Vanguard University

Josie, RN/LCSW · Jan 16, 2015

I realize the original post is old, but I'll write this reply for anyone else who searches for 'Vanguard University'.

Vanguard is one of those schools that no one has heard of, even people who live in the immediate area. The school recruits HEAVILY at the junior college nursing programs, claiming to be "accredited" and have the "fastest" route to the BSN from the RN. The problem is that they award one of these fly-by-night BSN's that don't require any General Education units over what the student earned for their 'ADN' (and they also charge close to $50,000 for this so-called 'degree'). When you finish, you can say you have the letters ("BSN") after your name, but that's about it. For magnet or teaching hospitals who are more concerned about the presence of a BSN rather than its quality, or for getting small promotions like 'Case Manager' or 'Charge Nurse', that type of BSN is fine. But it WON'T be fine if you want to go on to a Master's at a reputable college.

A good MSN program that requires a "BSN" won't take the Vanguard degree because it doesn't meet traditional baccalaureate graduation standards of General Education course work. As an example, if your 'ADN' only required the pre-requisites, the Nursing courses, and maybe English 101, Algebra, and Speech, Vanguard will have you take a handful of "upper division" Nursing courses on top of that and then give you the degree. GOOD BSN schools will require the standard General Education requirements in the various fields, like "Fine Arts", "American Institutions", "Foreign Language", "Quantitative Reasoning", "Social Sciences", as well as advanced English, Culture, etc. (that total out to approximately 60 units). So, when you apply for that Master's, forget it (unless, of course, you're okay with ANOTHER flakey program that will award you a Master's with limited academics).

Yale won't even accept a BSN, but requires a "Non-nursing Bachelor's degree" for admission into their graduate programs. Other schools will only accept the BSN if it includes all of the General Education course work as part of its program. I know someone with an 'ADN' from Saddleback who applied at Azusa Pacific with their 'BSN' from Vanguard (because APU's website is unclear and makes it look like any BSN can qualify for Master's admission when, in fact, it cannot) and was told that she had to go back and take all of the Bachelor's-required General Education courses before she could be considered for admission. So basically, she wasted $50,000 on a "BSN" that has only provided her with a promotion from a hospice nurse to a 'Case Manager' at the same hospice. She could have gone to Cal State Long Beach or Fullerton (or anywhere for that matter as has a 4.0 GPA), but wanted to get her "BSN" faster than anyone else from the original RN program, and also didn't want to take the GE coursework. Now, she's in a pickle - as she and her new husband had bought a house, new cars, etc., and maxed out their credit with loans and such, counting on an equally-fast Master's in Nursing and a Nurse Practitioner license, and subsequent massively increased income (projected), and so is pretty much between a rock and a hard place.

Schools, and their individual Nursing programs, count. Choose carefully before making a decision.

AOX4RN, MSN, RN, NP · Jul 5, 2015

I realize the original post is old, but I'll write this reply for anyone else who searches for 'Vanguard University'.

I'll write this reply for anyone who needs accurate information about Vanguard University.

Vanguard is one of those schools that no one has heard of, even people who live in the immediate area.

I have lived in Newport Beach nearly my whole adult life and knew about it before I was a nurse.

The school recruits HEAVILY at the junior college nursing programs, claiming to be "accredited" and have the "fastest" route to the BSN from the RN.

They don't claim to be accredited. They are accredited by WASC (just like CSUF, CSULB, and APU) and CCNE (just like Yale, CSUF, CSULB, and APU). They recruit heavily at junior college nursing programs (and hospital education departments) because they are RN-BSN. No reason to recruit at high schools or anywhere else there are not ADN nurses. Also, at one night per week for two years with a strict attendance policy, this isn't the "fastest" route to a BSN.

The problem is that they award one of these fly-by-night BSN's that don't require any General Education units over what the student earned for their 'ADN' (and they also charge close to $50,000 for this so-called 'degree').

$515/credit for core nursing classes; $330/credit for general education. Also, I worked my butt off for two straight years writing and presenting more papers than I can count and your belittling of my "so-called 'degree'" as "fly-by-night" is really insulting.

When you finish, you can say you have the letters ("BSN") after your name, but that's about it.

Nope, not only do I get the letters after my name, I get to dazzle my patients with my enhanced critical thinking skills and advancing education, impress my friends and co-workers that I managed to do it while switching departments and learning a new job, working the night shift, going through a divorce, and graduating two children from high school. Not to mention setting a stellar example of determination and the standard for educational excellence in all four of my children. I hope your RN-LCSW gives you as much pleasure and pride as my "BSN" does me!

