Bachelor of Science in Nursing - Upper Division Nursing Major

Overview

The School of Nursing supports students in their academic pursuits and seeks to advise students in such a manner as to promote on-time program completion.  We encourage students to pursue all avenues available to enhance opportunities for success during their initial entry into any course at UNC Charlotte, including, but not limited to, tutoring.  Admission to the upper-division major is a highly competitive process that takes into account multiple factors, including GPA, past direct patient care experience, attainment of a prior degree (4-year or higher), and hours are taken at UNC Charlotte. Although the process is competitive, the School does not encourage students to repeat a course, in which a student was already successful. Repeating courses may prove to be detrimental to a student's nursing application if a lower grade is earned. Moreover, repeating a course may not significantly alter a student's GPA and therefore, may not strengthen the upper-division application and finally, repeating courses, in which a student was already successful, may create an unnecessary financial burden.  The BSN curriculum is a 4-year program of study that prepares graduates for generalist practice in nursing.  Graduates are eligible to sit for the National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses (NCLEX-RN) The program provides the student with a background in:

• Liberal arts, through the general education requirements of the University
• Sciences, through the required nursing pre-requisite courses
• Generalist nursing education

BSN graduates are prepared to function in a variety of care settings to include hospitals, clinics, public health, and home health agencies, hospice, and long-term care facilities.  Upon successful completion of the majority of nursing pre-requisite courses, students may apply to the upper division of the nursing program. Admission is competitive, and not all students who apply are accepted into the upper-level division nursing program.  For an estimate of costs associated with enrolling in the upper-division major see Estimated Program Costs.

The baccalaureate degree program in nursing, master's degree program in nursing, and the post-graduate Doctor of Nursing Practice program at UNC Charlotte are accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education, 655 K Street NW, Suite 750, Washington, DC 20001, 202-887-6791. 

Declaring Pre-Nursing As a Major: Processes and Deadlines

Freshmen wanting to pursue the nursing major may be admitted to the University as Pre-Nursing students.  Transfer and change-of-major students, who have not completed all prerequisites, may be admitted to the University as Pre-Nursing students.  In order to declare Pre-Nursing, transfer students must have a GPA (Grade Point Average) of 3.0 based on all university/college course work.  For the prerequisite science courses and respective labs and for NURS 2100 and 2200, all of which require a grade of B or better, applicants may only have 1 grade of C or below for which they retook the course to earn a B or better.  Students having more than one C in those prerequisite courses are not eligible for admission.  Nursing prerequisite courses completed prior to high school graduation (for example, in an early college program) with a grade of C or below must be retaken while in Pre-Nursing (see grade requirements for pre-requisite courses below).

Students who are denied admission to Pre-Nursing as freshmen may request a change of major to Pre-Nursing after the completion of 32 credit hours with an overall GPA of 3.0 or higher.  Transfer Students who are denied admission as Pre-Nursing may request a change of major to Pre-Nursing after the completion of the first full academic semester at UNC Charlotte (at least 15 credit hours; summer session not included) with an overall GPA of 3.0 or higher.

Admission to the university as a Pre-Nursing student does not automatically admit an applicant to the Nursing Major.

To request a change of major to pre-nursing, students must consult with an advisor in the CHHS Academic Advising Center. School of Nursing Change of major forms are located in the CHHS Academic Advising Center. Once the form is completed, students will return the form to the School of Nursing room #449.

Requirements for Progression as a Pre-Nursing Student

In order to progress in Pre-Nursing (i.e., to remain in the Pre-Nursing), students must meet the following:

1. Overall GPA of 3.0 or better at the completion of the courses in the first two semesters.
2. Grade of "B" or better in the following prerequisite courses:
   1. CHEM 1203 and Lab (or CHEM 1251 and lab)
   2. CHEM 1204 and Lab (or CHEM 1252 and lab)
   3. BIOL 2273 and Lab (or KNES 2168 and lab)
   4. BIOL 2274 and Lab (or KNES 2169 and lab)
   5. BIOL 2259 and Lab
   6. NURS 2100: General Nutrition
   7. NURS 2200: Human Growth and Development
3. A grade of B or better is required for prerequisite science courses, respective labs, and NURS 2100 and 2200.  Pre-Nursing students earning more than one C in those prerequisite courses cannot remain in Pre-Nursing and must change their major, and are ineligible for admission to the upper-division nursing major.
4. Overall GPA of 3.0 or better at the completion of courses in each of the 3rd and 4th semesters.

