Indiana State University Online LVN to RN program

LadyinScrubs, ASN, RN · Feb 19, 2011

did you compare costs of other programs? Did u feel prepared when taking the tests? Are their any disadvantages you have run into? Thanks for your input

Did not answer your entire question. Did I feel prepared when taking tests? The only difference from the ISU DL program lecture classes and the State BSN program I attended was there is no professor reading regurgitating the info from the book or reading the info on power points. I receive weekly power points, have my readings to do, and we are also enrolled in MyNursingLab that is offered through the book's publisher, Pearson. Because there is no student communication in DL classes, we have weekly topics that must be answered and we must comment on other student's postings.

The assessment class is not only lecture but also clinical. I had to find a preceptor for this class. I believe this is the only time in which I will be required to actually locate a BSN preceptor. I meet with that preceptor once a week for a few hours. If I were in a regular nursing assessment lab, I would meet with other students and be guided by the professor. Considering we all do assessments in our nursing jobs, the assessment class is not that difficult. When I took it at the brick and motar BSN class, it was the exact same class with the exact same lab. Both BSN and masters in nursing students took the same course. Actually, the course is aimed for the master's students, but it is interesting.

The final for the assessment class is to do a full assessment on a patient and it must be video taped. The video tape is to be submitted and reviewed. The grade will reflect the quality of the assessment.

I must stress again, distant learning is not for everyone. You must be prepared to study a little every day and have you work ready to be submitted once a week. There are goals and deadlines. If you don't feel like studying or working, you will fall behind. In the brick and motar class, you attend the class, the professor lectures what is in the book. In DL you don't have that luxury.

josully · Feb 19, 2011

Thanks for taking the time to answer my questions.I feel like I have a better picture of the program. You have given the most detailed info so far I think IM getting alot closer to making up my mind. It sounds like a good fit.

Thanks

SquishyRN, BSN, RN · Feb 23, 2011

The clinicals for LPN/LVN to BSN students enrolled in the distant learning program at Indiana State Univ are a ratio of 1:1--student to preceptor.
I am in Calif and by law there can not be more than 12 RN students per clinical instructor/professor. I have no idea what the ratio of students to professor is in other states. The one nice thing with the ISU program is the 1:1 ratio.

I'm in California as well and was considering ISU as an option. Does the school find you your preceptor or do you have to find one yourself? I've read older posts here that have said how difficult it was to find preceptors in California because some of the places the school listed as being affiliated with the program had no idea what the students were talking about when they called. And how often/long are clinicals?

LadyinScrubs, ASN, RN · Feb 23, 2011

I will have more info in the future because I am not at a health care facility at the present. I did have to find a preceptor for the assessment class. Because there is no health care facility clinical, the preceptor is found by me, is a nurse in my are, and must have a min education of a BSN. This preceptor does not teach, she only watches me practice and checks off my assessment skills. The final exam is a video tape of the entire assessment on a client/patient.

For those clinicals in a health care facility, we were required to present the names and heads of nursing for the facilities we wish to do our clinicals. I have not heard what has happened or if they found facilities for me since the list was only submitted a few weeks ago. ISU is responsible for doing the legwork, getting the contract signed, etc.

The real problem is obtaining a facility who will appoint a nurse to precept the student. Normally, the facility only provides access to the facility and the school is responsible for everything else. This may be the sticky problem because there is no on site school associated instructor.

I, too, have heard rumors about no facilities in the local area and people having to drive hours to a facility. I cannot confirm this; however, I will confirm what my experiences are--in the future.

What I see is this: distant learning for nursing is still in its infancy and most facilities are unaware of the program or hesitant to get involved. As the economy tanks, nursing school budgets are cut, the cost of gas skyrockets, and colleges must cut back on instructor/professor salaires, etc., we will see more distant learning programs. One instructor/professor can handle far more students on line than in the classroom and there is no utility cost, etc. The nursing school could hire the instructor/professor on a per class basis and could avoid paying benefits. I believe we will be seeing a huge change in the way colleges/universities provide education in the future.