For magnet or teaching hospitals who are more concerned about the presence of a BSN rather than its quality, or for getting small promotions like 'Case Manager' or 'Charge Nurse', that type of BSN is fine. But it WON'T be fine if you want to go on to a Master's at a reputable college.

Where do you get your information from? Most MSN programs have prerequisites and are specific about them. All you need to do is read the requirements. RN in the state you practice in, BSN from an accredited school and usually a 3.0 GPA are the base requirements. As soon as I finished my BSN, our CNO sought me out to encourage me to apply for a MSN and get an NP because he sees that is the way our hospital is headed and wants me in on it. That is more than just placating the Magnet surveyors.

A good MSN program that requires a "BSN" won't take the Vanguard degree because it doesn't meet traditional baccalaureate graduation standards of General Education course work.

Not true. Again, Vanguard is WASC regionally accredited and CCNE accredited. A university and nursing school doesn't hold those certifications by being administered by cartoon characters as you would have it made out to be in your detailed post.

As an example, if your 'ADN' only required the pre-requisites, the Nursing courses, and maybe English 101, Algebra, and Speech, Vanguard will have you take a handful of "upper division" Nursing courses on top of that and then give you the degree. GOOD BSN schools will require the standard General Education requirements in the various fields, like "Fine Arts", "American Institutions", "Foreign Language", "Quantitative Reasoning", "Social Sciences", as well as advanced English, Culture, etc. (that total out to approximately 60 units). So, when you apply for that Master's, forget it (unless, of course, you're okay with ANOTHER flakey program that will award you a Master's with limited academics).

You're aware the the ADN degree isn't just nursing, right? In order to get a nursing degree from a community college, one also must take such courses as physical education, fine arts/language, humanities, social sciences, history/political science, in other words "general education". Vanguard requires those as well and if the student doesn't have them in his or her portfolio at the time of admission to the program, they are a requirement for graduation. What is general education to one university is not necessarily equal or equivalent to the next.

Yale won't even accept a BSN, but requires a "Non-nursing Bachelor's degree" for admission into their graduate programs.

Correction: Yale will accept a non-nursing bachelor's degree for the Graduate Entry Pre-specialty Nursing Program, which means this is track for non-nurses who want to be nurses but already have a bachelor's in another field. They will earn the RN mid-way through and graduate as MSNs with NPs at the end (I personally know two women who did this track). Nurses with BSNs can apply to their MSN programs.

Other schools will only accept the BSN if it includes all of the General Education course work as part of its program. I know someone with an 'ADN' from Saddleback who applied at Azusa Pacific with their 'BSN' from Vanguard (because APU's website is unclear and makes it look like any BSN can qualify for Master's admission when, in fact, it cannot) and was told that she had to go back and take all of the Bachelor's-required General Education courses before she could be considered for admission.

Every school can decide what it considers "General Education". For APU, they consider religious studies and chapel part of their general undergraduate education. I don't see anything on the APU website that requires anything above and beyond a BSN from an NLN or CCNE accredited school (which again, Vanguard is) and with the following classes as part of the BSN: health assessment, pathophysiology, nursing research, statistics, nursing leadership, and community health nursing... all of which Vanguard provides as part of the BSN. Oh yeah, and we also become Public Health Nurses at the end of the 90 hours of community clinical service we provided in two months in addition to our 36 hour work week.. Totally fly-by-night.

So basically, she wasted $50,000 on a "BSN" that has only provided her with a promotion from a hospice nurse to a 'Case Manager' at the same hospice.

Why did she pay almost double the usual tuition?

She could have gone to Cal State Long Beach or Fullerton (or anywhere for that matter as has a 4.0 GPA), but wanted to get her "BSN" faster than anyone else from the original RN program, and also didn't want to take the GE coursework.

She can still go to CSULB or CSUDH for a MSN to NP. I know this for a fact because five of my Vanguard BSN classmates start at CSULB in August (2015). I was told by their admissions counselor I could keep myself busy with CSUDH online prerequisites if I wanted to enter the 2016 CSULB cohort. I was told that I could not enter a private school's MSN program (like Vanguard), then transfer credits because they are not the same program. Not a problem, because Vanguard's MSN tracks do no interest me. If your friend would like the names of the people I talked to about admissions, I would be happy to connect her.

Now, she's in a pickle - as she and her new husband had bought a house, new cars, etc., and maxed out their credit with loans and such, counting on an equally-fast Master's in Nursing and a Nurse Practitioner license, and subsequent massively increased income (projected), and so is pretty much between a rock and a hard place.

Your friends should not have taken out that kind of debt betting on income they didn't have. That's not the school's mistake.

Schools, and their individual Nursing programs, count. Choose carefully before making a decision.

Finally a statement of truth.

Apgar10, BSN (Vanguard University), RN