credits in nursing courses there are two courses that require a clinical component:
      • NURS 303  - requires 1 clinical credit or 45 hours. Clinical arrangements will be coordinated locally by the academic director.
      • NURS 499  - Nursing Capstone Course (clinical) requires 2 clinical credits or 90 hours that are factored into a capstone project. Clinical experiences can be developed locally with an approved preceptor of your choice.
  • 3 credits nursing electives

  • Free electives - as needed to reach 120 credits