State changing rules while in midst of Excelsior...

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I am an Oklahoma LPN, and very excited to begin the program with Excelsior via Rue. I have spoken with our Board of Nursing and she said right now that when I complete the program that I only have to do 30hrs preceptorship in pysch and 30 hours in Maternity. Then I am eligible to sit for the boards. She said there is "no guarantee that in three years that I could still do that". I am not planning on it taking me three years to finish, so do you think it risky to start this college? She said there is a lot of concern with the lack of clinical experience with this route of education. But she said as of now there are no plans to change the requirements. Makes me kinda nervous...if I was in the midst of it and they decided not to accept Excelsior would they start that right then or allow the students in the midst of it to continue and still sit for the boards? has that ever happened before?

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When CA changed its rules to get rid of Excelsior as a route to RN, it grandfathered in people who were already enrolled or who enrolled by Dec. 5, 2003. Excelsior itself changes it's rules over time, so that is why I encourage people not to drag their feet when they choose Excelsior. Your post sounds like you have already enrolled, so you have met the Oct. 1, 2007 deadline for Excelsior's latest changes to the program. Good luck to you.

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I would go for it without wasting any time. One of the advantages of the Excelsior program is that you can "hurry up" when you need to do so. No guarantees about being able to sit for boards at any point in the future, but like caliotter3, I find it reassuring that even in California (the site of the most ugly, drawn-out legal battle involving EC) they grandfathered enrolled students.

When it comes to jobhunting and such, if you're an LPN with 3 years under your belt, I think you'll find that the lack of school clinical experience won't be much of a hindrance to you. As someone who was a medic and not a nurse, I got some questions and doubts, but still landed my first-choice position.

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I find it reassuring that even in California (the site of the most ugly, drawn-out legal battle involving EC) they grandfathered enrolled students.

Caliotter3

When CA changed its rules to get rid of Excelsior as a route to RN, it grandfathered in people who were already enrolled or who enrolled by Dec. 5, 2003.

You folks can't take CA's example as reassurance. Not all states reacted in the same way.

After CA's decision, Kansas jumped on the CA bandwagon but had no plan in place as to what they were going to do.

They were totally disorganized in their haste to copycat CA.

They simply stopped issuing licenses and allowing people to take the NCLEX, leaving many people in limbo caught in the crossfire for months before they finally came to a decision.

There were people who just graduated or were about to do so, suddenly put on hold until they got their act together and actually made some concrete rulings.

They loosened up once they realized that their state had a significant number of people who were already told by the KS BNE that they would be eligible for licensure at the time they enrolled but I find it scary that it happened in the first place.

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What kind of changes are happening in Excelsior after October?

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Specializes in Level III cardiac/telemetry.

I'm in Oklahoma , considering going through Excelsior if TCC doesn't get my transcript stuff straightened out. Is there anything on the internet that clarifies what Oklahoma requires of you if you go through this program? If I go this route, I plan to do it is less than a year.

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The website for Excelsior is http://www.excelsior.edu. They address their upcoming Oct. 1, 2007 curriculum changes there. Essentially, there will be one added test and an added clinical experience. Major revamp. Aside from the added cost of attending another clinical experience with its requisite trip to a testing center, most people admit that the present CPNE is challenging enough without having to go through one of these "hands on" observed experiences twice, with twice the opportunity for failure. It only makes sense that people make their decision and enroll prior to Oct. 1, 2007 so that they come under the present rules. I have been making this recommendation as long as I've known about the changes. I also recommend that people visit the Excelsior site, download the School of Nursing catalog, and read all of the pertinent info there. Many questions can be answered by dealing directly with their website. I also recommend that people do not procrastinate once in the program. Sometimes when Excelsior makes changes to their program, they do not grandfather the people already in the program so they become subject to the new rules also. It is good that the OP says she/he is planning on completing the program in less than a year. They will be saving money and aggravation. Every year there is an enrollment continuation fee of $450, the cost of procrastination. The only time that problem is beyond the control of the student is waiting for a CPNE date once they are eligible and have sent in their packet. The school states that the processing/waiting time is currently running 4 -6 months. A far cry from many years ago, when I remember reading about a student who finished the program from start to finish in 7 months. Good luck to the OP.

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