Why is there a 7 year limit on prerequisites for nursing?

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Had a hopefully easy question but wanted a full answer, I have taken ANATOMY, PHYSIOLOGY, and MICROBIOLOGY at CALSTATE LA around 10-12 years ago, I have been a EMT for the last 10 years in the hospital system. Wanted to know why some schools but not all require PREREQUISITES to be within 7 years? My GPA is 3.8 in the classes and there at a university, i find it unethical that a college would place these barriers on nursing for no apparent reason or benefit. Seems more like a money hungry move since not all schools are doing this. Also there is no other degree or field of study, like ENGINEERING, where this requirement is being made. Could someone please justify this or give me a answer they think the schools would give? Also what legal ramifications do i have to fight this?

If you want to sue your school just do it. We don’t have to justify nursing schools rationale for program requirements, that’s not our job. You asked us what we THOUGHT schools would say the reason was and now you don’t like the answers and want us to back it up with evidence? You clearly have some issues with how things are so do something about it.

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Nursing schools are a business, the same way all colleges are a business. It’s the same way that one school may require an undergrad gpa of a 3.5 and others might require a 3.0, it’s supply and demand and up to the schools to determine what requirements they require applicants to have. If you are applying to a program that has high application volume and there are many schools in your area they can pick what their requirements are. As many of us have said there are schools that don’t have any expiration date, find one like that by you.

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Specializes in ED.
5 hours ago, mdwatkins13 said:

1. Nursing is the only degree that has a time requirement attached to it. No other major can claim this.

False, many healthcare degree programs have this requirement. University of Washington pharmacy program, University of North Carolina school of medicine, Duke physical therapy program. Also, Evergreen college masters of environmental studies. This requirement is not unique to nursing, it is found in many healthcare degree programs.


You are thinking of nursing like any other field of study, but it isnt. If I want to to obtain a degree in art history or ecology I could do so without ever doing more than signing up for the required classes. That is not how nursing programs operate, you have to apply to be accepted into a program. Because their is no national standard for nursing program entrance requirements each school is able to set their own requirements, which can and do include the time period in which you need to have taken certain prerequisite courses. The difference in this time frame from school to school comes down to individual institution autonomy.

You have zero grounds to seek legal action, you have sustained no damages, you have even stated that there are schools which do not have this "money hungry" requirement.

On 8/3/2019 at 9:33 PM, mdwatkins13 said:

Wanted to know why some schools but not all require PREREQUISITES to be within 7 years?

There is nothing stopping you from applying to a school that doesn't have this requirement, many students move cities or even states to attend nursing school.

You can be angry, entitled, and stomp your feet all day, but in the end you know what will be required of you to gain admission to a nursing program, these are the hoops you are required to jump through. No frivolous lawsuit or demanding evidence from strangers on the internet will change that. I understand that it can feel frustrating having to retake classes, money and time don't grow on trees. But litigation is not the answer, if this is a career you are truly passionate about you should put your head down, jump through the hoops and do what you need to do. It will be very worth it in the end.

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Specializes in Medsurg.
13 hours ago, MotoMonkey said:

Prerequisite courses form the foundation of knowledge which nursing classes are built on. Having prerequisites which expire is a schools way of setting you up to succeed by ensuring you have a current base of knowledge to build on, and its also protection for the school. They don't want to admit a student who will struggle to keep up and may not finish.

You likely have zero grounds to fight this legally and would likely be wasting your time and money as well as the schools.

I would suggest that you talk with prospective schools and see if they have waivers for this kind of thing, or ask about challenging the classes if you think that your knowledge is still current enough to pass.

Lastly, the majority of other fields of study do not require prerequisites, you simply declare your major and go about your business, therefore no one is looking at the age of your credits. Though I am sure that if you wanted to study computer science and the majority of your foundational courses were taken 12 years ago, an advisor would STRONGLY recommend you retake those courses so that you would have a chance to succeed in your studies.

That's the answer in a nutshell. @ OP nursing school is going to be one of the most difficult things in your life. Having a stronger base on the fundamentals can only help you and not hurt you. Trust the nurses that is giving you advice.

Now algebra on the other hand

whitney-point-bitchplease.gif
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10 hours ago, mdwatkins13 said:

3. If you can make a time requirement on course work, you can make a time requirement on degrees. Do you want to take your major classes again after 5 or 7 years bc you forgot the classes or things have changed?

Degrees don't expire, complete classes don't expire, nursing schools making up their own rules on expiration dates of course work and refusing to accept state approved and regulated college course work runs foul of state mandates on colleges. The fact that no one questions this sickens me, can't wait till your nursing school sends you a letter telling you your nursing degree is expiring in 5 years and see how that feels.

