ISU LVN to BSN program California

Nursing Students Indiana (ISU)

Published

ISU has two distant learning LVN to BSN programs. One is for California LVNs and the other is for non-California LPN students. While the programs are similar there are some differences.

1. The Calif BON has placed a limit on the amount of nursing classes that Calif ISU LVN to BSN students can take during a semester. Other states have no restrictions and non-Calif students would matriculate through the program and graduate faster than Calif students;

2. California ISU students are also students of Sanoma State University and must pay an extra fee to Sanoma State; ISU issues the diploma but Sanoma State is the qualifying university that will sign the paperwork for the Calif BON;

3. Lastly, TCN has one employee--the Sanoma State liaison--who deals with the paperwork and another person who is responsible for arranging the Calif clinical facilities and getting the paperwork signed.

This thread has been started to address the issues that California ISU LPN to BSN students or potential students are facing. Have questions about the California ISU LVN to BSN program, feel free to share.

True. is authorized by the Calif BON as a prelicensure to BSN program. One must have an associates or bachelors degree to apply.; it is not a distant learning program. The only distant learning program authorized by the Calif BON is the ISU LVN-to-BSN program.

Specializes in Hospice / Ambulatory Clinic.
The WGU prelicensure BSN program has been up and running in southern CA since 2009. You do not have to be an LVN to be accepted, CNA will do, as well as other healthcare occupations. Two benefits of the WGU program are that they have clinical placements arranged by the school and the cost is very reasonable. It remains $4250 for six months of enrollment.

Actually the tuition is even cheaper than that. My husband is enrolled for their management degree and tuition was $2,890 for the first 6 months I believe it's the same for all of the degrees.

EDIT stand corrected the nursing program is more but still cheap as chips

ladyinscrubs.... I have been reading your post about how hard the assessment and tranistion class was. I made the June 1st deadline and I am waiting for my acceptance letter for the fall to start. I have a new born and a 2 yr old and was thinking about taking both these classes this fall. However, after reading your post im scared it might be too much. I do live in CA and I already know it will be longer because of us only taking one clinical course at a time :(. I was hoping you can give me your opinion on what i should do. Will both these classes be wayyy to much???

the wgu prelicensure bsn program has been up and running in southern ca since 2009. you do not have to be an lvn to be accepted, cna will do, as well as other healthcare occupations. two benefits of the wgu program are that they have clinical placements arranged by the school and the cost is very reasonable. it remains $4250 for six months of enrollment.

http://www.wgu.edu/tuition_financial_aid/tuition

tuition rates and fees:

as of may 1, 2009

nursing programs (msn and bsn): $3,250 per term

b.s. nursing (prelicensure): $4,250 per term

mba programs: $3,250 per term

business bachelor’s programs: $2,890 per term

information technology degrees: $2,890 per term

all teachers college programs: $2,890 per term

library fee: $45 per term

application fee: $65

special fees:

(apply to select programs)

  • science lab fee: $350 (one time)
    individuals pursuing either of the science bachelor’s degrees or science master’s degrees that require a home science lab will be assessed this one-time charge (billed separately along with the first term’s tuition).
  • consolidated nursing program fee: $350 (one time)
    individuals pursuing a nursing degree will be assessed a one-time charge (billed separately along with the first term's tuition).

california state universities & community colleges charge far less a semester or quarter than ..but again, there is a waiting list. community colleges are less than calif state universities, but again there is a waiting list and you only get an adn.

what is apparent is those of us who are seeking a nursing education, we are paying a good deal of money for that degree--despite the demand for nurses is down and jobs difficult to obtain, especially new grads.

ladyinscrubs.... i have been reading your post about how hard the assessment and tranistion class was. i made the june 1st deadline and i am waiting for my acceptance letter for the fall to start. i have a new born and a 2 yr old and was thinking about taking both these classes this fall. however, after reading your post im scared it might be too much. i do live in ca and i already know it will be longer because of us only taking one clinical course at a time :(. i was hoping you can give me your opinion on what i should do. will both these classes be wayyy to much???

every student is different and has different circumstances. there are those who finished both courses who not only worked but also had families with little ones. as for me, i worked hard and studied hours every day and found the program challenging. what you are up against is you are actually enrolling three classes. the assessment class is fairly straight forward and you need to study to pass the exams. each section will require you to write a soap regarding your assessment. i think there were two assessment papers: one adult and one child. the real push is the assessment video at the end of the program.

the transition class is not only a transition but also a pharm class. while you are learning how to write in the apa format you will have to write two papers--one is a cultural paper and the other is an general apa paper. you will be tested on what you read in the transition book as well as the pharm book. you will also be required to purchase the my nursing lab (mnl) for the pharmacology for nurses: a pathophysiologic approach (if this is the book they are using next semester). if you buy a book without the mnl and only has the my nursing kit (mnk) access code, you will be required to buy the pearson my nursing lab access code from the pearson website. cost is the same whether your buy the book with the mnk and the mnl access codes or buy it from pearson.

the pearson mnl pharm book is challenging. there are between 4-7 mln and book chapters assigned each week and you must do the mnl study program and pass the tests. sounds easy until you actually get into pearson's mnl. plus you have class quizzes, tests, and exams. if you can, study ahead over the summer. btw the process of enrolling into pearson's mnl can be a problem. enroll in the lab early because if you have problems it can take weeks to get the problem solved.

there are weekly blackboard blogs. for those blogs, you will have to research, show citations, and post on blackboard. you will have to reply to two of your classmates' weekly blogs, also.

