Is ISU too good to be true?

Nursing Students Indiana (ISU)

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Is ISU a scam? My class is graduating in December from LPN school and several of us are wanting to bridge over online.... ISU seemed hopeful.... They accept community college credits which is really awesome because I have all of them done except micro.... It's accredited, So is this school a scam, too good to be true... Someone add some insight to if this is something realistic.....

And yes. I've already read some posts in the ISU forum

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Specializes in NICU, ICU, PICU, Academia.

Indiana State University is a state-supported school with a brick and mortar campus is Terre Haute, Indiana. It is accredited- which you should know from your reading. What type of 'scam' do you think such a school would be running?

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Specializes in Complex pedi to LTC/SA & now a manager.

It's not a scam. The scam was the relationship with the college network, now there is no longer a mandate to use college network modules. Some had difficulty securing local clinical placements but that is not uncommon in distance learning scenarios and not a reflection of ISU.

There were a lot of questions raised regarding the fiasco in CA but related to the additional requirements of CABRN and lack of oversight in the implementation until students complained.

TCN still exists but there is no longer a requirement to use the modules which is a good thing.

Many who struggle should never have enrolled in a distance program that necessitates a strong motivated, independent learner. Those students should have enrolled in local hybrid programs of traditional schools as they needed face to face interaction with classmates and an instructor.

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Specializes in NICU, ICU, PICU, Academia.

Ah- I had forgotten the whole College Network fiasco-

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Specializes in NICU.

As a graduate of ISU (on campus ABSN), I assure you the school is not a scam. It is a state university with over 10,000 campus based students. Like the PP have stated the issue was with the College Network. College Network provided study material for the various challenge tests for ISU's pre-requisites and people had issues with College Network's billing tactics (currently being sued). You were not required to use College Network, but people lumped the for-profit publisher in with the state university as being the same.

The California fiasco was caused by the requirement that in order to participate in a clinical in a hospital in the state of California, it must be instructed by a Cal. BRN approved school. Sonoma State (part of California State school system) was the school they contracted with and evidently there were issues that were going on that ISU wasn't aware of. Even with the issues, Sonoma State agreed to renew the contract, but the chancellor of Cal. State cancelled the contract renewal at the last minute and left the students in the program high and dry. Since ISU had no other California college to allow the students to finish their clinicals they utilized VA system (Federal hospital and not under the jurisdiction of the BRN). Several of the California students flew to Terre Haute during the summer of 2013 to finish their clinicals while I was going through school. The ISU campus instructors arranged for the hospitals to allow a condensed clinical schedule (maybe a week) to get those students' clinical hours completed. ISU went out of their way to get creative and get those students their degree.

**DISCLAIMER** I am not a graduate of ISU LPN-BSN program (I am a graduate of their campus based ABSN) and have no first hand knowledge of the LPN-BSN program. ISU is a quality school that is attempting to provide LPNs across the country a much needed direct track to their BSN. For the school, conducting a online nursing program can be logistic nightmares when you are dealing with all of the different state BON requirements for conducting clinicals in their state.

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Thank you so much for your responses! I figured it was just the college network that was making the bad taste in people's mouths. I do believe that I'm going to look into this school as my choice to continue my education.

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Specializes in Complex pedi to LTC/SA & now a manager.

Like I said your chances for success if you are self motivated and independent. If you need in person study groups and face to face contact, please reconsider distance education. Also check with the school that there are current local clinical sites accepting students. You won't be in a group; you will be 1:1 with a staff nurse preceptor. With distanced follow up from an ISU instructor.

Ask the nursing program to refer you to local alumni from the ISU LPN to BSN program so you can hear first hand the experiences and challenges.

Distance education is not for everyone but if it suits your style and budget then go for it!

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I'm considering online, but I'm going to bridge at my current school if I can afford the daycare for two kids 😑

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Specializes in Head & Neck Surgery.

No scam as I am a graduate of the ISU LPN-BSN program. I am currently working as an RN. The program was ideal for me as I worked full time as an LPN and was still able to accomplish my BSN. Best of luck!

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Specializes in ICU.

As a resident of Indiana, ISU is a great school as others have mentioned. My cc has a program with them where we can complete our ASN-BSN through them. They are a state college just like many in Virginia. They do offer one of the few LPN-BSN programs out there. You will have to check into the clinical component though. You may have to find your own clinical sites and I would know exactly what your state BON requires in regards to that. Just make sure you have all of your ducks in a row and stay away from The College Network. That place is an absolute scam. I saw an ad from them on Facebook the other day of how they can make you a RN in 16 months. There were so many people commenting on how they were going to go there despite the amount of people saying they had lost thousands of dollars with them and they do not issue degrees. It was crazy!!!

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What was the course delivery like?? Is it read the book and take the test? Are there any audio/visual lectures available? Thank you!

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Specializes in Head & Neck Surgery.

Hi JesscatRN, Yes, the majority was reading chapters and lecture notes from the professor in a format to take the test. There are discussion board questions (each week) and papers to write. The majority of coursework was writing papers in APA format. There were very few audio/visual lectures. I had a 3.80 GPA throughout the program and was able to take 2 courses at a time and work full-time. I think it depends on the individual. If you have any further questions, feel free to send me a message. Best of luck!

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