Overview
St. John Fisher College admits registered nurses who graduated from diploma or associate degree programs and who wish to pursue baccalaureate degrees. This program seeks to meet the community need for baccalaureate education of registered nurses. The R.N./B.S. online curriculum attracts adult learners by offering a sound and rigorous professional education that is delivered in an online learning format accessible to nurses with many demands on their time.
The R.N. student must meet all the general College requirements for admission, including a cumulative grade point average of 2.00 or above and a valid R.N. license, prior to completing any clinical R.N./B.S. online courses. The R.N. who graduated from an accredited school of nursing with an associate’s degree and achieved a grade of “C” or higher in each nursing course will be awarded 30 credits in nursing for previous coursework. An R.N. who graduated from a hospital-based diploma program and has active R.N. licensure will also be awarded 30 credits in nursing for previous coursework. These 30 credits of generalist nursing practice course work at the associate degree or diploma level are considered equivalent to 30 credits of upper division generalist nursing practice course work in the Wegmans School of Nursing 60–credit undergraduate program.
A student may transfer up to 60 credits of previously earned liberal arts and sciences courses with a grade of “C” or higher awarded by a regionally accredited associate degree granting institution. Credit for courses in liberal arts and sciences may also be obtained by taking the College-Level Proficiency Exams (CLEP) or Excelsior College Exams (ECE) as long as the R.N./B.S. student transfers no more than 90 credit hours (which includes the 30 credit hours of Nursing) from two-year schools and/or outside credit-by-examination sources, and does not violate any residency requirements. A student may also transfer in baccalaureate credits that can be applied to liberal arts and college core courses as appropriate.
Note: Per the New York State Education Department, the degree granted for all Bachelor of Science Nursing programs in New York State is a B.S. degree with a major in Nursing, not a BSN.
R.N./B.S. Online Credit Distribution
Nursing: 60
The 60 credits in the nursing major include 30 credits in nursing at St. John Fisher College and 30 credits for nursing coursework transferred from an associate degree or hospital-based diploma nursing program.
Liberal arts/elective credits: 60*
A total of 60 additional credits, all of which must be in liberal arts, are required. These courses include:
- St. John Fisher College Core requirements
- A college-level course in introductory statistics (a prerequisite course for NURS 333)
- A college-level course in introductory ethics or bioethics
- Additional liberal arts, sciences, general elective courses
Total degree requirements: 120 credits*
*Students who elect to earn a minor in another discipline may be required to take more than 60 elective/liberal arts credits.
Credits from regionally accredited four-year schools may also be transferred (grade of “C” or higher); however, College policy requires that all students complete a minimum of 30 credits in residence at St. John Fisher College and that 30 of the last 36 credit hours of the degree program be taken in residence. Successful completion of College-Level Proficiency Exams (CLEP) and Excelsior College Exams (ECE) earn transfer credit but are not credits in residence.