I completed my BSN today. Feel free to ask any questions

canigraduate · Mar 8, 2015

I am enrolling in WGU for my RN to MSN, thanks to your and marycarney's posts. I wanted to thank you for being such a font of knowledge and for being so willing to answer all these questions!

madwife2002, BSN, RN · Mar 8, 2015

Awesome, congratulations :)

empatheticRN · Mar 8, 2015

so basically there is not really a deadline. When you are finished thats when the class is graded as long as its done before the 6months end? 27 credits wow. How many classes is that? Is An objective final exam just a written q&a exam or is is it a skills/practical exam? Which classes had an objective final?

I am sorry if I have so many questions. I am in the process of transferring to WGU from another nine program. Thanks for your time.

Thought, BSN, RN · Mar 8, 2015

I personally have not seen the list of courses in gray and white, but you would most likely not be denied admission if you were missing the coursework that they want to see on your transcript. If you are deemed deficient in certain courses, you simply take them alongside the upper division nursing coursework.Only an evaluation by one of WGU's transcript evaluators would furnish a definitive answer. I can say with certainty that your nutrition course will probably not be accepted for transfer if it is a lower division course. Everyone that I know has had to take WGU's upper division version of nutrition. This was no problem for me because it only took two weeks to get through the course.
Your health assessment course might be accepted for transfer credit. If your community health course was lower division, I doubt it will be accepted for transfer credit because you'll need a certain amount of upper division credits to receive a baccalaureate degree.There were no clinical rotations. Unless you are in California, the 90-hour clinical practicum requirement for community health isn't being tracked and does not require a preceptor or anything of that sort.
The program was perfectly suited to my learning style. I am an independent learner who can seek and synthesize new information without anyone spoon-feeding it to me, so I didn't stumble upon many challenges along the way.
My greatest challenge was conjuring up the three math credits that are required for degree conferral. My subpar math skills have held me back scholastically and professionally, but I was able to pass the basic statistics course that was part of the BSN program.

Thank you so much again for answering my questions. I was taking some online courses at the school I graduated with my ADN, but want to transfer to one that doesn't break the bank more ($1440+ for a 3 credit class at my graduating school, not including the additional costs). Out of the courses, I think my biggest struggle will be with statistics. Math has never been a strong suit of mine. Two weeks to get through a course? Wow!

I have a few more questions- I hope you don't mind me asking a few more! With attending an online school such as WGU, are students still able to go into the Nursing Honor Society?

I remember reading many students (including yourself) graduated at a fast pace. Your post included that it took you two weeks to go through nutrition. I was wondering what the course load of the classes were like? How much time was involved for the classes, what the assignments were commonly like? Did each of the classes involve a final exam?

Thank you again for your time! :)

KimBabyRN · Mar 9, 2015

Congrats fellow WGU peer! I also just received my BSN in the mail on March 2nd, 2015, but I have 11 more classes to go until the MSN is finished. I'm in the RN-MSN (education) track. Earned my BSN in 14 months (because I kind of slacked off for 2 months around the holidays).

Congrats! Best school ever... totally beats paying more money for the same degree and wasting time doing it at a traditional brick and mortar school or other online schools that charge so much more. It's defiantly not a school for everyone though. I love the fact that it's all up to the student (self-motivated) and that we don't have to rely on others (students or teachers) to prove our competencies and move along.

TheCommuter, BSN, RN · Mar 9, 2015

I have a few more questions- I hope you don't mind me asking a few more! With attending an online school such as WGU, are students still able to go into the Nursing Honor Society?

I know absolutely nothing about the Nursing Honor Society, but perhaps someone more knowledgeable will come along and answer the question. :)

I remember reading many students (including yourself) graduated at a fast pace. Your post included that it took you two weeks to go through nutrition. I was wondering what the course load of the classes were like? How much time was involved for the classes, what the assignments were commonly like? Did each of the classes involve a final exam?

Some of the courses entailed a final exam (referred to in the WGU world as an 'objective assessment' or 'OA') and others involved assignments (referred to in the WGU world as 'performance assessments' or 'PAs').

In the case of the nutrition course, the entire grade is based off the OA. Therefore, if you pass the OA, you've passed the corse.

Kathy H · Mar 9, 2015

Thought,

According to the transfer evaluation I received for RN-MSN these are the courses potentially eligible for transfer:

C457 Foundations of College Mathematics (this one is satisfied by an Associate's degree)

C455 English Composition 1

C107 A&P I (with lab)

C405 A&P II (with lab)

C181 Survey of US Constitution and Gov

C132 Elements of Effective Communication

C100 Intro to Humanities

C453 Clinical Microbiology (with lab)

C217 Human Growth and Development Across the Lifespan

C180 Intro to Psychology

C273 Intro to Sociology

C459 Intro to Probability and Statistics

C494 Advanced Standing for RN License

C624 Biochemistry

It's possible to transfer in a max of 92 credits. My understanding is that no other WGU courses transfer in. Some of these courses give options as to what is accepted, eg, you can get credit for C181 with any 3 credit US History, World History, Economics or Government course. C100 Humanities also give you several options as equivalents.

Your microbiology will transfer in as long as there was a lab component but the rest you mentioned aren't transferable courses . I also had the courses you listed and was surprised that they weren't considered for transfer.

Are you starting the RN-MSN program at WGU? I start May 1 Leadership. I am currently taking a Communications course that will transfer in- just need to get it completed before My start date May 1.

Good Luck !! Kathy H

Kathy H · Mar 9, 2015

As mentioned in the thread's title, I fulfilled the remaining requirements for my BSN degree from WGU this afternoon. My journey took a little more than 10 months from start to finish, required the completion of 34 credits, and cost approximately $5,800 due to a prorated second term.
Feel free to ask any questions that come to mind.

Congrats Commuter, BSN!!!! I hope you continue to stay on the message board. As I said before I have learned so much from your posts and I haven't even started the program yet!

Good Luck pursuing your next degree!! Kathy H

TheCommuter, BSN, RN · Mar 9, 2015

so basically there is not really a deadline.

No, there are not really any hard and fast deadlines. You simply need to complete all your courses before the end of the six-month term, or else a 'not passed' mark will be recorded on your transcript.

Once you complete your first 12 credits worth of coursework, you can ask your mentor to add more courses to your current term. This is called 'accelerating' your coursework, a.k.a. completing your courses faster than the arbitrary 12 credit minimum per six month term. This is how I completed 27 credits in one six month term, and it is also how another member completed 50 credits in less than one term.

When you are finished thats when the class is graded as long as its done before the 6months end?

Courses that conclude with final exams (a.k.a. objective assessments) are graded instantaneously. I would take my OA at a testing center, and the results come back instantly. Courses that involve performance assessments (a.k.a. essays, PowerPoints, recordings) are graded a couple of days after you submit them to TaskStream, which is the name of the third party evaluator service.

Is An objective final exam just a written q&a exam or is is it a skills/practical exam? Which classes had an objective final?

An objective assessment is a proctored, multiple choice final exam that is administered by computer. You can take these at home or at a testing center. If taken at home, you will be monitored by the ProctorU service via webcam.

Courses that ended in OAs included Care of the Older Adult, Information Management, Community & Population Health, Nutrition for Contemporary Society, Probability & Statistics, Health Assessment, and a couple of others.

Silverdragon102, BSN · Mar 9, 2015

Congratulations :)

OnlinePersona, LPN · Mar 9, 2015

you go girl!

sooooookie soooookie now :cheeky:

777RN, BSN, RN · Mar 9, 2015

Awesome! Congratulations! :up: