Post Licensure Bachelor of Science in Nursing

RN-BSN Admission Requirements

  1. Graduation from an accredited Associate or Diploma degree of Nursing program with a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.0.
  2. Hold a current unencumbered license as a Registered Nurse with no charges by a state board of nursing.
  3. Earn at least a “C” in all required nursing RN-BSN prerequisites.
  4. Have a grade point average of 2.0 or better in all college coursework eligible for transfer to BAC.
  5. Submission of an RN-BSN NursingCAS application.
On admission to the RN-BSN program, applicants are required to have completed an accredited Associate or Diploma-level Nursing degree with a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.0. Additional admission requirements include a “C” or better in the Nursing prerequisites: Human Anatomy I, Human Anatomy II, Microbiology, Introduction to Psychology, and Developmental or Lifespan Psychology. Associate or Diploma-level nursing degrees are assessed via official transcript submission to the NursingCAS admission application system.

RN Licensure is assessed via the student’s corresponding state board of nursing and/or nursys.com website. An unencumbered RN license is required for admission into the RN-BSN program. The nursing department uses nursys.com to monitor student RN licenses after course enrollment.

RN-BSN Nursing Prerequisites

Human Anatomy I and II
Microbiology
Introduction to Psychology
Developmental or Lifespan Psychology

RN-BSN Facts

The RN-BSN program is online in an 8-week accelerated format.

Belmont Abbey College participates in the Uniform Articulation Agreement between North Carolina Independent Colleges and Universities (NCICU). The NCICU agreement lists the RN-BSN general education requirements outlined in Blocks 1-3.

Following completing the first semester of nursing courses in the RN-BSN program, RN-BSN students are awarded 30 credit hours from prior learning in their previous nursing degree with competencies demonstrated via an unencumbered RN license.

Students must complete a minimum of 30 credit hours at Belmont Abbey College to graduate from the RN-BSN program.

Degree Requirements

Associate or Diploma-level nursing degrees are assessed via official transcripts by the Registrar’s Office for transfer credit. The Registrar’s Office at BAC will review transcripts and award transfer credits as permitted by the BAC Transfer Credit policy. Prospective RN-BSN students will be informed by the BAC Registrar’s Office or the Nursing Academic Advisor of any outstanding general education requirements for admission to the RN-BSN program.

The Nursing academic advisor will utilize the information provided by the Registrar’s Office to assess the core curriculum general education needs of the prospective student based on the BAC policies for distance program students and the Uniform Articulation Agreement between North Carolina Independent Colleges and Universities (NCICU) for RN-BSN programs. For students with a degree earned outside of North Carolina or a diploma degree, the same standards for evaluating the RN-BSN needs will be applied.

Block 1 (23 course credits)

Course Category  Transferable Courses Credits BAC Core
English Composition Select two: ENG111, ENG112, ENG114 6 (3, 3) Combined with HC302W meets writing requirements.
Human Anatomy and Physiology with Lab BIO165 & BIO166 or BIO168 & BIO169 8 (4, 4) Natural Science
Humanities/Fine Arts

Select one from the following:

ART111, ART114, ART115, MUS110, MUS112, PHI215, PHI240, HUM115

3 Fine Arts
Psychology PSY150, PSY241 6 (3, 3) Social Science

Block 2 (18 course credits)

Course Category Transferable Courses Credits BAC Core
English Literature ENG231, ENG232 3 Partial literature
History HIS111, HIS112, HIS131, HIS132 3 Partial history
Fine Arts Select one additional course not taken in Block 1 from the following: ART114, ART115, MUS110, MUS112 3 Fine Arts
College Transfer Math MAT143 or MAT171 3 Quantitative Reasoning
Sociology SOC210 and one of the following: SOC213, SOC220, SOC225, SOC230, SOC240 6 (3, 3) Social Science

Block 3 (17 course credits)

Course Category Transferable Courses Credits BAC Core
Statistics MAT152 3 Quantitative Reasoning
Microbiology with Lab BIO175 or BIO275 4 Natural Sciences
Chemistry with Lab CHM151 or CHM130 and CHM130A or CHM131 and 131A 3 Natural Sciences
Social Science/Elective: Select 2 from either category or one from each.

ECO251, ECO252, POL120

Suggested electives include but are not limited to foreign language, speech, culture, and computer science. Electives must be selected from the Transfer Course List in the Comprehensive Articulation Agreement (CAA).

6 (3, 3) Social Sciences

Block 4 (30 course credits): Prior Learning from Diploma or Associate Degree in Nursing

Following the completion of the first semester of nursing courses in the RN-BSN program at BAC, the RN-BSN student will be awarded 30 credit hours for nursing coursework taken in their pre-licensure Diploma or Associate Degree as well as their unencumbered RN license. The nursing coursework is completed at an accredited institution and is supported by the terms of the NCICU. The unencumbered RN license is verified via national examination. (For further information, see the rationale discussed under prior learning is required as a condition of admission.)

Block 5 (34 course credits): Belmont Abbey College Credits

The final 34 credits are listed in the below table to total 122 credits consists of the course credits completed in the RN-BSN program at BAC.
Course NumberCourse TitleCredits
NU111Transition to Professional Practice

3

NU211Advanced Health Assess and Promotion in Nursing Practice

3

TH220Theological Anthropology

3

BI204Genetics & Genomics

3

HC302WResearch for Healthcare Practice

3

TH332Catholic Bioethics

3

NU300Clinical Nutrition for Nursing Practice

1

NU305Nursing Care of the Aging Population

3

NU307Population Health: Public Community and Global

3

HC201Healthcare Informatics

3

HC403Leading in Complex Situations

3

NU415Professional Nursing Capstone

3