Online LVN to BSN now approved in Calif? How true?

NurseCubanitaRN2b, BSN, RN · Feb 17, 2007

Foreign nurses must have a BSN to work in the US, it is not a review of their academic record that is any different than yours would be evaluated.
It is not a challenge procedure, they have all graduated from an approved school of nursing in their country, or even the US.
And they qualify to write the same NCLEX-RN exam that you do.....based on their schooling and training and nothing more.
They are not challenging anything. No nurse anywhere in the world can challenge the NCLEX-RN, all must graduate from an approved school of nursing.
Please check your facts first.

Yes, they can challenge the board once they have their BSN in a foreign country....that I already knew...I know my facts and I'm sorry that I didn't make it clear what I meant....In California their academic IS reviewed before they can challenge the BRN at least that's what I was told by a friend of mine who came here from another country....plus it was reviewed once again when she wanted to apply to the MSN program....and she found out she had to take several classes before applying to the MSN program...

wfritz · Feb 18, 2007

The College Network is allied with Indiana State University for the LPN to RN BSN program. What I would like to know is what prep courses do I take before official admission to Indiana State Univ. Are nursing concepts 1 through 3 acceptable courses or are those courses only good for the Exselsior program?

laizure · Feb 18, 2007

CNAIsANurse2b if you are so sure on your facts please point us to the Board of RN rule (give us some supporting documents, website URL from an official source). My point being, you need to support your view and you have the burden of proof, since you have made such a statement. So please show us that we are wrong and you are right.

Yes, they can challenge the board once they have their BSN in a foreign country....that I already knew...I know my facts and I'm sorry that I didn't make it clear what I meant....In California their academic IS reviewed before they can challenge the BRN at least that's what I was told by a friend of mine who came here from another country....plus it was reviewed once again when she wanted to apply to the MSN program....and she found out she had to take several classes before applying to the MSN program...

caliotter3 · Feb 18, 2007

Re previous post: I think we are getting caught up in terminology, semantics. There is a difference between challenging the boards and applying to take the boards based on one's qualifications to do so, e.g. graduation from an approved school of nrsg. When people from a country other than the US graduate from their nrsg programs, they have a different process to go through in order to obtain a US nrsg license. All you have to do to become familiar with this process (and get a headache) is to read the threads concerning this on the site. Please don't engage in criticizing other people about their posts, you might not understand the point they are trying to make, or the aspect of the topic of discussion they are addressing at the time. Ask for clarification in a respectful manner. I think people often forget that the method of communication we employ on the internet is somewhat different from having a verbal, face to face conversation, where understanding is easier to establish in a faster manner. Thank you.

NurseCubanitaRN2b, BSN, RN · Feb 19, 2007

CNAIsANurse2b if you are so sure on your facts please point us to the Board of RN rule (give us some supporting documents, website URL from an official source). My point being, you need to support your view and you have the burden of proof, since you have made such a statement. So please show us that we are wrong and you are right.

I'm sorry did I say that you were wrong and I was right? As I stated before I was sorry that I didn't make my point a little bit clearer....I also ackknowledged that I understood and agreed with what a poster said...I just didn't express it correctly....Excuse me, but understand that English is MY SECOND LANGUAGE...and sometimes we have a hard time trying to communicate what we want to say, and I try to be respectful.....I was just stating what was told to me by someone who came here and got her RN license through the "challenge procedure"....from what I was told also that their test is a little bit different than someone who takes the board exam after graduating from a school here......I don't know what every other state does, so I used California as an example because that is my home state and that's what I'm most familiar with.....

critter1972 · Feb 23, 2007

I found out that the CA Board of Nursing DID approve the Indiana State LVN-BSN program on Feb 16th, 2007. It's not on their website yet because of how often they actual update it.

YEAH! we have an option. now, i read someone's comment about The College Network. If you call Indiana State University, like i did, they will tell you to call The College Network. TCN provides the study materials for the general education classes required for the ISU degree. They aren't offered online and you have to test out of them. They, ISU, has partnership with The College Network. In fact, for what they call Phase 2, TCN also provides the study materials too.

This College Network isn't at all like what i've been reading on these threads. this place is legit. They are partnered with schools like Boston University, Cornell University, Regis University, and California Colleges for Health Sciences.

