Best BA/BS/BSN option for a friend

[rebel100]

So I I'm mentoring this Nurse including education. She really needs a BSN and I'm looking for the most expedient and cheap option for that. I know we don't have a lot of experience with Nursing programs but I thought I would toss this out and see what you guys think.

Alternatively she could just finish the "quickest BS/BA" and then jump into a program like the MSN at WGU that doesn't require the undergrad to be a BSN. So looking for comment on that too. She has 154 credits, everyone of them at the lower level:

SPC 1600 Speech 3.0
ENC 1101 English Comp 3.0
ENC 1102 English Comp II

FRE 1000 Basic French 3.0
FRE 1100 Elementary French 3.0
FRE 1101 Elementary French (II) 3.0

AMH 2020 American History 3.0
POS 1041 US Government 3.0

HUM 2310 Mythology 3.0
HUM 2223 Late Roman MedV 3.0
HUM 2250 Humanities 20th Century 3.0

BSC 1010C Principles Biology w Lab 4.0
GEA Principals of Physical Geology 3.0
INT Lab Physical Geo 2.0
Intro to Oceanography 3.0
Intro to General Chemistry with lab 4.0
CHM 1045c General Chemistry 1 with Lab 4.0
MCB 2010c Microbiology with Lab 4.0
APB 2821c Anatomy and Physiology (1) with Lab 4.0
APB 2822c Anatomy and physiology (2) with Lab 4.0
HUN 1001 Basic Personal Nutrition 3.0


MAT1033 Int. Algebra 3.0
MAC 1104 College Algebra 3.0
MGF 2202 College Math 3.0

Emergency Medical Tech 9.0
Life Saving/Water Safety 1.0
Water Safety Instr. 2.0
PEM 1171 Dance Aerobics 2.0
MUN 1120 Stage Band 3.0
Chorus 1.0
MUN 1310 Concert Wind Ensemble
Saxophone 2.0

PSY 1012 Psychology 3.0
DEP 2004 Developmental Psych 3.0


MTB 1371 Dosage for HRP 3.0
NUR 1023c Nursing Fundamentals 10.0
NUR 1141 Pharm for HRP 1.0
NUR 1212c Nursing II Common 10.0
NUR 2460 Nursing Maternal 10.0
NUR 2730c Nursing Care Admin 10.00
NUR 2520 Nursing V 5.0
NUR 2810c Clinical Practicum 4.0

Total 154 credits

[dfrecore]

I'll chime in for TESU, with the "just get a degree" option.

I looked at 4 different degrees: the BALS, the BANSM, the BSBA in General Management and the BSBA in Hospital Healthcare Administration (I didn't even know they had one of those!).

The BALS will use 88cr, and should cost about $2676 to complete.

The BSNSM will use 76cr, and should cost around $3226 to complete, but that includes some UL CIS courses (DSST and CSU-G). Not sure how comfortable she'd be with that path, but I couldn't find enough UL science courses to take (only the study.com Microbiology & Pathophysiology courses - cheaper than the UExcel which are basically the same only exams instead of courses). If she wanted to take 3 UL science courses outside of those 2, that would work as well.

The BSBA in General Management will use 55cr, and should cost $2158.

BSBA in Hospital Healthcare Administration would use 55c, and would cost $3095 (those 6 $250 CSU-Global courses).

I can't attach the spreadsheets, but I can email them to you and you can let her see them and see if any of the options look good to her.
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As for WGU, the RN-to-BSN program looks good, and it's $3250. She would come in with a lot of the competencies already done. I would have her think about taking Stats through ALEKS first, along with SL's Sociology and Foundations of IT (I always try to get 2 courses out of them to get the cost per credit down), as well as (possibly) a Leadership course through CSU-Global, so that as many competencies will be done before she comes into the program. With it being timed, I would want to only spend time on courses I couldn't really get elsewhere for cheap.

Also remember that they will not let her bring in any courses after she has already enrolled, so she would want to do any courses she's thinking about BEFORE enrolling. She could apply and see where they put her credits, but definitely don't ENROLL until she's brought in all the credits she wants to.

I also think that if she got done early, they might let her start on the BSN-to-MSN path? Just a thought.

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I guess it depends on what she wants to do with her degree as to which path she should take. That part I can't help with, since I don't know which degrees will get you to which career paths.

[Leherself]

WGU also has an RN to MSN degree (combined undergraduate/graduate program) that might be worth looking into.

[dmjacobsen]

WGU also has an RN to MSN degree (combined undergraduate/graduate program) that might be worth looking into.

I would recommend this or, at the very least, going with WGU for the BSN. If she's highly motivated, WGU will likely be her fastest and cheapest route to the BSN (and the MSN). It's been some time since I've gone through WGU's nursing program details, but I'm pretty sure they still award the BSN during the course of the RN-to-MSN program.

