Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) - eLine Military

Minimum Eligibility Requirements for eLine Military Track:

• Veteran, Active Duty, Reservist, National Guard
• Military Medical Experience
• Physically Reside in the State of Texas during Completion of the Program
• Seeking an online BSN program

Admittance Criteria:

Acceptance into the nursing program is highly competitive.  Admission to the program is two times per year – fall and spring. Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi students and transfer students will be accepted based on their GPA for the last 60 hours, their science GPA from the required pre-requisite science courses, and the requested scores from their HESI A2 entrance exam.   No “D” or “F” grades will be accepted for credit. The essay questions found in the CAS application may also be used as part of the admission decision.

Minimum recommended overall GPA to be eligible to apply for admission to the nursing major is 3.0. Freshmen generally declare pre-nursing as their intended course of study. Prior to registration, students need to contact the nursing academic advisor to assist in degree planning.

Freshmen and sophomores enrolled as pre-nursing students must complete the Core Curriculum Program (42 semester hours) and required support courses prior to admission to the nursing major. Transfer students, including post-baccalaureate students, must satisfy current state of Texas core curriculum requirements. In the areas of science, mathematics, and social science, all applicants should complete the following general education and support courses:

Students should consult their academic advisor for additional information on core curriculum and support courses, including the sequence in which the courses should be taken. To lighten the academic load, some of these courses can be taken in the summer sessions. Science courses may not be older than 7 years for BSN students.

Students must have credit for at least two high school credits in one foreign language or American Sign Language OR two semesters of study with passing grades in a single foreign language or American Sign Language at the college level are required for graduation from Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi.  Courses must be validated with an official high school or college transcript.  Foreign language must be completed prior to the expected semester of entry to the nursing program.

Transfer students from another nursing school who have completed nursing courses over 2 years ago must validate completed course work or repeat the course. Additionally, students should provide nursing course descriptions from the college catalog and the course syllabi and course sequence (must have at least the course objectives, course outline, and a list of textbooks used) from the transferring college/school of nursing. Students should also submit a letter from the Dean or Director of the previously attended nursing program indicating they are in good standing and eligible to return. Any student needing to validate courses must meet with the academic advisor who will forward materials to the Associate Dean.

Contact and send all unofficial academic and military transcripts to the eLine Military Program Coordinator at Samuel.Ramos@tamucc.edu for a Initial Review (prelimary evaluation).

Prospective students often want to know what it takes to be admitted to the College of Nursing and Health Sciences (CONHS).  After tracking many semesters of successful students, the CONHS has determined the student most likely to succeed meets or exceeds the ideal criteria for success in the nursing program.  Each criteria is explained below along with the accepted cohort’s averages for each criteria. Please note these are not minimums, they are the group averages for the whole cohort. 

Definitions:

GPA (Last 60 hours) – The last 60 hours of completed course work at the time of your nursing application. This includes any course regardless of where they are taken.  Your advisor can help you calculate this.

Science GPA – These are sciences listed on your degree plan which include Anatomy & Physiology I, Anatomy & Physiology II, General Chemistry, and Microbiology.

HESI A2 Composite – This is your cumulative HESI score.

HESI A2 Reading – This is the Reading Comprehension score of the HESI A2. 

HESI A2 Critical Thinking – This is the Critical thinking portion of the HESI A2.

The Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi (TAMU-CC) College of Nursing and Health Sciences developed the Prior Learning Assessment (PLA) to award credit at the competency level within the nursing curriculum. Competency level credit is in addition to credit awarded through the military transcript (JST, AARTS, SMART, CCAF) evaluation. This process allows ELM participants to validate shared competencies (learned through military service) required by Registered Nurses (RNs) at the Baccalaureate level to provide safe and effective care.

In most cases, the award of concept level credit for military training and experience will be in Fundamentals of Nursing Care, Health Assessment, Care of Adults I, Care of Adults II and Nurse as a Coordinator of Care. This concept level (partial) credit award covers 25 credit hours (nearly 1/2 of the Nursing Major Courses). This innovative model provides the mechanism to maximize and individualize the award of credit for military training and experience and allow faculty to appropriately target student-learning needs for each student.

HOW IT WORKS

A diagnostic evaluation of the PLA results (at the concept level)reveals individualized “gaps” in didactic knowledge from military service and competence at the BSN level. Figure1 demonstrates PLA results before any BSN course content was delivered. Test results show military experience and training is valuable. Although there are “gaps” in knowledge, to complete the entire course would require repeating content already mastered.

The ELM program participant then completes the appropriate modules to fill in the gaps without repeating mastered content, demonstrated in Figure 2. Additionally, clinical skill demonstration, simulation and abbreviated clinical experiences provide a mechanism for faculty to validate and remediate the students’ clinical skill level.

Initial Review

We will complete an Initial Review of your military and academic credit then we will send you a Tentative Degree Plan (TDP) for your review.  Once we have completed this initial process we will set up an appointment to discuss a plan for completion of any neccessary course work and project a term of eligibility for admission into the eLine Military BSN track.  Please follow the process below and email all documents to Samuel.Ramos@tamucc.edu, if you have any questions please contact the eLine Military Program Coordinator at (361) 825-3782. 

The application process is as follows:

1. To begin the process please send the following documentation to Samuel.Ramos@tamucc.edu:

   1. Unofficial Academic Transcripts (All)
      1. *Note the transcripts must be legible and the institution, grades, course numbers and titles must be on the transcript; courses without grades listed cannot be evaluated for transfer (In progress courses will be documented as IP on the TDP)
   2. Military Transcripts (Joint Service Transcript, AARTS, SMART, or CCAF)
   3. Respond to the reception email and fill out the personal information

Following Initial Review

Once we have projected your eligible term of application we will guide you through the following process to complete your application and apply to the eLine Military BSN track.  Please do not do any of the following before you have contacted the eLine Military Program Coordinator at Samuel.Ramos@tamucc.edu or by phone at (361) 825-3782. 

1. If the student is not already enrolled at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, the student must also Apply to the University for admission. Admission to the University DOES NOT constitute admission to the nursing program.

2. All applicants must complete the HESI A2, V-1 (Version 1) with Critical Thinking exam. This computerized exam is timed and will take approximately 3 hours. To fulfill this requirement, complete the following steps:

UPDATE for Fall 2021 applicants: As of June 1st, we are partnering with an online test proctoring service, ProctorU, so students may not have to go to a testing center to take the exam. Through ProctorU, students can schedule and pay to test from home. Visit the student resources page here for instructions on account setup and preparing for the exam. Contact candace.martinez@tamucc.edu or john.cantu@tamucc.edu if you require assistance.

a.  To obtain your eligibility number, click here: (HESI A2 (with critical thinking).

• First time users will create an Evolve account (for HESI examination).
• Register for the HESI Distance Testing exam. You will receive email confirmation notifing you that you may schedule your exam. This step may take a few days.

b.  Go to Prometric to schedule the desired testing date, testing time and testing location. You may take this exam at your local testing center. When scheduling your test, you will select the exam: Admissions Assessment with Critical Thinking.  If you do not have a local testing center to go to or if you opt to take exam from home, please follow this ProctorU instructions.

c.  Your final scores must be sent to the eLine Military Program Coordinator at Samuel.Ramos@tamucc.edu to complete your application for admission.

 How to Download your HESI A2 with Critical Thinking Scores

Notification of the results of the admission review is mailed to students. Admission to the program is conditional pending submission of the background check, proof of vaccination status, and possession of a current Basic Life Support for Healthcare Providers (BLS) CPR card through the American Heart Association (AHA).

General education, core curriculum and support courses courses may be continued in the semester prior to admission. Students fail to complete all conditions outlined in the acceptance letter may have their entry withdrawn.  

The Texas Department of State Health Services has specific immunization requirements for students involved with direct patient contact. These requirements, as stated in the Texas Administrative Code, Title 25, Part 1, Chapter 97, Subchapter B, Rule 97.64, include the following:

1. “Students cannot be provisionally enrolled without at least one dose of measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine if direct patient contact will occur during the provisional enrollment period.”
2. “Polio vaccine is not required. Students enrolled in health-related courses are encouraged to ascertain that they are immune to poliomyelitis.”
3. “One dose of tetanus-diphtheria toxoid (Td) is required within the last ten years.”
4. “Students who were born on or after January 1, 1957, must show, prior to patient contact, acceptable evidence of vaccination of two doses of measles containing vaccine."
5. “Students may be provisionally enrolled for up to one semester to allow students to attend classes while obtaining the required vaccines and acceptable evidence of vaccination administered since January 1, 1968.”
6. “Students must show, prior to patient contact acceptable evidence of vaccination of one dose of rubella vaccine.”
7. “Students born on or after January 1, 1957, must show, prior to patient contact, acceptable evidence of vaccination of one dose of mumps vaccine.”
8. “Students shall receive a complete series of hepatitis B vaccine prior to the start of direct patient care or show serologic confirmation of immunity to hepatitis B virus” (Additionally, the Nursing Program requires students to receive a complete series of hepatitis A vaccine prior to the start of direct patient care or show serologic confirmation of immunity to hepatitis A virus).
9. “Students shall receive two doses of varicella vaccine unless the first dose was received prior to thirteen years of age.”