SquishyRN, BSN, RN · Feb 23, 2011

Thank you for the detailed answer

josully · Feb 23, 2011

I was given a name to contact regarding clinicals.I am concerned about this part of the program. I want to make sure im not driving 2 hours to get to a clinical sight. The person in charge of this has not called me back.I was also confused about excelsior college. Can I Do my pre req courses threw them. Ive seen some responses that say u can save money by cutting the college network out of the equation. Thanks for your input I am getting a clearer picture of how this program works. I just want to make sure their isn't a cheaper way to do this. I Know junior college route is cheaper but waiting list is to long. thanks again

whitknee914 · Feb 24, 2011

I signed up with the college network, and am unable to do it. if anyone wants to buy the program from me I would love to sell all my materials. Of course they are study guides and then you sign up to CLEP out of the subjects ie: Nutrition, A&P, chemistry, english, business, algebra, etc.

hcfairy · Feb 26, 2011

Hey I guess this is to anyone who can answer. I want to go it indiana state and do the online LVN-BSN program. I know I have to test out of 4 of the courses. I ordered the Nursing concept books online through ebay. Problem is now im confused at which ones I need to test out of. Is it NC 3-NC 7? Oh and their through the college Network. I called them but they won't give me the info because I didn't sign up. Can someone help direct me.??? :confused:

LadyinScrubs, ASN, RN · Feb 26, 2011

Hey I guess this is to anyone who can answer. I want to go it indiana state and do the online LVN-BSN program. I know I have to test out of 4 of the courses. I ordered the Nursing concept books online through ebay. Problem is now im confused at which ones I need to test out of. Is it NC 3-NC 7? Oh and their through the college Network. I called them but they won't give me the info because I didn't sign up. Can someone help direct me.???

Nursing 106 - Mental health aspects of nursing 2 credits

Nursing 224--Nursing Care of Adults 5 credits

Nursing 328--Nursing Care of the Child and family 4 credits

Nursing 330--Nursing Care of the Childbearing Family 4 credits

1. Challenge books. You do not need the TCN books and TCN's books are only available as eBooks..unless you pay an extra charge for the book and it was sent out to you. Instead get a good recent RN NCLEX book that not only has rationales but also a study guide for each section. Also get Lippincott's How to get an A in [insert the name of the subject you want to study...adult med surg, childbearing, mental health, and care of child and family--these are the names of the challenge classes]. The NCLEX book and the Lippincott books will cost less than $175 and cover much of the same info as TCN eBooks. Cost of TCN books $1800-2000. Sorry, I do not know what nursing concept books are--NC 3-NC7 is.

2. If at all possible, avoid TCN--save your money and take classes at a local community college if you need to finish your prerequisites. Some colleges have 10 week courses, on line courses, etc., for a fraction of the cost of TCN. Remember a community college's units transfer.

3. Don't understand why you could not get info from ISU nursing dept; they are very helpful. Additionally, go to the ISU nursing LPN to BSN website. They have all the info you need there.

nadeenliz · Mar 11, 2011

hi ladyinscrubs,

I'm interesting in ISU, I've recently graduated from an LPN program in New Jersey. I would like to start in Spring 2012. If you have any additional information about the program or advice regarding the challenge exams it would be helpful.

LadyinScrubs, ASN, RN · Mar 12, 2011

hi ladyinscrubs,
I'm interesting in ISU, I've recently graduated from an LPN program in New Jersey. I would like to start in Spring 2012. If you have any additional information about the program or advice regarding the challenge exams it would be helpful.

