Indiana State University LPN-BSN 2012

LadyinScrubs, ASN, RN · Mar 24, 2012

agreed...they cannot move on...they have not met the prerequisite for the next course.

Dont' agree; what is transpiring this is a new precedent. ISU is mandated to provide these students with a clinical placement (the students cannnot locate and/or self place into a clinical), but ISU failed to find a placcement during the semester the students were enrolled into the class. The students were told continue with the didactic portion of the class, and they would take the clinical next semester along with other nursing classes. Prior to Summer 2012, when ISU was unable to locate a clinical placemen for the student, the student(s) received an incomplete for the lecture portion but the following semester could take additional nursing courses. Those courses may or may not have had a clinical or prerequisite. Starting Sumer 2012, although students are passing but ISU failed to place the student into a clinical, ISU has stopped the student from matriculating. Until ISU can find a clinical placement for the student(s), the student is in limbo and the tenative graduation date is not even in the future--making a long program even longer.

JSnoc · Mar 25, 2012

I am considering ISU. What about ISUs program made you decide to apply?

simmdd · Mar 25, 2012

Can anyone tell me if ISU will allow you to take classes at a local college and transfer those classes in instead of us taking them with ISU. They accepted all of my classes because I have a AA degree but I think I have like 7 classes I have to take to gradute with my BSN. The lady called me and told me I can take these courses while in the nursing program but I would really like to take thoses classes locally. Do anyone know? Also I have checked out a few books online that was recommended from this site Get Straight A' in______. Are there anymore books that might come close to the test.

LadyinScrubs, ASN, RN · Mar 26, 2012

can anyone tell me if isu will allow you to take classes at a local college and transfer those classes in instead of us taking them with isu. they accepted all of my classes because i have a aa degree but i think i have like 7 classes i have to take to gradute with my bsn. the lady called me and told me i can take these courses while in the nursing program but i would really like to take thoses classes locally. do anyone know? also i have checked out a few books online that was recommended from this site get straight a' in______. are there anymore books that might come close to the test.

isu may allow you to a few classes locally. you may take pathophysiology at a local college. i would talk to isu to see what they say about takinng upper level courses at another university. of course, you have to take the core nursing classes with isu. as far as takinng other non nursing classes along with your nursing class...what i have to say about that is don't do it. isu nursing classes are rigorous enough without having to take courses additional courses. get everything out of the way so that you can concentrate on only nursing classes.

simmdd · Mar 26, 2012

Do you think it is better for me to take all of the nursing classes first and then the other classes last because it seems to me that the nursing courses are going to be the hardest classes to take. But I do agree with you on not taking them all together because there were a few girls in my LPN class taking general classes and nursing classes and there grades dropped and one of them actually had to repeat a semester in nursing so I really do understand what you are saying about that.

LadyinScrubs, ASN, RN · Mar 27, 2012

Do you think it is better for me to take all of the nursing classes first and then the other classes last because it seems to me that the nursing courses are going to be the hardest classes to take. But I do agree with you on not taking them all together because there were a few girls in my LPN class taking general classes and nursing classes and there grades dropped and one of them actually had to repeat a semester in nursing so I really do understand what you are saying about that.

Take every gen ed class that you can take and get them out of the way before you start the core nursing classes. The reason is if you do not you will be taking those classes with the core nursing classes.

YourISUspecialist · Mar 27, 2012

there is a vast amount of comments in reference to the lpn to bs track at indiana state universityon allnurses.com. occasionally i do read through postings and find inaccurate postings from several of the same members. the information may be, for the most part, in the wrong context and somewhat misleading for a prospective isu student wanting to understand the “big picture” of what is required as a nursing student at isu. please call me to understand every aspect of the lpn/lvn to bs baccalaureate degree completion program at indiana state university.

thank you, kim kimbler (formerly “cook”), program development specialist at indiana state university, 888-293-4842, press 2 – or my direct number at 812-237-2318.

LadyinScrubs, ASN, RN · Mar 27, 2012

there is a vast amount of comments in reference to the lpn to bs track at indiana state universityon allnurses.com. occasionallyi do read through postings and find inaccurate postings from several of the same members.the information may be, for the most part, in the wrong context and somewhat misleading for a prospective isu student wanting to understand the “big picture” of what is required as a nursing student at isu. please call me to understand every aspect of the lpn/lvn to bs baccalaureate degree completion program at indiana state university. thank you, kim kimbler (formerly “cook”), program development specialist at indiana state university, 888-293-4842, press 2 – or my direct number at 812-237-2318.

ms. kimber, this is a website for nurses and potential nursing students and it provides a venue for nurses to obtain and share information. your association with the lpn to bsn distant learning program at indiana state university is most welcome, and your self-identification as being associated with the program is appreciated. as a nurse, you may wish to update your personal page to provide your nursing degrees and certifications held.

