Why choose Columbus State University's RN to BSN Online Program? This program is designed for the registered nurse to complete a degree conveniently and efficiently while continuing a career.
Student Handbook
Columbus State University’s RN to BSN program is completely online, designed for working nurses who want to earn their bachelor’s degree in just one year.
Thank you for your interest in the online RN-BSN program. Here is what you need to do:
onlinedegree.columbusstate.edu/Programs/1158/rn-bsn or call 855-306-4735.
1. Who is accepted into the RN-BSN Program? The RN-BSN program track is designated only for Registered Nurses who are completing a Bachelor of Science Degree (BSN) in Nursing. We also have a partnership program with Columbus Technical College and accept their nursing students before graduating with an associate degree.
2. How do I apply to Columbus State University?
Go to onlinedegree.columbusstate.edu or call 855-306-4735. An application fee will apply. (Select RN-BSN as your major). Send official transcripts from all previously attended institutions as soon as possible.
3. What do I select as my major? Select RN-BSN degree as your major. If you select nursing, you will be assigned to our pre-licensure program and will not be able to priority register. Priority registration is to help you secure the classes you need in order to graduate on time.
4. How can I make sure I get the classes I need? RN-BSN students get “priority registration”. This means that you are given priority over other students when being placed in courses because some courses fill up quicker than others. It is your responsibility to keep up with the dates and times to register and semester advising appointments.
5. How do I make an appointment with the RN-BSN nursing advisor? After completing your application, please e-mail the pace_rnbsn@columbussate.edu OR call 706-507-8582 or for an advising appointment. Appointments can be face to face, via e-mail or by telephone.
6. What is the RN-BSN application deadline? We accept into the program twice each semester. Go to onlinedegree.columbusstate.edu or call 855-306-4735 for a specific date.
7. Is the RN-BSN program full or part-time? Students may attend part-time. Work with you nursing advisor to complete your schedule.
8. Am I ever required to be on campus? No, the RN-BSN program is completely online and a student can complete the entire program from his/her own geographical location.
9. How does the RN-BSN program work online? You will be taking 7-week sessions to complete the RN-BSN program (full-time). All assignments will be completed online. Classes are asynchronous. In some courses, you may work ahead of schedule to complete your module work in the same session for your convenience.
10. What about clinical requirements for the RN-BSN program? For students entering the program who have not worked as a professional nurse and/or attended nursing school in the past year, these students must complete a background check (vendor of their choice) and a 5 panel drug screen (vendor of their choice) for acceptance into the clinical course (NURS 4292).
11. What is expected of me to complete my clinical courses? All clinical requirements are completed in NURS 4292 Professional Clinical Nursing RN II. Students collaborate with the faculty facilitator for that course to choose appropriate facilities to complete the clinical assignments in this course. Projects and assignments are required to complete the clinical course. Examples of clinical assignments/projects are completing a windshield survey, interviewing a person who works with emergency preparedness and/or disaster response team, developing policies and submitting case studies for global health, vulnerable populations, end of life, and/or alternative medicine. Complete a health promotion teaching power point.
12. What is the Georgia RN-BSN Articulation Model? Columbus State University supports the Georgia RN-BSN Articulation Model. The purpose of this model is to facilitate the educational mobility of registered nurses who elect to pursue a baccalaureate degree in nursing. RN-BSN students are awarded 32 nursing credit hours after successfully passing (nursing credits held in escrow until completion of over 6 hours of NURS credit which is in session 2) the first nursing clinical course NURS 3191 Professional Clinical Nursing RN I.
13. Do I need a current Nursing License? You must have a current unrestricted license in the state you plan to complete your clinicals as a Registered Nurse to enroll in the RN-BSN program. If the license is limited or restricted, the potential applicant must disclose the terms of the consent order and any restriction on practice as a condition of admission. The RN-BSN Admissions and Progression Committee will review these students on an individual basis.
14. What if I am not working now? Pre-admission testing is not required if the Registered Nurse has 1000 hours of clinical nursing practice in the last 3 years. Registered nurses who have been professionally inactive for four or more years will be required to validate nursing knowledge prior to acceptance and enrollment in nursing coursework. Validation testing may include standardized exams and/or clinical competencies and the student is responsible for the cost of the test. The RN-BSN Admissions and Progression Committee will review these students on an individual basis.
15. What are the computer requirements for the RN-BSN online program? Each student enrolled at Columbus State University is required to have ready access throughout the semester to a notebook computer that meets faculty-approved hardware and software requirements for the student's academic program. In addition, each nursing student is required to have a webcam and headset that has a microphone. Also, each student is responsible for monitoring the Columbus State University issued email address on a regular basis for official program communications from faculty and administrators.
Specific computer skills for this course include: A mastery of basic computer skills and software applications; online skills, including basic proficiency with web browsers, website navigation, search engines, and email communication. Attachment of documents to the course assignment drop box, discussion pages, and email is a required skill; and, basic familiarity with the Desire 2 Learn course management system.