Admission to the Upper Division Major: Processes and Deadlines

• UWRT 1101 (English Composition), 1102 (Writing in the Academic Community/Composition II)
• MATH 1100 (College Algebra and Probability)
• STAT 1222 (or STAT 1220 or 1221) (Introduction to Statistics)
• PSYC 1101 (General Psychology)
• SOCY 1101 or ANTH 1101 (Introduction to Sociology or Anthropology)

Grade of B (3.0) or higher in:

• CHEM 1203 w/Lab or CHEM 1251w/Lab
• CHEM 1204 w/Lab or CHEM 1252 w/Lab
• BIOL 2273 w/Lab or KNES 2168 w/Lab
• BIOL 2274 w/Lab or KNES 2169 w/Lab
• BIOL 2259w/Lab
• NURS 2100 (Nutrition courses taken outside of UNC Charlotte will be reviewed on an individual basis)
• NURS 2200 (An equivalent growth and development and/or developmental psychology course may be substituted)

Note: The School of Nursing does not use overall GPA as an admission indicator. Instead, a nursing pre-requisite GPA is calculated based on the courses listed above.  Students may calculate their own GPA using a GPA calculator.

Students transferring science courses from outside UNC Charlotte should be aware that a 4 Semester Hour Credit (SHC) science courses, such as Anatomy and Physiology, will be separated when it is transferred to the university. Therefore, if a student receives a C in a 4 credit science course, that grade will transfer in as 2 Cs--one for the class (3 SHC) and one for the lab (1 SHC) which would make the student ineligible for the upper-division nursing major at UNCC. 

1. Completion of a minimum of three (3) of the five (5) science (chemistry, biology) pre-requisite courses, with related labs, prior to applying.
2. Applicants may earn one grade of C or below in the pre-requisite courses requiring B applicants may have only 1 grade of C or below for which they retook the course to earn a B or better. Students earning more than one C in those pre-requisite courses are not eligible for admission to the UNC Charlotte School of Nursing.  
3. Completion of required courses by the end of the Spring semester prior to the Fall for which application is made, and by the end of the Fall semester prior to the Spring for which application is made.

Application to the Upper-Division Major: Processes and Deadlines

1. Transfer students must apply to the University of North Carolina at Charlotte before any consideration for conditional admission will be awarded.
2. The School of Nursing uses an ONLINE BSN APPLICATION form to accept applications for program admission.
3. During the online application process, ALL students will be asked to upload a completed Volunteer Hours form. TRANSFER students will be asked to upload copies of unofficial transcripts. Please DO NOT send transcripts to the School of Nursing.
4. Application deadlines for the university and the School of Nursing differ. To determine deadlines for applying to UNC Charlotte, please visit The UNC Charlotte Undergraduate Admissions website.
5. Application deadlines for the School of Nursing are as follows:
   1. Students seeking admission for the Fall semester should apply no later than January 31st (Application available November 15th)
   2. Students seeking admission for the Spring semester should apply no later than August 31st (Application available June 15th)
6. Applications received after the deadline will not be considered.
7. Students previously enrolled in a nursing program will be asked to provide a letter from the program's Dean or Director which indicates the student left the program in good standing. 
8. The application to the upper-division contains 2 essay questions.
9. The School of Nursing typically makes admission decisions for the Fall by April 15th and for the Spring, by November 15th. Students are notified via email.

Additional Considerations for Admission:

   The following items are NOT required; however, additional consideration (points) is given to students with:

1. A previous Bachelor's or Master's degree.
2. 30+ credit hours completed at UNC Charlotte at the time of application to the upper-division nursing program.

