Additional Requirements for Nursing Students

1. First-year applicants to the nursing program are strongly advised to have completed one year of high school chemistry and two years of high school mathematics, with a grade of “C” or above in each class.
2. First-year applicants who plan to major in nursing should have an ACT composite score of 22 or above.
3. Applicants must successfully complete the Kaplan Admission Test (KAT). Please contact the Office of Admission for current passing scores. Passing scores are determined by the nursing faculty each year. Admission, progression, curriculum, and graduation policies of the pre-licensure track are subject to change in order to comply with the requirements of the current Illinois Nursing and Advanced Practice Nursing Act, Rules for the Administration of Nursing and Advanced Practice Nursing Act, and The Essentials of Baccalaureate Education for Professional Nursing Practice (American Association of Colleges of Nursing, 2008).
4. Students must receive a grade of “C”  or higher in required science courses to progress to the next semester in the program. Students who receive only one failing grade in a science (C-, D, F, or W) will be allowed to repeat that course once. Science theory courses and science labs are counted as separate classes. Upon a second failed science course, or if the student fails or withdraws from both theory and lab during the semester, the student will be notified that he/she has been academically dismissed from the nursing major. A student may repeat a required general education support course in which they earn a “C-”, “D”, “F”, or “W” only once and if the student does not earn a minimum of a “C” on the second attempt he/she will be academically dismissed from the nursing major. Dismissal from the College of Nursing and Health Professions does not necessarily result in dismissal from the University.
5. Prior to entering clinical courses, every pre-licensure College of Nursing and Health Professions student must complete a disclosure form, similar to the disclosure required by the Illinois Department of Finance and Professional Regulation in the application for licensure as an RN, and meet requirements of clinical agency.
6. Every pre-licensure nursing student must have completed a physical examination form and received the required immunizations. Yearly drug screenings, background checks, and flu shots must be completed every consecutive fall semester and prior to entering Sophomore II clinical courses. A student must have no findings on an FBI fingerprint criminal background check in regards to misdemeanors or felonies in order to be placed in a clinical agency.
7. Every College of Nursing and Health Professions student is subject to the College’s Chemical Impairment Policy.