University of St. Mary (Kansas) online RN-BSN program

BeehRN · Aug 7, 2013

Thanks for sharing your experience! I recently applied and waiting to hear on acceptance for this Fall! How long did it take for you to find out if you got in the program? I am excited but nervous at the same time!

I am having a very good experience at the University of St. Mary online RN to BSN program. The classes are small (about 20 students) and the course work is pertinent. They have a 24/7 help line for almost any kind of help you might need. The research librarians are very helpful as is tech support. My professor is very good and very accessible. I have her email address and her cell phone number in case I need to contact her urgently. For non-urgent matters she generally writes back within 24-48 hours. I have gotten to know her -- we are in week 7 of an 8 week course -- and I look forward to taking pathophysiology with her in the fall term II.
USM has 6 start dates per year and each term is 8 weeks long. The courses are accelerated, but manageable. 2 courses per term is considered full time enrollment, but you don't have to take 2 classes. In my Nursing as a Profession course we have assignments due each Thursday and Sunday by midnight CST. Next semester I am taking Mission in Healthcare (Christian perspectives on caring, etc) and Biology for Today (a lot of info on genetics, etc). I am not Christian, and so far I have felt comfortable and not pressured in any way.
I had thought about taking classes at UTA but decided from reading reviews on this site that I did not want to go there because students could not even gain access to their professors. UTA is cheaper than USM, but in this case I think you get what you pay for. USM is $1230 per 3 credit course, so not cheap but a very good education. I have even been in contact with the head of the RN-BSN program who is helping me waive a class. Everyone there has been very helpful.
The woman I spoke with is ***** and she can tell you all of the details if you are interested in the program. Just call the USM online RN to BSN program (in Kansas -- apparently there are a few USM's out there) and ask for ***** *******. I am very happy with the program so far. I researched at least a dozen schools before settling on this one. Glad to be in a great program and heading toward my BSN!

Mudhen · Aug 7, 2013

Hi BeehRN,

I can't remember exactly how long it took to get an answer, but once I got all of the paperwork completed it seemed like it didn't take long at all. You will have a mini Intro course just to make you familiar with their learning platform, etc. and then you'll most likely start with NU402, the class I am in now. The first couple of weeks are busy, so try to allot extra time to get used to the learning environment and the expectations. I remember feeling overloaded at one point, but it passed quickly. I think that is normal when you are learning so many new things, especially APA format for all papers which I knew nothing about, plus how to do effective research in the library. If you want to be in touch once you're admitted, please send me a private message and I can fill you in on the details if you like. Be sure to call the 24/7 Personal Support Center if you have a question. I was on a first name basis with them when I started and they are fantastic. Good luck! I am sure you'll get in and have a great experience!

BeehRN · Aug 9, 2013

Great news! Just received my acceptance letter today in the mail! I am so excited:) I am not a big fan of writing papers , especially APA but I know I will have to get used to it. Thanks for the tips, I would love to keep in touch as I am planning on starting Aug 26th. In the meantime, hope everything is going great for you!

Mudhen · Aug 11, 2013

Congratuations BeehRN!

University of St. Mary is a great school and I think you'll love it there! Private message me when you get a chance so I can fill you in on all of the details before class. There are some computer programs that help immensely with APA format, and I just got a great book on APA that explains it better than the one written by APA. Those resources will help a lot! Getting ready before class begins will help a lot!

Congrats again and let's stay in touch!

BeehRN · Oct 15, 2013

Hi Mudhen,

Came back here to see how you are doing. I am currently in week 7 of NUR 402 and wanted to see if you could give me any insight on the next class to come. I added you as a friend but don't know how to PM you. Hope you had a great semester! Looking forward to hearing from u. Brenda

Mudhen · Oct 15, 2013

Hi Brenda,

There is no set schedule for taking courses. The only thing you have to remember is that if you need statistics it should be taken early in your course of study so you don't end up with a bottle-neck of courses that you can't take without stats first (Nursing Research is one such class). I am taking pharmacology next semester and will be studying math on my own to prepare for statistics in Spring 1 term that begins on December 30th. I am just finishing Bio110 "Biology for Today" and THNU390 "Mission in Healthcare." I wanted to get some of the electives out of the way early, but I know other students who jumped right into the nursing courses first thing. It's really up to you.