16. What about testing in the courses? All evaluation of learning is done via electronic submissions, timed testing in the course management system, or via videotape.
17. Is Columbus State University’s RN-BSN program accredited? Yes, The Bachelor of Science in Nursing program has full approval from the Georgia Board of Nursing and is accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE). Columbus State University is accredited by the Southern Commission of Colleges and Schools (SACS).
18. Does the nursing program I graduated from have to be accredited? Yes, by the National League of Nursing (NLN); now Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN). CSU offers an exam for students that graduated from a Non-ACEN (Non-NLN) Accredited RN program. This RN-BSN exam is ONLY for students who did not graduate from an accredited NLN/ACEN school. This exam is required to satisfy the Georgia Board of Nursing Articulation Agreement for entrance into the RN-BSN program. This is not a General University Requirement Test.
Before requesting to take this exam make sure you have completed the following steps:
Apply to Columbus State University (CSU). (Select RN-BSN as your major). You will receive two letters from admissions. The first letter verifies CSU has received your application. The second letter will confirm your acceptance to CSU. Before CSU will process your application, you must submit official transcripts from every college you have ever attended.
Once you make application to CSU, you will need an advising appointment. E-mail pace_rnbsn@columbusstate.edu or call the PACE office @ 706-507-8582 to make an advising appointment.
Once the above steps have been completed, then you may contact the Testing Center.
Contact the Testing Center at 706-507-8020 to make an appointment for the exam. The exam is proctored and must be taken at Columbus State University. The Testing Center does not schedule appointments via e-mail.
Non-refundable exam fee $55.00 (exam fees subject to change). The fee must be paid when you schedule your appointment.
The Testing center is located in the Elizabeth Bradley Turner Center room 207.
Timed Exam - Two (2) hours will be given to take the exam.
Exam content is confidential and no study guide will be provided. Do your best on this medical-surgical type exam.
You do not need to give the School of Nursing your score; this will be given to us by the Testing Center.
Testing must be completed prior to taking nursing courses in the RN-BSN program. Students may begin to take the core courses prior to testing.
19. What are the eligibility requirements for admission? Candidates must hold a current valid Nursing License, overall grade point average of 2.5. The nursing grade point average is calculated in the School of Nursing and is based only on required core courses. If your GPA is between 2.0 and 2.49, conditional admission maybe requested for the first session. The student must make a C or higher in the courses during this session. Complete statistics (STAT 1127) prior to RN-BSN program taking NURS 3195 Evidenced Based Nursing.
20. What would make me ineligible to enroll in the RN-BSN program? Patterns of withdrawal from courses/schools, grades of D’s and F’s and retaking courses several times and failing grades in science courses. Candidates that have been dismissed from another nursing program, since graduating from their ASN program, for any reason are ineligible for admission to the RN-BSN program.
21. What about the RN-BSN Program Cost? Tuition Rate is $290.00 per credit hour.
In addition, the following fees are assessed: $79.00 technology fee, $265.00 institutional fee, $34.00 instructional fee, $67 activity fee. Refer to the fee sheet.
22. Are there out of state fees associated with this program? The RN-BSN online nursing courses do not have out of state fees attached.
23. What students are exempt from taking the physical education classes? Students 40 or over, students who have served in the military for one year or longer and post baccalaureate students are exempt from the wellness requirement (PHED 1205) and any one hour PEDS course. Military students are responsible for submitting their DD 214 if discharged from active duty. If the student is active duty they would need to submit their ARTS transcripts to Admissions.
24. Do I need to take two science courses? In addition to Human Anatomy 1 & 2 and Microbiology (Area F courses), RN-BSN students are required to take two science sequenced lab courses to satisfy Area D.
25. I already have one degree, does that mean I have to take fewer courses than other students? RN-BSN, Post Baccalaureate students are considered to have met the core with the exception of Area D science-sequence courses and all of Area F. Area D courses include: Biology 1 and 2 (see your advisor for more information), CHEM 1151 and 1152 and the labs, CHEM 1211 and 1212 and the labs, or a Physics sequence per Georgia Board of Regents Requirement. Area F includes: BIOL 2221K and 2222K (A&P 1&2), BIOL 2225K (Micro), STAT 1127, and PSYC 1101.
26. Will all students have to meet CSU's General University Requirements? Yes, CSU is referring to the test that students either test out of by taking core courses or by taking the test. These include: US/GA History, US/GA GOVT, INFO LIT, and Outcomes Assessment. For example if a student took US History in Alabama, the student would need to take the GA history test (exception CVCC students receive credit for GA history). US history taken in Georgia satisfies the US & GA History requirement for CSU's general requirements. U.S. history taken in AL satisfies the US history requirement only. RN-BSN, Post Baccalaureate students who did not take U.S. history in their BS/BA degree, would need to take the GA & US History test. Your RN-BSN nursing advisor will help you make the right decisions in what test you need to meet Georgia graduation requirements.