50+ hours of paid or volunteer experience in a human-based healthcare environment. Examples of volunteer experience include (but are not limited to):

*Due to changes in the availability of volunteer opportunities, the SON will accept hours from homeless shelters, food banks, soup kitchens, meal on wheels, American Red Cross, and other community agencies that assist persons in need.  

• Working as a Certified Nurse Aide I or II
• Volunteering at a long term care facility assisting residents with activities of daily living
• Working as an EMT (Emergency Medical Technician)
• Volunteering at a free health/nursing clinic assisting with activities such as obtaining patient health history, taking vital signs, and other direct patient activities
• NOTE: observing or shadowing a health care professional does not count as a relevant experience.

               Volunteer Hours Verification Form

Note: Once admitted and prior to registration of nursing courses, students need to be listed in the North Carolina Nurse Aide Registry (after completion of the Nurse Aid I training program and certification exam).  In addition, students must meet all agency compliance requirements for clinical practice. This must be done prior to beginning coursework in the nursing major. Students are not required to maintain certification throughout the program. 

Progression in the Upper Division Major:

Criteria for Progression in the Major

1. Students must earn a grade of C (2.0) or higher in all courses beginning with the NURS prefix.
2. Failure to earn a grade of C (2.0) or higher will result in course failure.
3. Only one (1) nursing course failure and one (1) repeat attempt to pass that nursing course will be permitted throughout the program.
4. Students will be required to repeat the failed nursing course during the next available offering.
5. Students achieving less than a C (2.0) in more than one nursing course are no longer eligible to continue in the UNC Charlotte School of Nursing’s upper-division major and will be advised to pursue other options both within and outside of the university.

Repeating a Failed Nursing Course

1. Students failing to achieve a C (2.0) in a course will meet with the Associate Director for the Undergraduate Division prior to enrolling to repeat the course.

Failure to Repeat

1. Students who do not take the failed nursing course during the next available offering will be considered withdrawn from the program.
2. Any consideration for re-entry will be addressed on an individual basis in accordance with the University’s appeal process.

Violations of Ethics

The UNC Charlotte School of Nursing adheres to the American Nurses Association Code of Ethics as its guiding framework for ethical practice. Students found to be in violation of one or more provisions of the ANA Code of Ethics, will be ineligible to continue in the upper-division major.

Unsafe Practice

The School of Nursing recognizes that making mistakes is a part of the learning process. However, we are also aware of nursing’s responsibility to provide safe, timely, efficient, effective. equitable, patient-centered care (IOM, 2001).

On the occasion when a student has engaged in unsafe practice, faculty will evaluate the system for causative factors (Ross, 2013; Zieber & Williams, 2015;Armitage, 2009). the student will be advised by faculty and appropriate measures to remediate the behavior will be taken. However, repeated unsafe behaviors will make the student ineligible to continue in the upper-division major.

Graduation Requirements

The Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree (B.S.N.) requires the number of credit hours determined by the catalog year in which a student enrolls. Students entering the program in fall 2019, are required to complete 120 hours. Students enrolled before fall 2019, must still complete 122 credit hours. The last 31 semester hours must be earned at UNC Charlotte.

In order to progress successfully in the Upper Division Nursing Major:

1. Students must achieve a grade of C or better in all courses with the "NURS" prefix to continue  in the program (See Progression in the Upper Division Major)
2. A GPA of 2.0 must be maintained.
3. No course in the Nursing major may be taken as transient study. Transfer credit for nursing courses is considered on an individual basis.
4. Students are expected to be computer literate.
5. Students will purchase and complete a Live NCLEX-RN review in their final semester.

Contact for Additional Information

Pre-Nursing:

College of Health and Human Services Advising Center
UNC Charlotte
9201 University City Blvd.
Charlotte, NC 28223-0001

Upper Division Nursing:

Dr. Susan Lynch, Ph.D., RN, CNE, Associate Director, Undergraduate Programs
CHHS 449C
704‑687‑7896 (Phone)
slynch16@uncc.edu