Higher Learning is very hard to understand

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As I read through many of these posts, I see how some are really knocking some schools because of "transferring". I then noticed that a lot are because the student received an AAS from a tech school. It's important that it is understood what the difference is between an AAS, AS, BSN, etc. when transferring. When going for your BSN, for instance, many classes at MCI do not transfer because it is an AAS, a degree designed to get you into the field with a little less general education credits. It's not "blasphemy" or "incredulous" that some classes don't transfer- you didnt take them! For instance in AAS, you may only take English 1, BIO 101, PSY 101, but for an AS you would take English 1 AND 2, Bio 101 AND 102, Psy 101 AND 102. I'm not saying either is better or worse, but please at least ask the questions and do some research before trying to put everything on blast.

Specializes in Forensic Psych.

That is an inaccurate statement. Many graduates of commercial and tech schools have found out the hard way.

It is entirely up to the receiving school as to whether they will accept classes from another school. However, most nursing programs in Tx are members of educational consortiums - whereby schools have formal agreements to accept credits from other members of the consortium. This does not mean that they will automatically accept credit from schools that are not part of the agreement.

Thanks! I had a wonky editing thing where I was trying to say "public schools," but I guess even with public schools it's an option to be part of the agreement? And now that I think about it went to a private university and they also used the TCCN system.

Here in Florida, if you get a degree or take classes at a state public school, such as a community college or university... Then the classes transfer to a public state school or university. BUT if you take classes at a for-profit college, tech school, or private college/university, then the public programs can pick and choose which, if any, classes they want to give you credit for. ALSO, if you have credits or degrees from another state, they also can choose which classes they give you credit for.

Anytime, a person is deciding where to take classes it is imperative that they research how the system works. Often people are surprised to find out that they have to retake classes because they do not transfer. It is a sad reality that could be easily avoided.

Specializes in Emergency Department.

Here in California, something I've found is that not all public programs are required to accept classes from other programs: public or private. Each institution determines what classes at another institution are equivalent to their own. One course that I took at another institution was "Nutrition and the Athlete" which is essentially General Nutrition modified for human performance, a.k.a. athletics. The nursing program that I am in now does not recognize directly that class as being equivalent to General Nutrition. I had to petition the program and school to allow that course to be counted as an equivalent to their own General Nutrition course. While waiting to be accepted to the school, I ultimately decided to take General Nutrition at the campus itself and did extremely well because I had the knowledge from before, that Nutrition and the Athlete class.

What was extremely helpful is that the program/school that I attend does have a matrix for all of the schools in the area that may have already determined have equivalent courses to what they already offer. What made things rather interesting is that the anatomy and physiology course that I took a few years ago has undergone several changes over the years, specifically, the class got renumbered several times. I had to show the steps for each renumbering process that the course went through from one I took it through a numbering system that they had recognized as being equivalent to their own.

The general point of all this is that if you are planning on transferring from one school or institution to another, contact the other institution that you are planning on transferring to so that you can determine what courses will NOT be accepted by that institution. Also, if you earn a degree, like an Associates Degree, that is not an "Applied" degree, usually a higher education institution will accept that as being equivalent to having completed some portion of their educational requirements, usually the first two years, so that you may begin your coursework as a Junior, instead of a Sophomore with a whole bunch of units.

I have a Bachelors degree already, that will make my transition to BSN extremely easy once I finish my ADN program. That however also makes getting financial aid difficult because I already have that Bachelors degree…

Specializes in LTC, Education, Management, QAPI.

It shouldn't be different- In general, there are 4 ways to get RN- Diploma, AASN, ADN, and BSN. Tech schools can provide Diploma or AASN programs, usually. Comm Colleges ADN's, and Universitys BSN's. All depends.

The majority of private/vocational schools in my area usually include in their fine print the following statement: "Credits earned are unlikely to transfer." It depends on how well people do their research...

Specializes in LTC, Education, Management, QAPI.