for years, potential students have posted difficulty obtaining general program information from your department. they have posted that when the department was called no questions were answered. instead they received a referral to the isu nursing department’s website or instructed to call the college network (tcn). others have posted that when they called and left a message for the department or a specific person within the department, calls were not returned. what posters have noted is the isu lpn to bsn dl nursing department has is a poor customer service/public relations attitude.

many nurses have posted that there appears is a non-identified association between isu and book publisher tcn to compel students to purchase the very expensive tcn study guides (for both general educational classes and/or the challenge exams). there were posts that discussed isu nursing employees violated the university’s own privacy rules. isu employees provided tcn personal student information to enhance tcn’s ability to contact students to induce them into buy tcn study guides to clep out of classes.

to make matters worse, many students were unaware that isu nursing department publishes its own dl challenge exam study guide with suggested nursing books to study from. the guides are provided free to potential students. yet, most nurses posted that they were not provided challenge exam study guides, which made it very difficult to study for the exam. instead they gave up enrollment consideration or purchased the $650 each isu challenge study guide. some nurses attempted to buy them on the ‘black market’. what posters have noted is isu has published, authorized, and advertised the availability of the tcn challenge exam study guides.

a red flag about the program was noted: post-challenge test-takers have posted that the study guides provided the exact questions, rationale and answers for most, if not all, of the challenge exam questions. essentially, people are writing that isu publishes a very expensive challenge test study guide that can be bought from the publisher tcn. a question was posted about who receives the royalty? is it the isu nursing department or someone directly associated with isu nursing program?

what we have seen on allnurses are numerous posted statements: if you sign up for the expensive contract with tcn to obtain the tcn study guide, you are assured you will pass the isu challenge test(s). if isu is providing answers to the challenge exams in the expensive tcn study guides, then what is the rationale? i can come up with many rationales, many of which are unfavorable to isu.

what i and many other nurses would like to see is the isu lpn to bsn nursing department divest itself from the tcn challenge study guides, have less interest in royalties obtained from the sale of those study guides, and cease offering potential students advice of the availability of the expensive tcn challenge study guides. most other colleges/universities offering class challenge exams provide their own, free college/university study guidelines as well as suggested textbooks with which to study from.

the an posts also noted that the study guide the department provided was outdated and years old. conversely, tcn indicates that isu updates their exams each year and tcn study guides are updated each year to reflect the changes within the exams. other nurses have counseled potential students to study from easily obtained current comprehensive rn nclex books and nursing textbooks. the posts also noted that to save money buy used books. even if the student bought a new comprehensive nclex book(s) and nursing textbooks, together the total would cost a fraction of the cost of tcn/isu study guides.

many nurses have posted comments about the content of the didactic portion of the dl nursing lpn to bsn program. those posts noted the dl program has so much busy work built into to it, that students who work or have other obligations are forced to drop out or take only one class a semester. students are registering for the program because it offers the opportunity to earn their degree while continuing to work as nurses. yet, the program is not designed for the end user. again, another customer service issue.

many posts have discussed that the nursing program touts that its dl program is not a correspondence course, and dl students are in constant contact with dl professors. when nurses posted their experience with the dl program, the isu statement was found fictitious. the lpn to bsn dl program looks like a duck and walks like a duck, then ….

nurses have posted on an that the lpn to bsn program is essentially a correspondence course. it is true that the professor provides weekly goals via the syllabus and email, and the nurse must post weekly discussion board (db) assignments and comment on other student’s db posts. what posts noted is the student is working from a sheet of paper sent via email. if the student does not understand a problem, the student is required to post on the db to receive guidance. further, there is no taped lecture but the professor might provide powerpoints (with or without voiceover). this poses a problem for those who are not visual learners. to accommodate all learning styles, the program should offer dl students taped brick-and-mortar (bm) class lectures or the dl professor should videotape lectures of similar content.

posts on an noted that quality of the dl program is not comparable with the isu bm program; yet, dl students pay more for their tuition. what was posted is that it appears that isu hired professors who have 50 to 76 or more dl students, and those professors may also have a full time job. while professors may publish their contact phone numbers but most do not answer student calls. what the posts show is the isu program is a correspondence course, and its design does not differ from the way tcn operates its clep program.

these are only a few of the issues that have been discussed on an--a site for nurses by nurses.

isu offers a good program but program administration issues have been freely discussed here at an. the posts reveal that many nurses are turning away from isu. the rationale is directly related to the cost of the study guides and/or tuition cost (that distant learning students are paying a premium for their dl classes when compared to bm tuition). a post asked why the dl program does not cost less than the bm program because the dl program’s overhead is lower; the program does not require classroom space, utilities, parking, custodial services, etc. an posts have noted that isu looks at dl students as if they are cash cows; there little contact with the students by the administration and/or class professors; and matriculating through the program, when compared to other programs including isu’s own bm program, is far too long compared to other university and/or dl programs (some of which are not isu's caliber).