For additional information, please see the Texas Administrative Code, Title 25, Part 1, Chapter 97, Subchapter B.  Please note that some hospitals have stricter requirements than the state minimum standards.

Rule 97.65 lists the following exceptions to the immunization requirements: 

1. “Serologic confirmations of immunity to measles, rubella, mumps, hepatitis A, hepatitis B, or varicella, are acceptable. Evidence of measles, rubella, mumps, hepatitis A, or hepatitis B, or varicella illness must consist of a laboratory report that indicates either confirmation of immunity or infection.”
2. “A parent or physician validated history of varicella disease (chickenpox) or varicella immunity is acceptable in lieu of vaccine. A written statement from a physician, or the student’s parent or guardian, or school nurse, must support histories of varicella disease.”

(Immunizations are available for a nominal fee at the student health clinic for currently enrolled students and from the Public Health Department.)

1. Results of tuberculosis screening are required annually.
2. A copy of the student’s current certification in Basic Life Support (BLS) for Health Care Providers is required annually.
3. All Students are required to complete a criminal background check through the Texas Board of Nursing before acceptance into the program.
4. Students are required to purchase professional liability coverage through the University. Fees for this coverage are included in the fees paid at the time of registration at the beginning of each academic year. 
5. Medical insurance coverage is strongly recommended. The University and affiliating clinical agencies accept no responsibility for medical care sought as a result of accidents/incidents occurring during the course of nursing instruction or clinical assignments 
6. Students forced to interrupt their regular rotation for personal or academic reasons may be reinstated on a “place available” basis. Students must write a letter asking for readmission to the program. The academic advisor is available for assistance with this process. The Admissions and Progression Committee may admit a student conditionally if there is evidence of extenuating circumstances.

A.  Core Curriculumn Program

**Any courses from the Core Curriculum Program that are four hours may only apply three hours towards the Core Curriculum Program requirement. The additional one hour laboratory requirement will be added in the Nursing Support Courses. Courses in BOLD in Core Area are also Nursing support courses.

B.  Full-time, first-year students are required to take the following courses:

C.  Nursing Support Courses:

D.  Upper Division Nursing Major Courses:

The following requirements refer to grading policies.

1. A scholastic grade point average of 2.25 is a minimum requirement in the upper division nursing courses designated for the Bachelor of Science in Nursing. A minimum grade of C is required in all courses in the nursing major.
2. If a student earns a grade of D, F, or W (Withdrawal) in a nursing course, that course must be repeated. A course in which a grade of less than C (i.e., D, F, or W) was earned may be repeated only once.
3. A student who has earned a grade of less than C (i.e., D, F, or W) in two nursing courses or who has earned a grade of less than C (D, F, or W) twice in the same nursing course will be dismissed from the nursing program.
4. Students receiving a grade of D, F, or W (Withdrawal) or I (Incomplete) in a nursing course may not progress to courses for which that course is a prerequisite.
5. Administration and faculty reserve the right to dismiss students without previous warning for unsafe and/or unprofessional behavior. The conduct of nursing students should meet ethical standards as defined by American Nurses Association (ANA) in the Code of Ethics for Nurses. Personal integrity is reflected in professional judgments. Consequently, the College of Nursing and Health Sciences reserves the right to dismiss students from the program for unprofessional or unsafe behavior. (See College of Nursing and Health Sciences Student Handbook for further examples and to review the Academic Honesty and Professional Integrity Policy)
6. Following dismissal, students may apply for reinstatement to the nursing program. Reinstatement is competitive and based upon space availability.
7. Students must meet the standards for minimal performance and progression established by Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi (see the catalog section on Academic Policies and Regulations).
8. In order for students to progress through the program, they must be in compliance with immunizations, BLS CPR, and Hospital Orientation regulations. (See College of Nursing and Health Sciences Student Handbook for consequences for noncompliance to these policies.)
9. Students must complete the University Core Curriculum Program. (See “University Core Curriculum Programs” in the catalog). See “General Education Requirement” in the “Undergraduate Programs” section of the catalog for information on ways in which transfer students can fulfill requirements. In addition to the core curriculum requirements, students must also take the required support courses.