Exactly, nguy- because the tech schools generally award an AAS- Associates in APPLIED Science, which is designed, in ALL FIELDS, to enter directly into the workforce instead of transferring. It's not just nursing. For instance, at a community college- If I was given an Associates in Applied Science for Social Science, the goal would be to enter the workforce and not transfer. Since I received an AS- Associate of Science, then it is much more readily transferred. I'm *SO* happy that you said the piece about research. Although the schools should be more up-front, I am a 100% believer in CONSUMER BURDEN- it's the person going to school/ asking for information that needs to do the research. Too many people rely on others for their information instead of asking themselves.

It shouldn't be different- In general, there are 4 ways to get RN- Diploma, AASN, ADN, and BSN. Tech schools can provide Diploma or AASN programs, usually. Comm Colleges ADN's, and Universitys BSN's. All depends.

As a small clarification: There is only ONE way to get to put "RN" after your name, and that's to pass NCLEX. "RN" is not a degree, it's a licensure.

And many states' BONs will not allow graduates of all of the programs you list to sit for the NCLEX. Some states allow the NCLEX after a particular program, but that's no guarantee that if you move to another state that you will be able to get your RN license by reciprocity there unless state 2 approves your program. This is true even if you passed NCLEX in state 1. Word to the wise. Investigate this verrrrrrry carefully before you choose.

Specializes in Trauma.
Exactly, nguy- because the tech schools generally award an AAS- Associates in APPLIED Science, which is designed, in ALL FIELDS, to enter directly into the workforce instead of transferring. It's not just nursing. For instance, at a community college- If I was given an Associates in Applied Science for Social Science, the goal would be to enter the workforce and not transfer. Since I received an AS- Associate of Science, then it is much more readily transferred. I'm *SO* happy that you said the piece about research. Although the schools should be more up-front, I am a 100% believer in CONSUMER BURDEN- it's the person going to school/ asking for information that needs to do the research. Too many people rely on others for their information instead of asking themselves.

You are mistake about the AAS. As far as I know all CC ADN programs in my state are AAS programs. All Univ. BSN programs in my state accept all credits from these ADN programs, and as far as I know BSN programs in other states do too.

I think that is why it is important to choose a school that has a reciprocal agreement with your school. Before I started nursing, I did two and a half years of liberal arts at a university. The community college accepted my credits easily. One question that they had was whether PSY 101 was the same as PSY 100. It was, just some schools use different numbers. Keep a copy of your syllabus etc., sometimes you can fight and get credit for previous coursework this way. I learned that in my case management class :)

Exactly, nguy- because the tech schools generally award an AAS- Associates in APPLIED Science, which is designed, in ALL FIELDS, to enter directly into the workforce instead of transferring. It's not just nursing. For instance, at a community college- If I was given an Associates in Applied Science for Social Science, the goal would be to enter the workforce and not transfer. Since I received an AS- Associate of Science, then it is much more readily transferred. I'm *SO* happy that you said the piece about research. Although the schools should be more up-front, I am a 100% believer in CONSUMER BURDEN- it's the person going to school/ asking for information that needs to do the research. Too many people rely on others for their information instead of asking themselves.

It's not just a matter of the "name" of the degree -- it's also a matter of the accreditation (general academic accreditation) of the school. The proprietary tech/voc schools (some of which offer ASNs and BSNs) are generally accredited by their own organizations, which only accredit proprietary schools, and not the regional organizations that accredit "regular" (for lack of a better term) colleges and universities (whether public or private). The proprietary schools are not held to the same academic standards as "regular" colleges and universities, and that's why the classes (individual courses not attached to any particular degree) typically are not recognized and accepted by "regular" schools.

The proprietary schools are not held to the same academic standards as "regular" colleges and universities, and that's why the classes (individual courses not attached to any particular degree) typically are not recognized and accepted by "regular" schools.

....or all BONs.

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