Admission to Professional Pathways

This path is designed for students waiting to start nursing core courses at the technical school. Students will be eligible to apply for financial aid at Viterbo, so long as the student is not taking courses at any other institution and has not applied for aid elsewhere.

The following program requirements must be completed and a Professional Pathway’s Verification form must be approved by the Associate Dean of the student’s respective nursing program. Students are required to:

• Complete Anatomy and Physiology and either Advanced Anatomy and Physiology or Microbiology, with a minimum grade of “C” in both courses
• Complete 15 credits of general education requirements, including: Written Communication, Speech, Sociology, Psychology, & Developmental Psych, with a minimum 2.25 GPA
• Maintain a minimum 2.25 GPA throughout the program

Admission (BSN completion)

• To be admitted to the BSN Completion program, applicants must have an Associate Degree in Nursing (ADN) or a Registered Nurse Diploma from a regionally accredited college or technical school. Also, students must show documentation of an active U.S. registered nurse license prior to beginning the second session of nursing courses in the program.  
• Students will be considered for admission as long as they have a cumulative grade point average of at least 2.25 on a 4.00 scale.

Policy (BSN completion)

• Up to 38 credits of lower division nursing credits will be awarded to the BSN Completion program student who has graduated from a community college, vocational/technical school, or diploma program.
• Students must take a minimum of 13 credits of nursing courses through Viterbo’s BSN Completion program. All nursing courses transferred, are subject to a review of the syllabus and approval of the program chair. The courses are those completed after the ADN or a Registered Nurse Diploma program from a regionally accredited college or technical school.
• A student who does not maintain a 2.5 cumulative grade point average in nursing courses may not be permitted to progress in nursing designated courses until the grade point average is re-established at 2.5.
• A student who receives a grade of “CD” or below in a nursing course is placed on probation and must earn grades of “C” or better in any repeated courses in all remaining non-concurrent nursing courses. Failure to do so will result in dismissal from the nursing program.
• A non-probationary student who earns a “D” or “F” in a nursing course may be given the opportunity to repeat the course the following semester (if the course is offered). The student will only be permitted to take another nursing course pending development of an academic success plan.
• Additional requirements related to the program can be found in the BSN Completion program handbook.

Clinical Requirements (BSN completion)

• Students must meet both university (health history and immunization profile) and clinical agency personnel requirements (up-to-date immunization records - including COVID-19 complete series, and background checks) as specified for prescribed coursework and clinical experiences.
• Federal and state statues require that criminal background checks be completed for all persons who provide nursing care for others or who have access to people who receive care. Clinical agencies prohibit placement of students with criminal histories of specific crimes and offenses that have been identified by the state of Wisconsin or others as bars to employment or licensure (such as abuse, assault, or neglect). The School of Nursing requires that all students complete a background information disclosure statement and a criminal history search. Individuals whose background check identifies bars to the provision of care in contracted agencies or places restrictions of client contact will not be allowed to progress in the program.
• Students must have the ability to collect appropriate subjective and objective data associated with obtaining a nursing history and performing a physical assessment. The emphasis is on knowing normal findings and normal variations in the healthy adult, well child, and the well elder person as demonstrated by one of the following:
  • Currently completing health histories and physical assessments in the students’ nursing practice
  • Graduate after 1990 from an ADN program
  • A course must be completed prior to registering for NURS-451 if the student does not meet one of the above criteria

Readmission Policy (BSN completion)

• An individual previously dismissed from the School of Nursing shall be required to complete a readmission packet for the respective program (traditional or BSN Completion program). The packet shall be obtained from the assistant dean of the program to which the individual is seeking readmission. The completed readmission packet will be evaluated on an individual basis by the assistant dean and a readmission board.