Much has been written about various distance learning programs. If you have not gone to the ISU LPN to BSN website, you should. It will discuss the program, its requirements, and what is needed to graduate. If you do not have the requirements, you can go to a community college, university, or The College Network. I suggest you have complete all your prerequisites as well as any courses that you can take outside the University because once you are in the program you will be busy, very busy. When determining what facility to take your prerequisites, see if they are accredited and accepted by ISU. If not, the credits will not transfer. ISU is linked to Ivy Tech and The College Network; while TCN is not accredited and their units are not accepted by most higher learning institutions, they are accepted by ISU. What you could take at a community college will be costly through TCN. If for some reason you drop out of ISU, if you took your prerequisites through TCN, another nursing program may require you to take the same courses through an accredited college.

Once you have all your prerequisites, you will apply to ISU and must have your transcripts sent directly to ISU. You cannot do anything without a student ID and that requires an application. Your transcripts will be evaluated and ISU will tell you what is missing, etc. If all goes well, then you apply to the program. That in itself is a chore. Lots of paperwork to submit. You will be required to submit your ATI TEAS exam score. If you have not taken it, get the ATI book and study it. The info contained in the test is covered in the study guide; use it.

To get into the nursing program, you must pass 4 challenge exams. TCN offers study books that are allegedly designed to help you pass the program, but they will cost about $2000. BTW the study guides are not specific; you really do not need them because you can acquire the same information from other published books. The same information published in the expensive TCN study guides can be obtained through other nursing books for sale thorugh Amazon and designed for the subject. I have purchased Lippincott's How to get A's in med surg, etc. and read both the Lippincott and the TCN study guide. I can personally attest when comparing the two books that the information presented is 95% similar but presented differently. You could buy the most expensive up to date non TCN books, and still only spend a fraction of what it would cost for TCN study guides or you could buy used current editions and spend even less money.

You must pay TNC for each challenge course, which is about $400 /- and you must obtain your own proctor facility. There are professional proctor companies as well as some community colleges will proctor you for a specific price. You must pass each exam and if you do not, you must wait a month before taking it again. If you don't pass the exam on the 2nd try, ISU will make you buy the corresponding TCN study guide.

Once you have everything done and you get the acceptance letter to take the 2 required courses that must be passed before you are accepted full time into the program, take only one of the courses at a time. What you are not told is every distance learning program is more rigorous than the regular course. The transition course is not only a transition course but also a pharm course. There are many exams, papers, discussion board posts--far more than what is required in the normal RN class. I have talked to the person responsible for nursing IT and she said that most students drop one or both courses during the first semester. ISU does not prepare the student for the rigors of the program. Plus, if the student does not pass each course, they cannot go further.

Within that first semester in the transiton course, you will be required to pay up front to ATI $525 for the entire ATI eBooks and program. That cost includes the ATI critical thinking exam. Get a nursing critical thinking book designed for this test and study it. If you have never taken any critical thinking exams, this part may be challenging. While you progress is not hampered by the outcome of the exam, you will be tested again during the last semester. Supposedly the exam will show the nursing dept how you think and will compare your results with others who have taken the same exam in the University and across the US. Yet, like all other type exams, it only reflects what you have learned in the past; if you have never been exposed to this type of exam, it may be a shock. If you are not prepared, the test will not truly reflect your abilities.

If you have responsibilities (children, etc), work full time, don't over stress yourself too much during the first semester. Take only one class. I am taking two and it is very challenging to get all the work done--sometimes I feel there is much busy work built into the program, but it is required to show the accrediting organization that the student actually put in the required amount of hours. If you went to a regular program, just being at the facility, sitting in class, and doing nothing counts as time needed to graduate. Since the nursing program must account for your time, you get lots of work. From what I see, the work you must turn in = hours spent off line studying, turning in papers, and passing exams in the distant learning program.

Good luck to you.

Curious0599 · Mar 15, 2011

I just applied to the ISU LPN to BSN program. I have been an LPN since 2008, have two gidgets, a hubby and work full-time as a home health nurse, so finally finding (and trusting) an online program that fits into my schedule and is backed by a good name is a God send. Any gradutes on here from ISU? :yeah: