Nurses with two-year degrees can earn their bachelor’s degrees in just 12 months through new program 
Registered nurses across the state of Indiana can now earn a bachelor’s degree in 12 months through a new collaboration among the eight Indiana University School of Nursing campuses, including IU Northwest. The distance-accessible program delivers quality, convenient, cost-effective and contemporary online RN to BSN education that meets the nursing workforce needs of Indiana.
The consortium, the first of its kind for Indiana University, helps nurses with two-year degrees move quickly and smoothly through a bachelor’s program. The Consortium is comprised of Schools of Nursing on the Bloomington, Northwest, Columbus, East, IUPUI, Kokomo, South Bend, and Southeast campuses. Students apply to the RN to BSN program at the IU campus closest to them, and then tie into the online statewide network to complete their coursework and practicum experiences.
“The faculty of Indiana University School of Nursing have responded to the needs of the state-wide nursing community by creating an innovative and flexible curriculum which facilitates the academic progression of nurses seeking to attain their BSN,” said Judith A. Halstead, PhD, RN, ANEF, Executive Associate Dean for Academic Affairs. “Nursing courses have been designed to be taught in eight-week modules and to acknowledge the nurse’s clinical experience. The eight-campus collaboration maximizes faculty resources and creates a learning environment where students have access to a wide network of IU nursing faculty who are expert teachers and clinicians.”
Main components of the RN to BSN Program include:
- A rolling admissions process so that students can begin when they are ready;
- Decreased time to graduation, as nursing courses can be completed in 12 months; and
- New nursing electives that enhance expertise in targeted areas.
Indiana University nursing faculty are recognized nationwide for their leadership and expertise in teaching and scientific research. Nurses in the program can reach these award-winning faculty members from their own computers and bring that knowledge directly to their patients.
“Patient-care outcomes are directly linked to the education of the nursing workforce,” said Donna Boland, PhD, RN, ANEF, President of Indiana Nursing Workforce Development Coalition (INWDC). “Offering Indiana nurses accessible and affordable educational mobility opportunities that advance their knowledge and skills ensures that patients are the recipients of the best care based on the most up-to-date practice evidence available. As nurse employers look to increase the numbers of bachelor-prepared nurses, this statewide program is well situated to address this growing demand.”
At IU Northwest, the RN to BSN program serves as a programmatic counterpart to the School of Nursing’s existing Nursing as Second Degree program, which allows students who already have earned a bachelor’s degree in another discipline to pursue and complete their BSN in just 18 months.
“We at IU Northwest are excited to be part of a distance-accessible program that allows registered nurses in Northwest Indiana and throughout the state to take that next important step in their careers,” said Linda Rooda, Ph.D., Dean of the School of Nursing at the Northwest campus. “This is one more way that Indiana University is working to address the local and statewide need for nurses who have four-year and, ultimately, advanced degrees.”
Nursing Student Coordinator Anne Mitchell is the academic advisor for the RN to BSN program at the IU Northwest campus. She may be reached at 219-980-6611.
For more information, please visit http://www.iun.edu/~nurse