Frequently Asked Questions

I want to be a Registered Nurse, is this an Associate Degree program or a Baccalaureate Degree program?

WKU has both types of programs. You can become a Registered Nurse by either attending the Associate Degree program (ADN) located on the South Campus and the Glasgow Campus (Bowling Green Community College) or by attending the Pre-licensure Baccalaureate Degree Program (BSN) located on the Main Campus. Both degrees will prepare you to take the NCLEX exam, and obtain a license as a registered nurse in Kentucky or any other state in the US.

Whats the difference between the two programs?

Baccalaureate prepared nurses receive additional education (total program = 130 credit hours) with experiences in public health, community health, and nursing leadership. They are more likely to be advanced to positions of leadership within the profession of nursing.

Students who have an Associate Degree in Nursing (total program = 72 credit hours) and who have successfully taken the NCLEX exam are eligible to return to WKU and take the Post-RN program. An additional 36 credit hours of nursing and completion of WKU general education requirements will allow the ADN to graduate with a Baccalaureate in Nursing.  So either route will allow you to become an Registered Nurse.

Can I apply to the Baccalaureate and the Associate Degree program at the same time?

You may apply to both the Baccalaureate and the Associate Degree program at the same time, which may increase your chances of being accepted into one of the programs. However; this process involves completing two different applications, because the programs have different forms and go to different places. For a complete list of prerequisite courses and application procedures for both programs please choose the appropriate category on left hand side of this web site.

I hear the Nursing programs at WKU are hard to get into. How many people apply and are accepted each semester?

Nursing is one of the most popular programs at WKU, and we have limited numbers of faculty and clinical sites. Currently, our main campus pre-licensure program is restricted to 40 students per semester.  While it changes from year to year, we usually have between 75-150 people apply for the program each semester.  Students are ranked by their GPA, science grades, completion of prerequisite courses and overall professionalism. The top 40 students are sent admission letters, and an additional 10-15 students are placed on the alternate list. If any of the first 40 students decide not to come into the program, then students on the alternate list are allowed to take their place.

How can I declare Prenursing as my major?

Students may declare as a pre-nursing major only if they meet the criteria. Pre-nursing students are assigned faculty advisers from within the School of Nursing and take courses that are required for admission into the nursing program. Meeting the criteria and declaring as a pre-nursing student does not guarantee that a student will be admitted into the nursing program. Applicants who meet all of the requirements for nursing are ranked according to their GPA, performance on selected pre-requisite courses and professional abilites to determine entry into the WKU nursing program. If you are not selected as a student then you must re-apply to be considered for the next semester.

Do I have to be a WKU student to apply?

Yes, all applicants must be officially accepted by WKU before being considered for admission to the Nursing program. Applications to the university may be obtained by calling 270-745-2511 or online at: http://www.wku.edu/Info/Admissions/

What if English is not my first language?

A certain level of English proficiency is necessary for academic success in nursing as well as for patient safety. In addition to the University requirements, all applicants to the School of Nursing for whom English is not their native language (including international and/or U.S. residents) must meet additional requirements. For a list of these requirements please click here.

What is ATP, why do I have to sign up for it, where do I go to sign up for ATP? 

ATP is a required WKU orientation. You cannot enroll as a pre-nursing student or transfer in to our program unless you go to ATP unless you have a degree.

The Academic Transitions Program (ATP) is a 1-day orientation program for new WKU students. ATP is required for all first-year freshmen and transfer students and offers students:

• Informational Sessions
• Q&A Session
• Meet the Dean
• Academic Advising
• Class Registration and more
• Go to http://www.wku.edu/Info/Admissions/orientation.htm to find dates and sign up. YOU MUST SIGN UP at least 3 days prior to the ATP you plan to attend.
  

If I am not accepted into the program, what can I do to improve my chances of getting in?

You may re-apply if you are not accepted into the program. Often students who are not successful on the first attempt are able to take additional classes, increase their GPA, and thus be successful when they re-apply.  If your science grades are a C, you may consider re-taking the class to increase your grade, particularly if you feel you could improve it to an “A”. This will greatly improve your chances of admission.

How many classes can I re-take to improve my GPA?

WKU has a policy that limits the number of courses you can re-take. You may repeat a maximum of 6 classes or 18 hours (whichever comes first). So while you can repeat a course you must be careful not to use too many hours in the “retake” category. If you use all of the hours before you come into nursing, then if you need to repeat a nursing course you would be out of hours and would not be able to complete the program.

I want to transfer from another college to WKU. How can I find out which of my classes will transfer and what they will count towards?