I found it helpful to create my own map of courses starting from NU402 and going on through graduation. When I could see it on paper I felt like I had a better plan. However, also remember that not all courses are offered when you want to take them. For example I wanted to take PY355 with stats in spring I, but PY355 isn't offered until spring II. I will be calling the school soon for a list of when each of the classes I need to take are offered. NU402 was a great class - the professor is excellent!

Now that we are friends, I think you can PM me without any trouble.

BeehRN · Oct 16, 2013

Thanks for the reply! I guess I can't PM you since I haven't reached the 15 post minimum. But I agree NUR 402 was a great glass and great instructor! I am signed up for THNU390 starting next week. Would you say this class is equally as busy as 402 , more or less? I'm trying to figure out if I can get started on my math classes or if it would be too much combined with 390. Also great idea on the map of courses, I think I will probably make one for myself as well:)

Mudhen · Oct 16, 2013

Hi Brenda,

It's hard to compare the two classes. The writing will not be as rigorous as in 402 - you won't be held to strict APA format, although I did use it for some papers. Basically, the class consists of discussion forums, short written assignments, and journal entries that have to do with the week's readings. The book is small and the readings are light. Pay attention to the lecture notes. Some of the assignments are a bit befuddling so you'll have to get to know what the teacher wants. I still haven't figured her out! There is one bigger class paper (but nothing like the ones you wrote for 402) and a take home exam and (believe it or not) a multiple choice online exam that I know nothing about but have to take tomorrow or Thursday because of my work schedule. Overall, I would say it is much easier than 402, but you'll have to pull some rabbits out of hats, especially if you're not Catholic! I hope that helps. I think you could do your math class at the same time. Just don't take any other classes while you are in Biology for Today. It is extremely time consuming!

BeehRN · Oct 16, 2013

Thanks for all the awesome input!I will def keep everything into consideration. Now Biology for today, is that not like your average BIO 101 class or is it something different?

Mudhen · Oct 16, 2013

Biology for Today is a demanding course with 4 timed tests on about 100 pages of material for each exam. You write one paper and do homework and discussion forums each week. The thing that adds a lot of work is that it is an "Idea Seminar" so you have extra work to do. You have to post 2 distinct posts on four topics and respond to 2 people in each forum. That comes out to be 16 extra posts. The exams are stressful and take a lot of study time. I hate timed exams, but if they don't bother you and you have a photographic memory then you should be all set! :) Much of the material is on genetics so USM doesn't like to transfer in Bio courses from other schools. I have one more timed test to go. Wish me steady hands on the keyboard, no typos, and a sharp memory!

Mudhen · Dec 5, 2013

Hi Brenda,

Bio110 was my first biology course in my college career, so I don't have anything to compare it to. Most of the class deals with genetics. There is very little other biology. There are weekly discussion forums and since it is an "idea seminar" there are also discussions on global topics that take a lot of time. There are easy weekly homework assignments and about 50 pages of very dense reading each week. The book might look pretty, but it is very poorly written with lots of mistakes in it. The authors do not describe the subject very well, and so the book is basically like reading an encyclopedia of fact after fact after fact that you have to memorize for the exams. There is a 1 hour timed exam every other week (Weeks 2, 4, 6, and 8) and each exam covers approximately 100 pages of dense biology textbook information plus everything from the homework and the lab book. I am not very good at memorizing so I found the timed exams very anxiety producing. You'll have anywhere from 8 to 22 questions to answer in 1 hour. On one of the exams I finished with 2 seconds to spare.

The professor can be very difficult to deal with and if she decides she doesn't like you, then watch out! She is a very insecure person who takes out her insecurity on students by being contrary (to put it nicely). She never let me see my last exam that she gave me a really lousy grade on, even though she promised to email it to me. I don't think she wanted me to see it because I think she down-graded it. She also down-graded a paper I wrote because she was upset that I asked her why I had gotten a couple of homework questions wrong -- I showed her in an email the direct quotes from the textbook showing that my answers were correct and she wrote me back a snotty reply. She didn't like me questioning her, and after that she had it out for me. I ended up with an A because I worked my butt off, but she never actually even gave me a percentage grade. I think she wanted to give me a B, but the grievance committee would have seen that she was way out of line. I would have flown all the way to Kansas to fight that battle if it had come to that!

Mudhen