I was checking that school out (California College--now Independence University) out because i didn't think that i'd be able to further my nursing career and i was going to do the online respiratory therapy program. that's when i first heard about The College Network. TCN is partnered with that school too! To me, that means something. For this "publishing company" to work directly with those schools....come on people! we have an option now of doing this LVN-BSN program ...online...without having to go sit in a classroom, and yet, there are still people that have to find something to complain about.

well, while there are some that will always find something to complain about, i'm going to do this. It may not be easy, but if school was easy, everyone would do it.

This degree will cost be around $20,000 for the whole thing...for a bachelor's degree in nursing. Plus, Federal Financial Aid will help for the cost of Indiana State's tiuition fees--Phase 3. the only thing i have to pay for is a monthly payment of around $150 a month for my study materials in phase 1 and 2...and a testing fee whenever i take an exam in phase 1. I get to do my clinicals where i want to and in 3-4 years, i'll be a BSN nurse...FINALLY getting paid for everything that i already do. My pay alone will increase $15,000-$20,000 more a year once i get this done.

I'm so excited about this, i can barely wait to get started. All i can say is for those of you interested, do your research, listen to the advisors at the school. That way, you can get the information from them directly and make an informed decision.

Good luck to all of you in whatever you decide to do. i just know that this is the best option for me.

laizure · Feb 23, 2007

To me, it sound like the College Network will work well for YOU! You offered many pros to the program. I really think it is an individual choice. It is too bad that more people like you have not spoken out about there opinion on the College Network. You also said you hadn't started the program, so that is great that you have offered your opinion. Most of the posts about the college network is however from people who are already in the program and are offering there opinion about there success or failure. Some people like myself, want to do extensive research before taking a big step. I came to the conclusion that the College Network was not for me because of the these factors:

1 - The per course (per book) charge is very expensive. I looked through one of the books they offered and saw very few pictures (some people are visual learners).

My Alternative, to this? Why pay almost $500 when you can get it for much cheaper and get more for free. Example, lets take Chemistry. Search the Internet for a video course on Chemistry. Lets move it one more notch, Want to go to UC Berkley for free? UC Berkley is just one of many sites that offer all the real classes that regular in house students use totally online and for free. So the first step is to go to class. Feel free to visit and use this link. http://webcast.berkeley.edu/courses.php . You can even follow along in real time, buy the real college book and do the homework just like the students without really going to UC Berkley. Your like a phantom student.

Part two of of section 1 - Why pay almost $500 when you can get the CLEP books for free. Major companies make the clep books and you can find reviews about them and see how they are working out for people from places like your Library or at Amazon.com. The military uses the CLEP system quite widely, if you search you can find many clep books and study aids free online, example: http://www.petersons.com/pdf/free/ClepSuccess.pdf

2 - Why pay for college when you can get it for free. Many respected teachers love to share and help. So they make course online for free. These free programs are interactive, which means you can actually ask questions when you are stuck from a person with a Phd. Example:

http://www.free-ed.net/free-ed/FreeEdIDX.asp

http://staff.southwest.tn.edu/kfoster/links_4.htm

http://www.freeuniv.com/

3- Gotta study right? There are hundreds of tests on Google and yahoo. Many of which have been reviewed so you know if they are useful or a waste of your time.

4- You might say this is a lot of research to accomplish these items above. Well, Yes it is, and if you look online under "research and learning" you will find that hands on education makes the difference. By doing this you are tayloring a program to yourself, and making an online study program work and fit your lifestyle.

5 - The college network offers a guarantee that you won't fail. And after a certain amount of times taking the exam you get a tutor. The fact here is, why are you failing? If you are trying to learn why not pass the first time. If you put in 100% why did you fail? Why wait to fail the test 3 times before you get a tutor. Get a tutor FREE now as they are available simply by searching yahoo or google. Many state libraries offer state funded programs. You should'nt be failing at all if the program works. Why not pass the first time!

6 - A Contract! I don't want a contract. Lets face it, do you know if the college network is going to work for you? Why risk it, when you can do the above and risk little money and have No contract. If it doesn't work for you then you really haven't lost anything.

7 - Books are heavy, They collect dust and hurt my back. I don't want to lug around books. This is the digital age. I want to put everything onto a USB stick or a laptop and take it with me. Not just 1 subject book. Try doing this with the College Network, you are going to hurt your back. These days most everything is available online in PDF format.

