South Dakota State University College of Nursing
Bachelor’s Degree in Nursing --Accelerated Option Fact Sheet
September 2007 (Revised)

Purpose:  Facilitate completion of a baccalaureate degree in nursing for students who have a baccalaureate degree in a non-nursing area.

Preparation:  Potential students need to contact the Accelerated Nursing office in Sioux Falls for an evaluation of their university transcript.  An advisor is available via e-mail or telephone 1-866-661-6230 for questions about the program.  The program is Sioux Falls based and begins in August of every year.

Coursework:  Students will need to have all required arts and science credits completed with a grade of C or above prior to enrolling in the 63 credits of nursing courses.  The cumulative post secondary GPA must be a 2.8 or higher on a 4.0 scale.  The cumulative GPA for nursing prerequisite courses must be a 3.0 or higher on a 4.0 scale

Schedule:  The program is designed to begin in late August 2008 with completion in August, 2009. The graduate is then prepared to write the NCLEX-RN examination for licensure as an RN and entry-level practice.  A typical semester of course credits will be compressed into an 8-week schedule.  The schedule will be rigorous and the student will need to be prepared to meet the demands of classroom instruction, online courses, learning laboratory and clinical experiences. The program expectations for clinical experience and classroom content are the same as the current undergraduate standard option.  The difference is that it is compressed into 12 months versus being spread over five academic semesters, e.g., if clinical experience is 12 hr/wk in the standard program it is 24 hr/wk for the accelerated option.

Application and Admission Process:  Transcript evaluation and enrollment in courses need to meet admission requirements, application completion, personal interview of the applicant by a faculty panel, and notification of admission.

Criteria for Admission: 
-Complete application on file by March 28, 2008 by 5:00pm.
-All pre-requisite and support courses are completed with a grade of C or above (see current SDSU --Undergraduate Bulletin for required courses);
-Cumulative GPA of 2.8 and a nursing prerequisite GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale
-Meets Technical Standards for the nursing major (see CON Web site);
-Goal statement from applicant for pursuing degree in nursing;
-Evidence of health insurance, current immunization status, and valid driver’s license to be  submitted upon acceptance into the accelerated option.
-Two letters of reference that support ability of the applicant to complete intensive course of study; and
-A personal interview.

Cost:  The total cost of the program for the student is approximately $22,000 for the one year.

Nursing is a satisfying, but demanding career choice.  The current nursing shortage appears to be growing worse as older nurses retire and availability of younger nurses who could adequately fill open positions dwindles.  A Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing plus one year experience prepares you for pursuing graduate education in nursing.  

Last Updated: September 2006