The following requirements refer to grading policies (eLine Military track). 

1. Courses are one (1) academic semester in length (refer to TAMUCC academic calendar).
2. In Clinical courses, a grade of "SP" (Satisfactory Progress) may be awarded for one semester. All course requirement(s) must be met by the end of the next semester.
3. When a grade less than “C” (i.e. D, F or W) is awarded in any course the student will be authorized to complete any concurrently enrolled courses unless the student received a grade of “F” due to a clinical failure. If the student received a grade of “F” due to a clinical failure, the student must request approval from the Undergraduate Academic Chair to continue all concurrently enrolled courses that require a face-to-face clinical experience (i.e. NURSXXX.701).
4. When a grade less than “C” (i.e. D, F or W) is awarded in a course that was previously awarded a grade of “SP”, all course(s) currently enrolled which required the unsuccessful course as a prerequisite (e.g. NURS3614 for NURS3628, NURS3628 for NURS4628) must be dropped. The dropped course will not count towards the 2 grades less than “C” policy.
5. A grade of "SP" (Satisfactory Progress) will be awarded to students at the end of the semester in which they are registered when the student is unable to complete the course within the time limit due to military service obligations.
   1. Courses will be one (1) academic year in length (two long semesters and one summer session).
   2. Students may drop a course or courses by a date 2/3 into the academic year in which they are registered (refer to TAMUCC academic calendar for drop date in final  (3rd) semester of enrollment). This will result in grade of “W”.
6. A student may complete 36 clinical hours in one (1) week. A student may complete a maximum of 12 clinical hours in one (1) shift. A student may participate in one (1) shift in a clinical day (twenty-four (24) hour period from 12:01am – 11:59pm).  A student may complete no more than two (2) consecutive clinical days.
7. All students with a grade of "SP" or “I” must be verified by the assigned Course Faculty as Clinical Ready before the student can begin the clinical experience. This could include, but is not limited to, travel to Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi campus for skills and/or safety remediation and/or validation. 

Students accepted or reinstated to eLine prior to Spring 2012 or eLine Military prior to Spring 2014: 

1. Courses are one (1) academic year in length (two long semesters and one summer session).
2. A grade of "SP" (Satisfactory Progress) will be awarded to students at the end of the semester in which they registered.
3. Students may drop a course or courses by a date 2/3 into the academic year in which they are registered (refer to TAMUCC academic calendar for drop date in final (3rd) semester of enrollment). This will result in grade of “W”. 

eLine Military Clinical Acknowledgement:

The College of Nursing and Health Sciences will attempt to secure appropriate clinical placement in the student’s region. The College of Nursing and Health Sciences makes no guarantee, implied or otherwise, to the availability of appropriate clinical sites or the ability to secure appropriate clinical placement in the student’s region. If the CONHS is not able to successfully secure the appropriate clinical placement, the student, at the student’s expense, will be required to travel to successfully complete clinical course requirements. This could include, but is not limited to, travel to Corpus Christi. 

Every effort has been made to assure the accuracy of the information on this page. However, information is subject to change without notice. Therefore, pre-nursing students and transfer students must consult with their Nursing Program advisors each semester prior to registration. 

Students in the nursing major are assigned a faculty mentor by the Dean of the College of Nursing and Health Sciences. If for any reason the faculty mentor-student assignment is not effective, the student or the faculty member can request a change in assignment. Freshmen and sophomore students pursuing the pre-nursing curriculum are also assigned a nursing faculty mentor. Academic advisors for the College of Nursing and Health Sciences are available for advisement. Students must make appointments for advisement. 

For information regarding using Veterans Benefits please contact the Texas A&M University Corpus Christi VA office

Students who have recently separated from Active Duty may need to make adjustments to their FAFSA report to reflect current wages (Special Circumstance); please contact the eLine Military Program Coordinator for assistance at Samuel.Ramos@tamucc.edu or (361) 825-3782

Certification of benefits courses within the nursing curriculum requiring the completion of clinical practicum that is a requirement to successfuly complete the course are certified as Residency hours and courses that do not require the completion of clinical practicum for successful completion of the course are certified as distance hours.  The program is designed for full-time students based on the generic sequence.  Every semester will include both residency hours and distance hours during completion of the nursing curriculum (based on the generic sequence).