Prelicensure BSN Program in Roanoke, Va.
As a Radford University nursing student in Roanoke, Virginia, rather than the traditional setting of a college campus you'll experience city life while having all the amenities you'd expect from Radford University. While taking classes in Roanoke, you are much closer to the hospitals and community sites where you will be traveling for clinical experiences in your junior and senior years of the nursing program.
Two Pathways to BSN in Roanoke: Traditional and Accelerated Tracks
TRADITIONAL TRACK
The traditional program is for students who only want to take classes during the fall and spring semesters of each academic year.
You'll spend the first two years of the BSN program at the Radford University Carilion (RUC) location focusing on your pre-requisites and general education requirements which prepare you for our intense nursing program. To maintain your enrollment in the prelicensure BSN major, you must meet progression criteria at the end of each of your freshman and sophomore years.
Once you've completed your first two years of the program, you'll spend the last two years completing your BSN at our Roanoke Higher Education Center (RHEC) location just one mile from Radford University Carilion. There you'll have your nursing classes, skills labs, and clinical simulation experiences with your faculty on-site and there to assist you succeed.
ACCELERATED TRACK
This accelerated option is for students who have already completed their pre-requisites and general education requirements and want to graduate as quickly as possible. You'll spend 16 months immersed in nursing with continuous enrollment, including summers.
This program takes place at our Roanoke Higher Education Center (RHEC) location just one mile away from Radford University Carilion. There you'll have your nursing classes, skills labs, and clinical simulation experiences with your faculty on-site and there to assist you succeed.
Admissions Requirements
Freshman Admission
All students admitted to pre-licensure nursing tracks are placed in a cohort - a group of students who are eligible to take the same courses each semester and progress through the Nursing program together.
Application Deadlines
- Fall admission: March 15 by 5 p.m.
- Spring admission: November 15 by 5 p.m.
Applications will be accepted past these dates as space is available.
Admission Requirements
Freshman applicants for the Traditional B.S.N. program must meet the following requirements to be considered for direct admission:
- Cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher
- Completion of 1 Biology & 1 Chemistry course or Anatomy & Physiology course with a C or higher
Transfer applicants may be offered admission if space permits.
Students who have failed one nursing course at another institution must wait two years before enrolling in the B.S.N program.
REAL GENERAL EDUCATION CURRICULUM FOR NURSING
The Nursing major fulfills the R, A, and L areas of the REAL curriculum. The Nursing R and A areas fulfill the pre-requisites for the foundational knowledge necessary for the nursing profession. These include a focus on the sciences and the understanding of human behavior. The Nursing L area demonstrates the applied learning and culmination of skills during the nursing program.
PROGRESSION IN THE BSN PROGRAM
Progression Requirements in the Nursing Major
Students must meet all first and second-year requirements to continue as a Nursing major and prior to taking upper division Nursing courses.
Year 1. Students must have a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or above at the end of their 2nd semester of freshman year to progress in the Nursing program.
Year 2:
- Students must meet all of the following criteria in order to progress into upper-division nursing:
- Cumulative GPA of 3.0 or above
- Grade of “C” or above on all prerequisite courses
- No more than one (1) prerequisite course repeated due to unsuccessful completion (C-, D, F), not including withdrawals
- Completion of prerequisites: NUTR 214, STAT 200 or 130, CHEM 120 or equivalent, SOC 110, PSYC 230, BIOL 310 & 311, BIOL 334, NURS 3
- Students eligible for progression to upper division nursing courses are required to complete a criminal background check and drug screening during the term prior to upper division courses and every semester thereafter. If there are any areas of concern on the criminal background check or student conduct violations that would prohibit the student from attending clinical rotations, the student may not be able to continue in the Nursing program and would thus be dismissed from the program. Students with a positive drug screen will be dismissed from the program. If an offer of admission is revoked, the School of Nursing will notify the student by e-mail or by phone call.
Years 3 & 4. Once in upper division nursing courses, two (2) NURS course failures and/or withdrawals will result in program dismissal
Accreditation
The baccalaureate and graduate degree programs in nursing at Radford University are accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education, 655 K Street, NW, Suite 750, Washington, DC 20001, (202)887-6791.
http://www.aacn.nche.edu/ccne-accreditation.
The pre-licensure BSN programs are approved by the Virginia Board of Nursing, 9960 Mayland Drive, Suite 300, Henrico Virginia 23233-1463.