27. How do I apply for financial aid? Financial Aid
28. How do I pay for my classes once I register? To pay go to www.Columbusstate.edu which will bring you to Cougar Net, enrollment services, student accounts. You can pay online if you choose or call the cashiers office to ask for other alternative ways of submitting payment.
29. What about joining ROTC at Columbus State University? ROTC Nursing Opportunities
30. What if I graduated out of the country? Candidates who are international graduates are required to have transcripts evaluated by: Josef Silny & Sons, Western Educational Services (WES), or Education Credential Evaluators (ECE).This evaluation is very costly. If you have graduated from an International school, the school will not be regionally accredited; therefore, none your undergraduate courses will transfer to Columbus State University from your previous nursing classes or the core classes. Since your courses will not transfer, you will be ineligible for the RN-BSN program.
Currently, any transfer student that attended an unaccredited school would initiate an appeal process in order for courses to transfer to Columbus State University. This involves obtaining: syllabuses, course descriptions, and CVs from all instructors, for each course a student wishes to appeal.
Graduate students are different -- these students will have a Bachelor’s Degree and the evaluation can state this equivalency.
31. What textbooks will be need?
NURS 3293 Health Assessment:
D’Amico, D. & Barbarito, C. (2012). Health & Physical Assessment in Nursing. (2nd Ed.) Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice Hall ISBN 0-13-511415-2
Supplies for the course: stethoscope, a watch with a second hand, penlight, a reflex hammer (or they can use the end of their stethoscope as a replacement if they do not want to buy one), a tongue depressor, blood pressure cuff, scale to weigh their patient and measuring tape to determine height.
NURS 3194 Applied Pathophysiology
Grossman, S. & Porth, C. (2014). Pathophysiology: Concepts of Altered Health States (9th Ed.). St. Louis, MO: Lippincott, Williams, & Wilkins. ISBN: 978-1-4511-4600-4. CD is a great study tool but it is optional.
NURS 3195 Evidence Based Practice
Grove, S., Burns, N., & Gray, J. (2013). The Practice of Nursing Research: Appraisal, Synthesis, and Generation of Evidence (7th Ed.). Elsevier: St. Louis, MO ISBN-13: 978-1455707362
American Psychological Association. (2009). Publication manual of the American psychological association (6th Ed.). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. ISBN 1-4338-0561-8
32. What are the requirements for graduation? A BSN degree is awarded on completion of course work and fulfillment of candidacy requirements.
33. What about the RN-MSN opportunity? Columbus State University School of Nursing is offering an online degree program collaboratively by CSU and Georgia South Western. We offer two tracks of study: nurse educator or nurse leader and a Certificate in Informatics. You may skip certain courses toward the end of the RN-BSN program and begin the MSN program. Your advisor can assist with this. This opportunity will help you save time towards your MSN completion. Contact Dr. Cheryl Smith if you have questions regarding this program at cheryl.smith@columbusstate.edu. Refer to MSN Program
Please call or email if you have more questions.
onlinedegree.columbusstate.edu or call 855-306-4735
Your success is our number one concern!
*Please always include your student ID number with any correspondence.
The RN-BSN Advisement part of the website is to be used as a guideline only. You must be advised by a RN-BSN advisor for an official evaluation. If you wish to enter the RN-BSN Program, please Apply to Columbus State University (CSU) and have all of your transcripts mailed to Enrollment Services. Courses are not evaluated until all transcripts are received. Once your courses are evaluated, e-mail the pace_rnbsn@columbusstate.edu and request an advisement appointment.
The RN to BSN Academic Requirements Checklist (xls) provides a listing of core classes required to enter the RN-BSN program:
You may have courses that will transfer as credits not shown here. Almost all courses from SACS accredited schools will transfer to CSU. You can look up your school and courses on the Transfer Equivalency Lookup.
Residency Hours – 30 hours are required to be taken at Columbus State University for residency. The RN-BSN program is 28 hours. An additional two hours are required for graduation.
For questions regarding Admission, pre-clinical requirements and other information, please see the RN-BSN Frequently Asked Questions.
For Financial Aid information, please contact the RN-BSN Financial Aid Counselor, Ms. Alexander:
alexander_winoma@columbusstate.edu
Phone: (706) 507-8800
Fax: (706) 568-2230
NURS 3191. Professional Clinical Nursing RN I (3-0-3) Prerequisite: Admission to RN-BSN Program. This course is designed for registered nurses seeking a BSN degree. Synthesis of concepts, principles, theories and roles foundational to professional nursing practice including health promotion, prevention and wellness, with particular consideration given to older adults, are central to the course. Collaboration, communication, critical thinking, and role transition are included. This course will build on previously mastered nursing concepts with an emphasis on updates in pharmacology, standards of practice, and informatics. (Cour