College Network

caliotter3 · Jul 11, 2010

I have personal experience with this. The content material of the tests does not change that much over the years, nursing care of persons with cardiac problems remains pretty constant over the years and there are only so many ways you can word the questions about this area. So basically, you can get the basic content on nursing cardiac patients from that section in any med surg text. Likewise, the printed study guides, no matter who produces them (to the extent that the study guide is a good product to begin with). StudyGroup101 states that they update their material. I have read that Lisa Arends does not. And I know that The College Network puts different copyright dates on their study guides every so often. So, it is up to you what you want to buy to study from as far as distinguishing between something that has a date of "2008" versus a date of "2001". This goes the same way if you are comparing editions of standard textbooks. So, get the latest you can obtain, no matter what it is, and don't stress over it, is my advice. HTH

Hospice Nurse LPN, BSN, RN · Jul 14, 2010

I thought the College Network was the Indiana University LPN to BSN or LPN to RN programs. You are right though, they are a publishing company like RUE.

The rep will tell you that, but where I live (Louisiana) the BON does not recognize the degree. If anyone is interested in buying the College Network set of study materials let me know. I got suckered into buying them and never used it.

mocool · Jul 15, 2010

The rep will tell you that, but where I live (Louisiana) the BON does not recognize the degree. If anyone is interested in buying the College Network set of study materials let me know. I got suckered into buying them and never used it.

Thanks one of my friend was trying to go through college network

I will inform her about this challenges.

Nursesdoitwithcare · Jul 15, 2010

:hpygrp: thanks everybody for your words of wisdom, especially you otter. i've decided not to go through college network and deal directly with excelsior. also, i qualify for scholarships but will not be able to use my grant money for my adn; but could if i were pursuing my bsn. if anyone has any advice or updates feel free to pass it on, i'd love to read it!!!

ndragonfly · Jul 22, 2010

Don't use them!!!!! Unless you want to spend thousands of dollars for junk binders....just go straight through excelsior college or IU....that's where there degrees come from anyway. TCN is not a college just an over priced publishing company full of lies and empty promises!

SmartyRN · Jul 23, 2010

Hello I know this is an old post but was wondering. Did you complete the college network prgram?

caliotter3 · Jul 23, 2010

Completing The College Nework "program" consists of paying off the contract with The College Network. A better wording of the question might be, "Did you get a nursing degree from Excelsior College?" Good luck with the Excelsior College nursing program.

SmartyRN · Jul 23, 2010

Ok ok - so Im writing this everywhere I can.
FYI: You only have three days to back out of the tcn contract. Thats all. After three days, you're screwed. Not really - you can still do alright (I like the tcn guides I have).....but go find them on ebay and save yourself a few grand!!!!
Vida:smackingf

Hello Vida, Maybe I am posting to different places with the same question but I was wondering how did the college network work out for you since it is now three years later?

JDavis2009 · Oct 20, 2010

I'm really surprised by all the negative press about college network... I started their RN program last year and have had nothing but great experiences.

I don't know what "cheap binders" you are talking about because all of the modules are now offered through an easy to use website and I have easily been able test out of my classes in about 4 wks of studying. I would also warn anyone looking to buy cn material or any other educational material through places like ebay as itmay be out of date or incomplete. One of the main reasons i didn't enroll directly with Excelsior was because of the many MANY books you have to buy for each of the courses.. i would much rather pay a little more for one all-inclusive module so that i don't have to study a billion textbooks and so that I can finish the program faster and earn my RN. We all know the huge pay increases from PN to RN and getting your RN license even a month quicker means one more month of RN salary that I wouldnt otherwise have. Also, excelsior doesn't offer the NCLEX prep course that college network does --it was developed with the NLN so, you know its legit.

It may not be for "everybody" but its worked great for me and its definitely not a scam.

mochasouter · Oct 25, 2010

I am doing tcn right now and I like it. Everything you need in 1 binder. I also purchased the studygroup 101 cds off of ebay but it has pretty much the same info that is in the binder. About 4 weeks for the 1st module H & S. Getting ready to start transitions.

BRITT_LVN22 · Nov 13, 2010

I just had a meeting with a representative from The College Network. The program seemed great...I dont know why everyone would have a problem with it....yes it was very expensive. I want to go for my BSN through Indiana State. I live in Southern California...is there anyone that has completed the program for BSN and passed the NCLEX? I dont know what my other options are that are in the same price range that I could do online. I was going to go through the junior college but its going to take so long with all the pre reqs I have to do!! If anyone has any advice I would sure appreciate it!!

caliotter3 · Nov 13, 2010

The advice you will get from others is to leave TCN out of the equation. You do not need to pay them any money to complete the ISU program. You can obtain the study materials elsewhere for a fraction of the cost or you can get your own study materials for free or again, at low cost.