As a nurse, I do not recommend getting just any degree and moving on to the MSN. If she's looking to get into an administration or education role with her employer, they may specifically require a BSN for that role. The MSN will fill that need, but it will be another year or two before she completes the MSN. There's really not going to be any significant advantage in getting just any BA/BS a few months faster than she would get the BSN.

[rebel100]

I think you guys are right, I was leaning towards a BSN, it's what she really needs. I think she should do BSN first, MSN after....of if they will award the BSN on the way that would be fine too. For her Clinical Nurse Ladder there is a jump for the bachelors and another jump for the masters.....having the BSN alone will mean promotional opportunities.

I think she may only need a communication course and statistics plus the UL nursing core...seems like she could knock out the first two right now then jump on the other two. I wonder if 6 months would be enough for all 10 of the core...that would be pretty cool.

[dfrecore]

Yes, the WGU BSN looks like the best bet for her. I would definitely see what courses she needs that she could easily take elsewhere (looked like Sociology & Stats for sure, and maybe Leadership and IT to me), and get those done prior to enrolling. I would definitely do ALEKS Stats immediately, before even enrolling, just to get that out of the way, since you know that's a requirement.

If it was me, I would do Stats first, then do a month at SL and knock out Soc & IT, especially if that ASH100 coupon is still working.

[dmjacobsen]

I wonder if 6 months would be enough for all 10 of the core...that would be pretty cool.

It will be a challenge, but it can definitely be done. She'll need to work with her mentor early on for a plan for the community health practicum in order to get enough contact hours in to hit that 6 month mark. If she lives in a regulated state (requiring face-to-face interaction with a preceptor for that course) it will be more difficult.

I second going with ALEKS for statistics. That's what I used to knock out my stats requirement, and it was much less of a headache than a traditional class, plus I was able to accelerate. I think I knocked out ALEKS stats in about a week.

[rebel100]

This is what I worked out for her as a completion program, does it all look right?:

WGU BSN Pathway RN to BSN Online | Bachelor of Science Nursing Degree Program | WGU College of Health Online (WGU Program Guide is attached to this email) courses you have already completed have strikethrough, they shouldn’t require you to take them.

I BELIEVE YOU NEED four (4) relatively easy to complete pre-admission courses as detailed below, and only 8 course from WGU to FINISH YOUR BSN.

I think you are fine even on the older science classes since you’ve been a nurse continually since taking them, but you SHOULD confirm that there isn’t any requirement regarding the age of old classes like A&P and Micro.

Rough cost is as follows: 4 courses to take prior to enrolling $450 or so, you can have them done in about 2 months. Fee’s to WGU $500, 6 months worth of time to complete remaining 8 courses $3250
Grand Total: approx. $4200….if you go over 6 months it will cost another $3250 or so for an additional 6 months, this is still pretty darn good!
All Nurses .com has a thread about this program here Western Governors All Nurses.com discussion link

WGU Requirements Standard Path BSN:
Advanced Standing for RN License 50 CU’s
Foundations of College Math 3 CU’s
English Comp 1 3 CU’s
A&P 1 4 CU’s
A&P 2 4 CU’s
Survey US Constitution/Gov. 3 CU’s
Intro to Humanities 3 CU’s
Microbiology 4 CU’s
Psychology 3 CU’s
Human Growth/Development 3 CU’s
Nutrition 3 CU’s
Bio-Chemistry 3CU’s (I think Chemistry 1 will satisfy this, but not sure)

To do list (before applying to WGU):
Intro to Sociology 3 CU’s CLEP exam $100-$115 Free CLEP and DSST Practice Tests - http://www.Free-Clep-Prep.com
Statistics 3 CU’s ALEKS $20/month till your done ALEKS Stats LINK
Effective Communications 3 CU’s SL $150 Straighterline Communications
Information Management and the Application of Technology $150 Straighterline SL intro to IT

BSN Core- take at WGU, self-paced:
Health Assessment 3 CU’s
Care of the Older Adult 3 CU’s
Professional Roles and Values 3 CU’s
Organizational Systems and Quality Leadership 3 CU’s
Community and Population Health 3 CU’s
Community Health and Population Field Experience 2 CU’s
Evidence Based Practice and Applied Research 3 CU’s
Leadership and Professional Image 2 CU’

[GoodYellowDogs]

There's a BSN program in Texas (Arlington) that everyone here is taking. Fast, cheap, and they are all enjoying it.

[rebel100]

There's a BSN program in Texas (Arlington) that everyone here is taking. Fast, cheap, and they are all enjoying it.

Must be this one? Online RN to BSN | University of Texas at Arlington Online

Be nice to have UT on the resume for sure...