i would have taken only one course the first semester had i known. it is your choice. if you are going to start fall 2011, get the books and start reading/outlining the chapters. take the book's chapter exams and go to the book's freee my nursing kit website and use that study guide as well as take the end of chapter exams. all the exams have rationales and i made(mnk). here you will find a free website devoted to chapter questions and rationales that can be used for a study guide. many of the questions in the book, on mynursinglab and mynusingkit were on the test--but that does not mean they will be next semester.

if you like, i can send you a copy of the semester's syllibus for the last class. this may give you an idea what to expect. send me a email or private message. btw make friends with your calif fall 2011 cohort group because this is the person(s) you can complaint to, whose shoulder you can cry on, and someone you can discuss question/problems with. i had two. both of them did not live close to me but with im, emails, and telephone calls exchanged we became friends. sometimes being a dl student can be isolating.

the books are available now through the isu bookstore. go to the bookstore, get the names of the books and edition, and compare prices with such companies as amazon.

thank you so much for your reply!!! :) i would love to look at the syllabus.. my email is [email protected]!! thank you so much again!!!!:)

Specializes in Hospice / Ambulatory Clinic.
http://www.wgu.edu/tuition_financial_aid/tuition

tuition rates and fees:

as of may 1, 2009

nursing programs (msn and bsn): $3,250 per term

b.s. nursing (prelicensure): $4,250 per term

mba programs: $3,250 per term

business bachelor's programs: $2,890 per term

information technology degrees: $2,890 per term

all teachers college programs: $2,890 per term

library fee: $45 per term

application fee: $65

special fees:

(apply to select programs)

  • science lab fee: $350 (one time)
    individuals pursuing either of the science bachelor's degrees or science master's degrees that require a home science lab will be assessed this one-time charge (billed separately along with the first term's tuition).
  • consolidated nursing program fee: $350 (one time)
    individuals pursuing a nursing degree will be assessed a one-time charge (billed separately along with the first term's tuition).

california state universities & community colleges charge far less a semester or quarter than wgu..but again, there is a waiting list. community colleges are less than calif state universities, but again there is a waiting list and you only get an adn.

what is apparent is those of us who are seeking a nursing education, we are paying a good deal of money for that degree--despite the demand for nurses is down and jobs difficult to obtain, especially new grads.

each term is 6 months so you are both correct in this issue. i wasn't aware though that the diatic portion was in person so i stand corrected. my husband degree is entirely online for business but anyways i think we are distracting from the main topc.

what i want to know about isu in california is how the clinicals work as that was the issue that turned me off.

ttp

what i want to know about isu in california is how the clinicals work as that was the issue that turned me off. ttp

as to clinicals, i will have to defer to someone who has actually taken the clinicals.

from what i understand, california has many nursing programs--cna, lvn, rn, bsn and masters. because the calif bon requires a certain amount of clinical hours for each program, hospitals prefer those nursing programs with an onsite teacher/professor from the school who oversees a maximum of 12 students. i can understand their issues because the college/university teacher is responsible for the students. when there is no teacher on site, i.e., distant learning, the liability rests squarely on the facility. further, the schools are in competition with each other for clinical time. this issue was recently addressed by a colorado community college, which recently stopped its adn program. the community college found that hospitals were giving preference to bsn programs, and it was too difficult to find clinicals for the 2 year degree program.

in so. cal, i can count at least 17 community colleges or universities within 35 miles of my home. over the years, so cal has seen a number of hospitals close, and the competition for clinical space is fierce. i would imagine in the san fran area the problem is the same. however, there are clinical sites. the big cities pose a problem, according to isu. small acute care hospitals are easier to place students.

i would prefer my clinicals in the closest facility to my home. however, i prefer distant learning. if necessary, i am prepared to drive to obtain a clinical site. i am not thrilled but for me there is no other alternative since distant learning is my only option.

i, like you, would like input from those who have done their calif isu clinicals and what their experiences are/were.

LadyinScrubs, you are awesome! thanks for taking time to help others by giving us this info. you Rock!:rckn:

i made the june 1st deadline and i am waiting for my acceptance letter for the fall to start.

keep in touch and let us know when you get your ltr from the dl isu lvn to bsn program.

Info on ISU distant learning and the ATI comprehensive assessment AND review program (carp) exams. The FAQ's and policy can be found at:

http://www.indstate.edu/nursing/programs/testing/ati-exams.htm

ladyinscrubs, you're a dynamo. and you basically just solved allllllllllllllll my problems when you posted the link to that lpn training program site! so, washington state now does accept an isu online bsn...i'd seen a couple of posts where people had copied the email they received from isu, and washington wasn't on the list of states that accepted that degree. which i thought was odd, since oregon and california (the most persnickety state) do. my problem has been that i've been trying to find a program that's easier to get into initially (the adn bridge programs are really tough, as i'm sure you know- i just got rejected for this fall)... and program that's also accepted by the cali bon, since i intend to end up in big sur. but in the interim i'd wanted to live in seattle for a few years. i was worried that i'd have issues with isu in washington, but that link just helped a lot! and you're right, the wa bon is not a very user-friendly site.

so do you think isu is worth it? i don't think that completing the prereqs (phase i) will be too hard for me, except for statistics, but i'll probably take that a real live school. i've done about 75% of that stuff already and the rest i think will be pretty easy for me.

how is phase ii?

i read what you wrote about phase iii, only taking one course at a time. does a course take a whole semester? if so, how long do you estimate it will take you to finish? how do the clinicals work? can you just do them at your job or do you have to find specific sites and preceptors?

thank you so much for your feedback and help. i'm sure i'm not alone in being so grateful for this information!

sorry, i have no idea what washington state will accept. for washington state you need to go to their bon. i can only discuss isu and california. you got the info mixed up. someone was asking about various distant learning programs. there was a discussion aobut a washington state college that has a dl rn program, but it is not approved in calif.

+ Add a Comment