Indiana State University BSN Thread for Current Students

What is the difference between the College Network and Indiana State University?

Some students need prerequisites before the can transfer into the LPN/LVN to BSN program at ISU. The association between Indiana State University (ISU) and The College Network (TCN) is a little more complicated. TCN is not accredited but can provide classes to fulfill the ISU prerequisites and ISU will accept transcripts of those classes. The student does not need to use TCN for any prerequisites or for the challenge classes. Everything can be accomplished with a community college or other online accredited college/university (distant learning or not).

There is an employee at TCN who is devoted to providing information about the LVN/LPN to BSN program at ISU. Further, TCN will track the progress of the student and will sent info about classes that the student may need--yet those classes can be taken elsewhere at a local community college, another accredited on-line program, etc.

Depending on the state the student is in, TCN will do all the legal legwork arranging for a placement in the clinical site. This is handled by two people: the person who wears many hats--a TCN employee and the ISU/student/clinical liaison. The second person is out in the field and actually works with the clinical facility to arrange the placement. Again, depending on the state, at graduation time the TCN employee/liaison will do the paperwork containing the clinical hours, submit it to the university to be signed, and submit it to the state BON to enable the student can take the RN NCLEX.

While TCN is a publication company, it is very involved with the ISU student's progress--whether or not the student signs a TCN contract or buys their books/courses.

i am trying to make the deadline for fall 2011. i live in santa clara, ca and would love to join a study group with anyone else that is interested. [email protected]

thank you allnurses for having such an informative thread on isu! and congrats to all the recent new lvn grads!

i am also a new lvn grad and have taken the nclex-pn (jan. 2011), looking to go through isu as well. i have had the time and gumption to perform extensive research regarding the options i have to enter a bsn nursing program (in ca) to sit for the nclex-rn. i'm a lifelong learner and want to further my nursing education.

in california fewer options exsist for the lvn to persue their bsn, outside of expensive private colleges acclerated programs/vocational lvn to rn bridge programs, which might be the right option for some folks. unfortunately, the bay are nursing schools that offer a lvn to rn bridge progarm are highly impacted. so, i too am planning an education with isu, outside of the college network study materials. and i would like to meet the addmission deadline for isu this fall 2011. i would indeed like to network, share experiences and information with other lvns that are planning an education with isu, that live in sf/bay area. my goal is to create/join a san francisco based study group with other interested lvns wanting to further their education. [email protected]

best wishes to the newly graduated and newly licenced lvns!

how are you doing with yours? i am trying to meet the june application deadline, but i dont think i am going to make it

Hi,

Im another LVN here who wants to go beyond and do the ISU LVN to BSN.

I have done most of the prereqs, completing them in the summer and the fall so that way I can get in the spring next year.

What my big concern now is finding a proctor for the challenge exams, the TEAS I will take through Pearson.

Does anyone out there know any proctors or proctor services in California, namely around the Sacramento area?

thank you allnurses for having such an informative thread on isu! and congrats to all the recent new lvn grads!

i am also a new lvn grad and have taken the nclex-pn (jan. 2011), looking to go through isu as well. i have had the time and gumption to perform extensive research regarding the options i have to enter a bsn nursing program (in ca) to sit for the nclex-rn. i'm a lifelong learner and want to further my nursing education.

in california fewer options exsist for the lvn to persue their bsn, outside of expensive private colleges acclerated programs/vocational lvn to rn bridge programs, which might be the right option for some folks. unfortunately, the bay are nursing schools that offer a lvn to rn bridge progarm are highly impacted. so, i too am planning an education with isu, outside of the college network study materials. and i would like to meet the addmission deadline for isu this fall 2011. i would indeed like to network, share experiences and information with other lvns that are planning an education with isu, that live in sf/bay area. my goal is to create/join a san francisco based study group with other interested lvns wanting to further their education. [email protected]

best wishes to the newly graduated and newly licenced lvns!

how are you doing with yours? i am trying to meet the june application deadline, but i dont think i am going to make it

same here, i won't be able to meet the deadline for fall, have chem still and some other classes. im from sacramento, not too far from the bay, so yeah i would be interested.

American River College proctors exams. HTH :)

Hi,

What my big concern now is finding a proctor for the challenge exams, the TEAS I will take through Pearson.

Does anyone out there know any proctors or proctor services in California, namely around the Sacramento area?

The following company provides free referals to proctors

National College Testing Association http://www.ncta-testing.org/cctc/

Are there any LPNs in WA state going through ISU or excelsior?

Are there any LPNs in WA state going through ISU or excelsior?

I am really considering doing this program. I graduate in July from my LPN and i have all the course for phase 1 done and i really want to try to test out of phase 2. When are you thinking about applying???/

ISU distant learning - first semester over. Here is what I learned about the two classes (transition and assessment) that I took Spring 2011.

Transition: This is actually two classes -- a transition class that readies you for the program and teaches you how to research, how to write papers in the APA format, how to do a term paper based on a patient, etc. and a review of med math and pharmacology. Why the two courses in one is unknown as almost all of the students concentrated on the med/math and pharm portion and did the minimum on the transition portion of the class. There were three exams and the final was 100 questions and covered the entire pharmacology book. Most of the drugs were not prototypes, which made things more difficult.

The Assessment class was interestinng. We had to arrange for our own BSN preceptor. The lab was actually a hands-on study lab/session in which we practiced how to do an assessment on a specific body region. The lab is not graded and the nurse must check off that she saw you do the assessment...but this is training. The lab could be done once a week or daily but you must have about 50 lab hours for the program.

You do not need to memorize the info in the regional assessment. You can have the book open and review it as you are learning the hands on assessment. What I found very helpful was to buy a large doll--the larger the better--and practice on the doll/dummy at home. That way I was prepared when I went to work with my preceptor in the lab.