mitczak · Mar 28, 2012

[/size]what we have seen on allnurses are numerous posted statements: if you sign up for the expensive contract with tcn to obtain the tcn study guide, you are assured you will pass the isu challenge test(s). if isu is [color=#ffff00]providing answers to the challenge exams in the expensive tcn study guides, then what is the rationale? i can come up with many rationales, many of which are unfavorable to isu.

i am confused...here it is indicated that answers are in the study guides....and yet in a post

jul 25, '11 https://allnurses.com/indiana-state-university/isu-advising-potential-595921.html

it is indicated "personally, i did buy both tcn study guides, . . . found that many of the test questions were never discussed in the tcn study guides." ? am i miss reading what is posted?

LadyinScrubs, ASN, RN · Mar 28, 2012

mitczak, I can understand your confusion as you did not look at all the other AN posts about the same subject by other AN posters. Many, many other post-challenge exam posts, those who took the exams after me, stated many of the challenge questions, for all of the 4 exams, were plucked right out of the expensive ISU/TCN study guides.

You cited my post, which you so adroitly located, but it only discussed my experience. When I took those challenge exams, I did note the exact ISU/TCN questions, rationals, and answers appeared on the ISU challenge exams. I also found that the content of some of the questions was never discussed, mentioned, or found in the study guides. I paid for the expensive guides that had missinng information and was challenged on that missing information. Based on my personal experience, I advised potential challenge exam testers, who took the tests after me, not to trust the TCN study guides. If I had not also studied other nursing textbooks and relied only on the TCN study guides, I would have had a problem. I paid $2200 for those 4 ISU/TCN study guides.

I strongly advised, and will continue to advise, students to study on their own employing the nursig department-issued challenge exam study-guides with nursing textbooks versus relying on the TCN study guides. As noted in those posts, since I took the challenges, many AN posters stated they never received the free study guides or they arrived too late to be useful.

If you note, I stated that the TCN study guides are no magic bullet and will not guarantee the potential student will pass the challenge exams. The fact is, students must study if they are to pass any exam. I ask this: is it fair to those who do not have the wherewithal to purchase the expensive TCN study guides, that ISU/TCN provide those who have the money to purchase the TCN study guides the question and answers for the exams in those study guides? Since others have mentioned that the questions from the guides magically appear on the challenge exams, the TCN material does not sound like a study guide at all but an expensive university sanctioned cheat sheet?

mitczak, what was your experience when you took the 4 challenge exams? Did you buy the expesnive TCN study guides or did you rely on your own nursing books and the free ISU nursing department-issued study guides? Your input is greatly valued.

Which classes have you taken, and how are you progressing?

LadyinScrubs, ASN, RN · Mar 28, 2012

there is a vast amount of comments in reference to the lpn to bs track at indiana state universityon allnurses.com. occasionally i do read through postings and find inaccurate postings from several of the same members. the information may be, for the most part, in the wrong context and somewhat misleading for a prospective isu student wanting to understand the “big picture” of what is required as a nursing student at isu. please call me to understand every aspect of the lpn/lvn to bs baccalaureate degree completion program at indiana state university.
thank you, kim kimbler (formerly “cook”), program development specialist at indiana state university.

ms. kimber/cook: your above mentioned response did some fingerpointing about an nurse/members. you stated that "inaccurate postings coming from several of the same members" and that they were misleading to potential students. may i have a direct comment on the following post from march 9th, 2012:

"9 mar 2012 allnurses.com/indiana-state.../anyone-did-indiana-525696-page4.html "so i'm not sure what the deal is with isu. i've been very interested in their lpn-to-bsn program; however,i haven't had any success talking to isu. i've called several times and either get a busy signal once the voicemail system transfers me or i'm sent to an extension for a"kimbler"and end up getting the voice mail for a "cook". that's confusing. not even sure if i ended up in the right voicemail box. then, i leave a message (i've yet to talk to an actual human being at isu) after which i've been bombarded with voicemails and emails [color=#b22222]from the college network.

some people on here have mentioned dealing with isu directly and not using tcn. how is that even possible? trying to get to isu is like trying to navigate through a voicemail system of the federal gov't. i simply cannot seem to get to the people that i want and i'm routinely being fed back to tcn.

i even left a voicemail specifying that i'm not interested in talking to the college network yet, but that i want to speak to isu about their program and then i'll decide if i need the tcn middleman.

never heard back from isu.

so as appealing as an lpn-to-bsn program that is accepted in most states sounds, i'm suspicious of how smoothly the program with isu would be. if i can't even speak to someone on the phone before they get my money, once they've already got it, what can i expect?

i think i'll have to walk away and try someone else's program."

ms. kimber: we anticipate your response.

caregiver1105 · Mar 30, 2012

I don't know when you have time to study or take classes, since you spend so much time writing misinformation on this site!