Go to the website below and select the college you want to transfer from. Select the classes you have taken and it will tell you the WKU class it will transfer as.

http://www.wku.edu/Info/Admissions/transfer4.htm

If the class or the college is not there, you can still apply to the department the class is taught in to see if it will transfer. For instance, if you want to transfer a Chemistry class to WKU that is not on our transfer page, you need to contact the WKU Chemistry department. The form you need for this process is located here: http://www.wku.edu/Info/Admissions/petition.pdf

I want to take classes at a Kentucky Community College before coming to WKU. What Kentucky Community and Technical College System (KCTCS) classes will transfer to WKU for nursing students?

Click here for a list of WKU classes and the equivalent KCTCS classes recommended for nursing students.

What classes count for the statistics requirement in the pre-nursing program?

Math 203, Econ 206, Social Work 344, Soc 300, PH 383 and Psy 201. Any one of these classes will meet the three hour undergraduate statistics requirement. What tends to confuse students is that the classes are NOT listed under “STATISTICS” in the catalog. They are listed in their individual departments, so if you are looking for the class in the catalog, you have to look under the various departments to find the course descriptions.  

Can I take nursing courses part-time?

If you are CURRENTLY a registered nurse and you are taking classes in the Post-RN program, you can take nursing courses part time. The Post-RN program is designed for working nurses who want to complete a baccalaureate degree.

If you are NOT currently a nurse, you must sign up for the pre-licensure program.  The pre-licensure program is not designed to be taken part time, and in fact this would be very difficult to do. We admit a full class, and they transition together as a group of 40. If you did not go on with the group, then tried to drop back into the class behind you, it might be full (unless one of them failed or decided to drop out or go part time). We have had students fail a course and then be unable to get back in the program because the class behind them was full, so they just have to sit out until an opening comes up. We can't run even one student over the limit, because of State Board regulations requiring a specific number of instructors for each 10 students. Therefore, if we had 41 students instead of 40 in a class, then we have to hire an additional instructor for that one extra student.

Are any Scholarships available?

There are a limited number of scholarships available for students, once they are accepted into the nursing program. These scholarships are not directly administered by WKU, but some of the applications can be obtained here. The Kentucky Board of Nursing and local health care facilities also offer scholarships to students after they have been accepted into nursing. For more general scholarship information (money that could be used prior to admission to the nursing program) you can contact the student financial assistance office.  http://www.wku.edu/Info/FinAid/

How do I apply for a nursing scholarship?

There are two basic types of scholarships available for nursing students. The  first type is funded by individual hospitals or health care organizations. In order to apply for one of these, you have to contact the hospital that has the scholarship. Most of these scholarships will require you to work for that particular hospital for a period of time following graduation. All of these scholarships will require that you be admitted to the nursing program prior to granting a scholarship, so they do not work for students who are still taking (pre-nursing) courses. To apply for this type of scholarship contact the hospital (usually nursing administration or human resources department) for more information.

The second type of scholarship is funded by donations from private individuals These scholarships are administered through the WKU College Heights Foundation, but you have to apply for them through the Financial Aid office. More information about scholarships and the application form is available at  http://www.wku.edu/Info/FinAid/scholar.htm   The Deadline for WKU Scholarship Applications is April of each year.

I have a Baccalaureate Degree (or higher) in a field other than nursing.  Do you have an accelerated program just for students like me?

Not at this time. Students with BS degrees (or higher) in fields other than nursing do not have to retake general education courses, but you must still take or have the equivalent of the following nursing pre-requisite courses prior to entry into the WKU nursing program. Essentially, after you meet the pre-requisites for nursing (see below) and if you are selected for admission, you graduate with a BS in nursing in 4 semesters.

 

Nursing Pre-requisites for Second Degree Students (those who have completed a prior BS or Higher degree)
Biology 131 (Anatomy and Physiology I )
Biology 231 (Anatomy and Physiology II )
Biology 207/208 (Microbiology and lab)
Chemistry 109 (Chemistry for the Health Sciences)
Math 116 (College Algebra)
Psychology 100 (General Psychology)
Psychology 109 (Developmental Psychology)
CFS 111 (Human Nutrition)
Sociology 100 (Intro. course)
Econ 150 or 202 (Intro to Economics)
Philosophy 320 or 322 (Medical Ethics)
3 credits of undergraduate statistics  (Math 203 or Econ 206 or Social Work 344 or Soc 300 or PH 383 or Psy 201)

I took some classes a long time ago or for another major, and did not do very well. Now I want to apply for nursing, but even though my current grades are very good, my overall GPA is below 2.75. Is there any way to not count old classes in my GPA?

An academic renewal program is available to qualified undergraduate students. The Academic renewal policy can be viewed at: http://www.wku.edu/coursecatalog/index.php?subcategoryid=75

However, you should note that the academic renewal program does not apply to persons who have a prior degree. At this time their is no mechanism to change the GPA of someone who has graduated with and Associate, Bachelor's (or higher) Degree.