The most difficult portion of the assessment class was the taping of the assessment. After all the various assessments had been checked off by the preceptor, I was free to make the video tape of the assessment. The taping is not done with the preceptor. You will do a assessment according to the guidelines they give you, and it must be taped. Everythig you do must be seen on the tape. I did it at my friends home with her child (we can do an adult or a child, no infant). I learned the hard way that it is best you have someone run the camera. In my taping, I found that the camera kept cutting off..and only found out when I packed up, return home and reviewed the tape. You can refer to notes during the taped assessment, but the professor said if you refer to them too much, you will be counted down. Clearly, it is impossible to remember everything that must be checked off without notes or a check off sheet.

Before doing the assessment, practice, practice, and paractice again. You must be absolutely comfortable doing the assessment or it will take hours to tape the assessment. When doing the assessment, do it in sections. Do not try to do a complete assessment in one take. If you do a one take assessment and miss something, you will have to retape it all. If you break the assessment down into sections and if you make a mistake you can easily retape only that section. When you are ready to make the video, combine the sections on the disc.

Finally, the first month is the most difficult of the two courses. They hit us with exams, papers, etc. almost as if they wanted to get them out of the way. After the first month, the exams and papers were spaced out. In the middle of the transition course, we had to take the critical thinking exam, which was proctored but not graded. All in all, the program was favorable. The instructors were approachable and did everything they could to get everyone through the program. The one thing I advise anyone considering the program is do not fall behind, plan ahead, and turn in everything on time.

We are off for the summer; stay tunned for updates on the second semester (mental health) at ISU in the LPN/LVN to BSN program.

sorry for the late response ladyinscrubs been busy studying for finals lol but i totally read over your post and i think this is the best way for me because after I graduate this july i need to work a little more. I know this will be tougher but i have the mindset of getting through school. Im in washington state and they do approve this program. I am suppose to meet with a rep with a few other classmates on may 20th to get more detail on everything. I have all my prereqs done as well so after he knows that he probably doesnt want to deal with me as well lol Its good to know taht i do not have to use the study manuel I do have the lipinocott review book and its been been serving me well with my medsurg classes. Besides that book is their any other ones you recommend for studying? Did you have to repeat any of the challenge test? How long did it take you to prepare for each exam?

Also i saw you are take the program full time did they give you an expected date to graduate doing it full time after completeing the four challenge courses

sorry for the late response ladyinscrubs been busy studying for finals lol but i totally read over your post and i think this is the best way for me because after I graduate this july i need to work a little more. I know this will be tougher but i have the mindset of getting through school. Im in washington state and they do approve this program. I am suppose to meet with a rep with a few other classmates on may 20th to get more detail on everything. I have all my prereqs done as well so after he knows that he probably doesnt want to deal with me as well lol Its good to know taht i do not have to use the study manuel I do have the lipinocott review book and its been been serving me well with my medsurg classes. Besides that book is their any other ones you recommend for studying? Did you have to repeat any of the challenge test? How long did it take you to prepare for each exam?[/quote]

Glad to hear you are moving forward.

1. There is no representative to ISU. The person you will be meeting with is the sales representative from The College Network. This person will tell evaluate your transcripts, discuss the classes you missing, and will try to get you to sign up with The College Network for any missing classes. I advise avoiding TCN if you can. If you do decide to go the TCN route, take the paperwork, review it away from the representative and sleep on it. If you still feel comfortable signing up with TCN, then sign the papers. The representative will not be happy giving you the paperwork to review but you are in charge not TCN. The rep may try to pursuade you to sign up right then by giving you an inducement. I doubt that the inducement will disappear if you call the rep back in a week or so and indicate interest in the program.

2. You do not need The College Network to apply to ISU. The prerequisites for the program are listed on the ISU LPN to BSN website. If you need core college classes to graduate, you can also take many of them at a jr college. Ivy Tech is associated with ISU and they also offer distant learning classes for core college courses (I have no idea if their charge is similar to TCN). When you are ready to apply to ISU, you must submit all your transcripts to the admission office, pay a nominal fee to have them evaluated, and they will give you a student number. You cannot take any of the challenge classes without the student number. Make sure you follow up with the admission office to determine that they have received all your transcripts. You have no control over when or if the transcripts arrive as they must be sent to ISU by your former institution(s).

3. If you are looking for more study guides, get a good RN NCLEX review book -- one that has the review section as well as the questions with rationale. The NCLEX review section is a good review in addition to the Lippincott books.

4. I was fortunate that I took the 4 exams and passed each the first time. I will be honest, the exams are not easy but if you study and are prepared, you should do fine.

5. I suggest that you do not sign up and pay for the challenge course until you are ready to take the exam. Just before you are ready to take the challenge exam, contact the ISU nursing dept and start the process of giving them the name of the proctor. ISU will contact the proctor and send out the appropriate info to the proctor. When ISU has authorized the proctor, your name will be given to the ISU registrar. Next thing is to sign up with the regstrar for the challenge exams. Once you pay half the challenge exam fee, you are ready to take the exam.

6. The challenge exams are taken on computer, and you will get your grade immediately after you submit your test.

7. You will need a pathophysiology class..but this is not a requirement to enter the program. If you can, take it at a community college and save money. Once you are in the ISU program and TCN notes you are missing the patho course, TCN will send you a contract stating that you need the pathophysiology course, sign on the bottomline of the contract and TCN will sign you up for the course. Because TCN has access to your transcripts (courtesy of the association with ISU), they know exactly where you are in the program, what you are missing, and how you are doing (I find this association a breach of your student privacy but ISU does not). What TCN does not tell you is you can take many courses at other colleges and save the money TCN will charge.