Grand Canyon RN-BSN

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Is there any updated information? I have been in heavy contact with them and am looking at taking their RN-BSN program. I work with a GCU grad and she has nothing but positive things to say, but I want more opinions. ?

Any pro's and cons? Thankfully the only class I'm missing is stats and that is offered in the actual BSN program. I'm a bit nervous as my algebra skills are way old. If anyone took this class, do you have any advice?

Can someone help me figure out the answer to this question:

Does it look bad in anyway to have received your ADN and then transferred to an online school to finish your BSN vs a "regular" college? Does it hurt your chances in anyway on getting a job?

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Specializes in Certified Med/Surg tele, and other stuff.

Pink and derk:

One problem with the CLC is you either have to be the driver of the project or let others control your academic destiny. Pandora (another AN person who went through GCU with me), would take on the editing piece. The pro's of doing that, allowed us final editing and a very neat and tidy paper, done by two controlling anal people. The downside to this, was when the anal people were on chat (that's us), the other two were out having a blast knowing the CLC was in the bag :cheers:

Pandora and I once spent 12 hours editing a huge project. We both ate dinner in front of our laptops and compared paragraphs and rewriting to blend, etc. I can't really say much, because I was too controlling to let that part of the CLC go and so was she!

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Specializes in Certified Med/Surg tele, and other stuff.

Hey Pink and Derk

Maybe you guys can start together and buddy up. Pandora and I never wrote together, because she was a last minute person and I turned in everything on Friday. It is nice to have someone you can talk to and bounce ideas or questions off of. We had our CLC together, except two, so we had each other's back.

When we each hit a wall toward the end and our brains were fried, lol, we encouraged each other along.

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Specializes in Cath Lab, Case Management.
Pink and derk:

One problem with the CLC is you either have to be the driver of the project or let others control your academic destiny. Pandora (another AN person who went through GCU with me), would take on the editing piece. The pro's of doing that, allowed us final editing and a very neat and tidy paper, done by two controlling anal people. The downside to this, was when the anal people were on chat (that's us), the other two were out having a blast knowing the CLC was in the bag :cheers:

Pandora and I once spent 12 hours editing a huge project. We both ate dinner in front of our laptops and compared paragraphs and rewriting to blend, etc. I can't really say much, because I was too controlling to let that part of the CLC go and so was she!

Too bad I wasn't with you guys during that, you sound EXACTLY like me!!!

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Specializes in Certified Med/Surg tele, and other stuff.

We could have ruled the GCU world! bwhahahaha!

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Specializes in Certified Med/Surg tele, and other stuff.

Well, GCU is a "real college" with a campus, sports team, etc.. so I did receive my degree from a "regular/real" college. My friends who went in-state, had the same set up as I did and many of the same books.

Does it hurt your chances of getting a job? Why do you ask? If you have reservations, this isn't for you.

Sadly, there will always be naysayers out there that think this is the "easy" route and our degree is nothing more than a degree we paid for. You don't have to go far to get those comments. You can find a million of them on AN.

I can guarantee you that my degree is real, accredited, and made from blood, sweat and tears. The final paper is roughly thirty some pages of everything you have learned over the last 12 courses.

Since I'm not looking for a position and I work for an organization that owns 8 local hospitals, I won't be looking outside my organization for work. However, they do support GCU grads and invite GCU to education faires every year. I won't mention names, but a person who graduated from GCU landed a new position, so the location of her school must not have mattered.

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"If I have reservations this isn't for me?"

Of course I have reservations. I don't know much about online schools and have had friends graduate in the past with UOP degrees who weren't taken seriously. But that was several years ago so I don't know how things have changed. So if hospitals don't frown upon online degrees, then it's absolutely for me.

Thanks for the input :)

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Specializes in Psychiatric.

I have found that most of the RN-BSN programs are in part, to all online. Even the "regular" schools tend to have the majority of their RN-BSN online, then some have a clinical aspect and some don't. A prestigious private university in my area even has their MSN programs online, with the exception of clinical that is done in the student's local area. I think it has become such a normal aspect of nursing continuing education that most employers won't think twice about a degree from an online program.

Btw, because the RN-BSN track is for working RN's, the programs need to be convenient and doable for the working student. Then the schools need to be able to attract people into their program from all the country in order to make enough money to run it, because catering to just their local working RN's wouldn't cut it. Which is why most are online. And like to tokmom said, GCU is a "regular" University with a regular campus, that has built an extensive online program to draw people into it from all over the country. They have built a solid and successful program at a reasonable cost that caters to working RN's.

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Specializes in Certified Med/Surg tele, and other stuff.
"If I have reservations this isn't for me?"

Of course I have reservations. I don't know much about online schools and have had friends graduate in the past with UOP degrees who weren't taken seriously. But that was several years ago so I don't know how things have changed. So if hospitals don't frown upon online degrees, then it's absolutely for me.

Thanks for the input :)

Then why go to an online school? I'm not trying to be a pain in the butt, but you HAVE to be comfortable with your school of choice. From what I understand, certain areas in the country appear to be less inclined to hire online grads (for lack of a better word). Of course this is only going by what I read on AN. I do not see it here in my area and my previous director of patient services is a U of P graduate and currently earning her MSN from another private online school. My current director is studying through WGU and my direct manager is from another online school (won't mention here, too much detail). So I'm in good company and am not looked down upon for my degree. But again, I work in a facility and with an organization that doesn't expect a nurse to wear their education degree on their badge and people don't introduce themselves whilst naming their school. I have no idea if I work with ADN, or BSN nurses, unless they openly talk about it.

Again, I want you to feel comfortable about your degree. It's something you should be very proud of! :)

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Specializes in Certified Med/Surg tele, and other stuff.

I want to add, that I did research other online schools and I had certain criteria, such as a ground campus, and a school with a history. I have friends that did the U of P route and they did work hard. However, it was a school that wasn't for me, because of the lack of a ground campus.

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Specializes in Med/Surge.
I have found that most of the RN-BSN programs are in part, to all online. Even the "regular" schools tend to have the majority of their RN-BSN online, then some have a clinical aspect and some don't. A prestigious private university in my area even has their MSN programs online, with the exception of clinical that is done in the student's local area. I think it has become such a normal aspect of nursing continuing education that most employers won't think twice about a degree from an online program.

Btw, because the RN-BSN track is for working RN's, the programs need to be convenient and doable for the working student. Then the schools need to be able to attract people into their program from all the country in order to make enough money to run it, because catering to just their local working RN's wouldn't cut it. Which is why most are online. And like to tokmom said, GCU is a "regular" University with a regular campus, that has built an extensive online program to draw people into it from all over the country. They have built a solid and successful program at a reasonable cost that caters to working RN's.

GCU is CCNE accredited, I've seen some programs that are not.

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I have mentioned to a few my application to GCU. Many many have been supportive. However, there are nay sayers.

You are 57, what difference does it make? No one cares if you have a BSN. You just need to go out and get a social life, that will keep you busy.

I gather they feel it will be busy work with no purpose at my age. I am not hurt, but am thinking about all of the comments I

read and hear.

Have any of you run into this sort of thing?

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