8 - Study time. We all know that for every hour of school lecture time you need to put in 2 hours of study time. With the college network there is no lecture time, just the book. This may work for some but others....

9 - Why limit yourself to one source of material. Why spend more and get less when you can spend less and get more!

10 - With my alternative I save upto $12000 and have no contract.

sunnyjohn · Feb 23, 2007

You don't have to go through the College Network to do the Indiana State LVN to BSN program.

You can take the CLEP test on your own with study material for a fraction off the price that the College Network costs. The distance learning site here on allnurses can recommend excellent cheap books to help you pass your CLEP or DSST exams for credit.

They are a REAL brick and mortar school who will give you all the info you need on the online program. The nursing department is very nice.

critter1972 · Feb 25, 2007

Why would i want to go the cheap route to get my education? i want to take it seriously and do it the right way the first time. If Indiana State recommends going through a place like The College Network, obviously they have already checked out their study materials...hence the partnership.

The way it was explained was to think of The College Network as the 'bookstore'for Indiana State University...just llike they are for Regis University, George Washington University, Independence University (formerly California Colleges of Health Science), University of North Dakota..CORNELL UNIVERSITY, BOSTON UNIVERSITY...these are big name schools people! They also work in Indiana University. Doesn't that mean something to any of you?

Most employers offer reimbursement to help with school. Plus, once you enroll with Indiana State, you can apply for FULL FEDERAL FINANCIAL AID. the only thing i'm paying monthly is $150/month. that's for the cost of all my general education courses in phase 1 and the 4 lvn-bsn nursing courses in Phase 2. Then, once i enroll with ISU for Phase 3, i can apply for full financial aid.

If any of you are already paying back school loans, like me, $150 a month is nothing....especially for my education.

keep in mind that you get what you pay for. if you take the cheap way, does that guarantee your success? can you get full academic support? With The College Network, they guarantee your success (it's in writing) and they have 15 hours a day of academic support. They have their corporate office indiana and then have an office in vegas. that way, they are available for everyone regardless of their time zone. They been around for 14 years. If they weren't doing something right, would they still be around. Let alone be partnered with an IVY LEAGUE school like Cornell University?

Everyone has to stop and think for a minute.....if you're on campus, going to school locally you have to get your study materials somewhere. most of us, like me got them from the college bookstore, right? same thing with The College Network.....Indiana State offers an online program and you have to get study materials from somewhere... they recommend using TCN for the purchase of study materials in Phase 1 and 2.

like i said....you get what you pay for and ISU wouldn't recommend them if they didn't approve of what they offer.

how can you put a cost on your education....especially knowing how much more money you are going to make when you're done.

laizure · Feb 25, 2007

Even if you did use The college network to get all those books, they are still way too expensive.

Why not get them new at ebay:

http://search.ebay.com/search/search.dll?cgiurl=http%3A%2F%2Fcgi.ebay.com%2Fws%2F&fkr=1&from=R8&satitle=college+network&category0=&submitSearch=Search

90% of the people that list them there, have brand new books, never open and have not seem to have completed the program.

Average price is around $20 per book for the General Ed or Phase 1 classes, which is a huge percent cheaper.

There is a large discussion about this topic located here:

https://allnurses.com/forums/f233/college-network-200529.html

And what good about this "No Contract", "More more in my pocket", "No loans" and the best, "No interest payments" I HATE INTEREST, it is just wasted money that you can use for something else. Do yourself a favor and pay cash!

Onto another point, it good that people are open to discussion here. I don't think anyone is mad or upset here, just a discussion with people that have different views. Thats what makes this place great.

NurseCubanitaRN2b, BSN, RN · Feb 27, 2007

Yessssssssssssss, I already know that.....they MUST have graduated from an approved school in their country....the foreign nurses that I've worked with have called it a "challenge" procedure, whether that's the right terminology or not that's what they called it.....Some of them challenge the LVN board and then go on and challenge the RN board....why they use that term, I have no idea....that's just what they use....

Hoping LVN2BSN · Mar 8, 2007

university of phoenix has an rn-to-bsn that is approved in california, but not an lvn-to-bsn program.

lvn to bsn in sac.

well, modesto...

university of phoenix at modesto

(northern ca campus)

3600 sisk rd. #5a

modesto, ca 95356

(800) 266-2107

evening courses available

admits lvns only