Online or campus education

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I graduated with my ADN. Now I want to further my education and go into a bachelor's program. I started to look into online programs, to be specific University of Phoenix. I have been discouraged by some people including my best friend. They tell me this would not be equivalent to say going to UCLA. I would love to be able to not do it online, but it's more convenient at this point in my life. The closest school to me is about an hour away without traffic. Online would be perfect because I want to be able to work and still have a family. My question is would it hurt me in my future to have a bachelors's and possibly later a master's degree from an online school.:uhoh3:

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Specializes in Nursing Professional Development.

Why not go to an online program that is a part of a "brick and mortar" university? That way, you get the best of both worlds. You get the convenience of the online format/scheduling ... with the "reputation and prestige" of the well-established and respected traditional university. A lot of major universities now offer online versions of the BSN completion programs. It's no longer a matter of "either-or" completely.

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I agree- like for instance, I live in Ohio. OSU (very good school) has an online BSN.

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I would go along with the first reply.by going with a brick and motor univertsy you are getting a better education and one that has a better reputation then a career school like you mentioned.

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I agree with the other posters. Univ of Phoenix is expensive too from what I hear. I graduated with my ASN and was accepted to a state school - 100% online program to work toward my BSN and the tuition is under $4000.

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Specializes in ER, OR, PACU, TELE, CATH LAB, OPEN HEART.

Schools like U Phoenix, Walden, Chamberlain are in it for money. They are "FOR PROFIT" businesses. Also, some programs are not recognized by some state boards of nursing, or other colleges and universities if you want to go on for a graduate degree.

However, many traditional Universities have started online programs for licenssed RNs to complete a BSN. If like me you have a Bachelor's in a field other than nursing you won't have many prerequisites to complete. Also, so feel that if you are a licensed, practicing RN you do not need to do the clinical component that is required for the BSN.

Do some research, there are many programs available. Just be sure to compare and contrast programs and be sure they meet your needs and that your state board of nursing recognize graduates from the program you choose.

Good Luck.

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Specializes in CT stepdown, hospice, psych, ortho.

Several great schools do online Rn-BSN. UNC Chapel Hill is one. PS If you think you might want to go even further, look into doing a RN-MSN. Usually the bridge is 10 courses or less, probably less than what you'd end up doing in a traditional BSN program. Check out University of Southern Alabama. I've been eyeing them for a doctorate after I finish up my FNP MSN at Gonzaga. I almost wish I had found them first - BSN-DNP in 3 years full time. Not that I really wanted my DNP (PhD was a dream of mine) but since the NPs are going that way in 2015 anyhow, might as well get on the boat.

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Specializes in Health Information Management.

I firmly agree with the other posters. Phoenix is costly and there have been numerous issues with for-profit online schools pressuring and advising people against their interests in order to better the profit margin. Many, many traditional universities offer online programs in a broad variety of fields. I'm completing an online program through a state university in the midwest and the experience has been excellent. I attended a traditional university during my first round of college and my online courses have been comparable in quality to my traditional courses. The discussions in my online courses have actually been better, because more people have been willing to participate - the classes haven't ended up with the same three or four people dominating the debate, as was often the case in my traditional courses. I advise you to investigate online options from traditional schools before you commit to Phoenix.

As for the degree having been achieved through online means - to me, that's actually another reason to get the degree through a traditional school via an online program. If you get the degree through Phoenix, anyone who looks at it will know it was an online degree. While the prejudice against online programs overall is swiftly declining, the prejudice against the schools perceived as diploma mills seems to be on the rise. Correctly or not (and there are arguments on both sides of that issue), Phoenix is seen as a diploma mill. My degree from my state university isn't going to say "Online Bachelor of Science Degree," it's going to say "Bachelor of Science Degree," the same as the diploma of a graduate from my school who completed the program by traditional means.

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Congratulations on making the decision to further your education and career. As for online schools, I say if you think it is for you, go for it. I have taken many classes online and I found that I greatly prefer it to traditional classes. I have a young child at home and this allows me to study at my leisure.

However I agree with the other posters who are cautioning you away from Univ. of Phoenix and other schools like them. Even if some students enjoy these schools many employers take a dim view of them. Currently these schools may lose their ability to offer students federal loans/funding due to their students' high default rates on loans. Fronline did an excellent expose of these schools. Look up www.pbs.org and then search for Frontline. I think the name of the program was something like "For Profit Schools."

Many traditional schools do offer online bridge programs where you can do your clinical hours at your current facility. Other posters have given you excellent choices. Some schools like Penn State confer the exact same degree to their online students as they do to their trditional students. This gives you the option of disclosing the fact that you earned this degree online to future emloyers or not as you wish. Good Luck.

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You should have a few options for going from RN to BSN. They say that some HR managers are starting to develop a better opinion of schools like Univ. of Phoenix, but I still don't advise going to that type of school. Keep researching. I do know that Cal State Domingues Hills has a RN to BSN program and i think the whole thing is online. Here's the link. Best of luck!

http://www.csudh.edu/cps/son/bsn/

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One of the advantages of getting your degree online, is that you can continue to work while completing your degree. I completely agree that you need to be a little more selective about choosing which program you attend. Even an out of state online program will allow you to do your clinical hours in your area. I am from Indiana and have some experience with the LPN to BSN and RN to BSN program at Indiana State University. Look it up, they are a very reputable University and have a great program at a reasonable rate. ISU Nursing online

I hope this helps and gives you yet another option to go forward with your degree. Best of luck!

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Specializes in Emergency, Trauma, Critical Care.

While all schools are technically for-profit. There are many online options (RN to BSN) through state programs that are much cheaper. I'm not sure where you are located. But as another poster said CSU Dominguez Hills.

If I was not already in an RN to BSN program, I would do Western Governors University because it appears to be aimed at finishing on your schedule. It's cheaper the quicker you finish, but if you need more time, you can have it. It's CCNE accredited and as far as online programs go, the price really isn't that bad. I sound like an info-mercial. :rolleyes: That would be my next option.

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