Why the different time periods for expiration?

While degrees don’t expire, MANY fields require continuing education credits to be taken after a certain number of years. Additionally, something like CPR certification needs to be repeated every few years, are you going to complain about this also? They have these requirements so one stays current in information that changes over time and in areas that are essential for one to do their job. While schools are regulated by the government as far as providing students with proper education, there is no such criteria for admissions requirements. I work for an online division of a brick and mortar state school, that program required that students applying to the masters in social work program have 250 hours of volunteer work in the field in order to be admitted, recently I switched to working at a different online division of a different brick and mortar state school’s MSW program and they do not have this requirement. Each school can deem their own entrance requirements.

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Specializes in Adult Primary Care.
5 hours ago, MotoMonkey said:

False, many healthcare degree programs have this requirement. University of Washington pharmacy program, University of North Carolina school of medicine, Duke physical therapy program. Also, Evergreen college masters of environmental studies. This requirement is not unique to nursing, it is found in many healthcare degree programs.


You are thinking of nursing like any other field of study, but it isnt. If I want to to obtain a degree in art history or ecology I could do so without ever doing more than signing up for the required classes. That is not how nursing programs operate, you have to apply to be accepted into a program. Because their is no national standard for nursing program entrance requirements each school is able to set their own requirements, which can and do include the time period in which you need to have taken certain prerequisite courses. The difference in this time frame from school to school comes down to individual institution autonomy.

You have zero grounds to seek legal action, you have sustained no damages, you have even stated that there are schools which do not have this "money hungry" requirement.

There is nothing stopping you from applying to a school that doesn't have this requirement, many students move cities or even states to attend nursing school.

You can be angry, entitled, and stomp your feet all day, but in the end you know what will be required of you to gain admission to a nursing program, these are the hoops you are required to jump through. No frivolous lawsuit or demanding evidence from strangers on the internet will change that. I understand that it can feel frustrating having to retake classes, money and time don't grow on trees. But litigation is not the answer, if this is a career you are truly passionate about you should put your head down, jump through the hoops and do what you need to do. It will be very worth it in the end.

This 100%.

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Specializes in PeriOp, ICU, PICU, NICU.

Good Lord! Suing the school? That is a little extreme. No one is stopping you from applying to other programs. If and when you graduate nursing school, you will be in for the shock of the lifetime. I hate to point it out, but it will be a very difficult transition for you and you might not survive with that attitude.

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Specializes in Addictions, Psych.

Degrees don't expire, complete classes don't expire, nursing schools making up their own rules on expiration dates of course work and refusing to accept state approved and regulated college course work runs foul of state mandates on colleges. The fact that no one questions this sickens me, can't wait till your nursing school sends you a letter telling you your nursing degree is expiring in 5 years and see how that feels.

Fun fact -- one nursing school is not required to take nursing credits from another college. There was an issue in my city where one of the nursing programs lost accreditation and any coursework that wasn't a prerequisite was worthless. Students had to re-apply to other colleges and start from Nursing 101.

Second fun fact -- some people don't use FAFSA. I don't. "Government funds" to pay for classes have nothing to do with anything. I pay cash. Credits have nothing to do with where the money is coming from.

Third fun fact -- if you're so convinced you have a case for damages, why bother asking what legal recourse you have to begin with? Call a lawyer.

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Specializes in Addictions, Psych.

Silly question: if you're so convinced that your A&P/Micro credits should be accepted, would you be able to pass any sort of proficiency examination, proving that you've retained everything you learned 12 years ago?

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Specializes in Medsurg.
1 hour ago, WhaleTails said:

Silly question: if you're so convinced that your A&P/Micro credits should be accepted, would you be able to pass any sort of proficiency examination, proving that you've retained everything you learned 12 years ago?

Some schools will allow you to take a comprehensive exam to see if you still know the information. Thats a option he has too. I do think he should retake it though

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Specializes in Addictions, Psych.
3 minutes ago, Snatchedwig said:

Some schools will allow you to take a comprehensive exam to see if you still know the information. Thats a option he has too. I do think he should retake it though

I definitely agree that it should be retaken -- I'm genuinely wondering if he believes it's feasible.

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Specializes in Medsurg.
Just now, WhaleTails said:

I definitely agree that it should be retaken -- I'm genuinely wondering if he believes it's feasible.

Who knows what hes thinking now after reading our response. Nursing school is such an experience where you may wish you had more tools to succeed. Having a strong ground in these prereqs only help

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