Undergraduate Bulletin > Nursing > Admission & Progression

School of Nursing

Admission for Pre-licensure Students

Students must be formally admitted to the School of Nursing which is an upper division major. Only students who have formal, written acceptance into the School will be permitted to register in advanced nursing courses and complete work for the major. Admission should normally be sought during the sophomore year. The application deadline is February 1 of each year. Applications are obtained from the Undergraduate Advising Center in the School of Nursing. Transcripts from all post-secondary schools attended must be submitted with the application.

Technical Standards for Academic Progression, and Graduation in the B.S.N. Pre-licensure Nursing Program

Consistent with its mission and philosophy, the School of Nursing at The University of North Carolina at Greensboro is committed to providing educational opportunities to students. The School of Nursing programs prepare students to think critically and practice nursing competently and compassionately in rapidly changing practice environments. All efforts are designed to build nursing knowledge, enhance nursing practice and patient safety, foster professional integrity, and ultimately improve the health outcomes of individuals, families, groups, and communities across the continuum of care.

In addition, certain functional abilities are essential for the delivery of safe, effective nursing care. The technical standards listed below must be met by all students in order to remain in the program. In the event that a student is unable to meet these technical standards, with or without reasonable accommodations, the student will not be allowed to remain enrolled in or to graduate from the program.

Communication Skills

• Sufficient skills to communicate effectively and sensitively with patients, family members and other members of the health care team
• Sufficient skills to convey or exchange information at a level allowing development of a health history, identifying problems, explaining alternative solutions; teaching, directing, and counseling during treatment and post-treatment
• Sufficient skills to communicate in ways that are safe and not unduly alarming to patients, family members, and other members of the health care team

Cognitive, Conceptual, and Quantitative Skills

• Sufficient skills to read and understand written documents in English
• Sufficient skills in problem solving including measurements, calculation, reasoning, analysis, and synthesis
• Sufficient skills to comprehend three-dimensional and spatial relationships

Motor Skills

• Sufficient skills to execute movements required to provide general care and treatment to patients in all health care settings
• Sufficient skills include gross and fine motor skills, physical endurance, physical strength and mobility to carry out nursing procedures, perform basic laboratory tests, and provide routine and emergency care and treatment to patients
• Sufficient stamina to complete a typical nurse’s clinical assignment, including working a 12-hour shift.

Behavioral Skills

• Sufficient skills to relate to patients, family members, other members of the health care team and colleagues with honesty and integrity, and with nondiscrimination
• Sufficient skills for the development of a mature, sensitive and effective therapeutic relationship with clients
• Sufficient skills to adapt to changing environments, to display flexibility and to learn to function in the face of uncertainties inherent in the clinical problems of many patients
• Sufficient skills reflecting an ethical behavior, including adherence to the professional nursing code of ethics and student academic integrity policy

Sensory/Observation Skills

• Sufficient skills to observe and learn from demonstrationsin the clinical skill laboratory course, from demonstrations in the patient care areas, and observations of the patient and the patient’s environment
• Sufficient skills to perform health assessments and interventions; observe diagnostic specimens; and obtain information from digital, analog, and waveform representations of physiologic phenomena to determine a client’s condition

Process for Requesting Reasonable Accommodation

Optional Disclosure Prior to Admission. Candidates for admission to the School of Nursing are not required, prior to admission, to disclose that they will require reasonable accommodations in order to meet the Technical Standards. Candidates may, however, voluntarily disclose prior to admission the fact that they will require reasonable accommodations to meet the Technical Standards. If the student elects voluntarily disclosure before admission, this information will not be considered by the University on the question of whether the student should be admitted. Instead, assuming the student is admitted, the information will be used after admission to determine whether the student will be provided any requested accommodations pursuant to the process described below.

Disclosure After Admission. If the student timely requests a reasonable accommodation, an interactive process involving the student, Associate Dean for Undergraduate Programs in the School of Nursing, relevant faculty members and the Office of Disability Services will be commenced to determine what, if any, accommodations will be provided to the student.

In all cases where a student has timely requested an accommodation, the student must cooperate with the Associate Dean for Undergraduate Programs in the School of Nursing and Office of Disability Services in an interactive process to determine whether the student is qualified for accommodations and what, if any, accommodations will be provided pursuant to applicable laws. The Office of Disability Services will assist the student in coordinating documentation and evaluation of the student, which may include asking the student to provide requested documentation of a qualified disability.

No accommodation will be offered that would jeopardize the safety of patients or clients or the University student. No accommodation will be offered that would fundamentally alter or substantially compromise these technical standards or any other academic standards deemed essential to graduation by the University, including all course work, fieldwork, clinical practica, and internships.

Minimum Criteria to Remain a Pre-Nursing Major Prior to Admission to the Clinical Courses, Pre-licensure Program

1. Pre-nursing majors must earn and maintain a 3.0 or higher GPA in order to remain a declared pre-nursing major. Students with a GPA below 3.0 must change to a major other than Nursing.
2. Students wishing to change their major to pre-nursing from another major must have a 3.0 or higher cumulative UNCG GPA to do so.
3. Incoming transfer and second-degree students must have a transfer GPA of 3.0 or greater to declare pre-nursing as their major upon admission to the University.

Minimum Criteria for Admission:

1. Overall grade point average of 3.0 or higher
2. A grade of B- (2.70) or higher in NUR 210 and 220
3. A grade of C (2.0) or better in each of the following courses: BIO 271, 277, 280; HDF 211; PSY 121; CHE 104; SOC 101 or 202 or ATY 100.
4. No more than two of the above prerequisite courses may be repeated to earn the minimum required grade or better. Prerequisite courses may be repeated only one time.
5. Admission to the upper division is contingent upon receipt of a satisfactory evaluation signed by the student’s physician of the applicant’s physical and emotional health to provide nursing care. Forms will be sent to the applicants during the spring semester and must be completed and on file in the School of Nursing by the following July 1.

Students may not enroll in nursing courses beyond the foundation level courses cited above without being admitted to the School. Application for admission is possible while students are still completing the prerequisite courses, but unconditional admission cannot be granted until admission criteria have been successfully completed.

Admission to the University does not guarantee acceptance into the nursing major. Various health care agencies in Piedmont North Carolina cooperate with the School of Nursing in providing clinical learning experiences for students. The size of each incoming junior class is determined by the availability of these clinical resources. Therefore, it is impossible to assure space for every student who meets the criteria.

Priority Admissions

Priority in admission (subject to space availability) will be granted to students who meet the following criteria:

1. Enter UNCG as new, first-time freshmen
2. Declare nursing as a major by the tenth day of class of the first semester
3. Earn a cumulative GPA of 3.50 by the end of the third semester
4. Complete all but one of the required science courses (CHE 104, BIO 271, BIO 277, BIO 280) by the end of the third semester (courses must be completed at UNCG) with a 3.0 (B) or better in each course
5. Complete three (3) semesters at UNCG (minimum of 45 semester hours)
6. Receive a positive evaluation from the faculty member in NUR 210 lab, and
7. Meet all other admission requirements for the upper division nursing major.

Students who do not meet the criteria for Priority Admissions above, but who meet the Minimum Criteria for Admission, may still apply for admission. The process for admission will consider the following:

1. Cumulative GPA for all college-level courses completed
2. Grades earned in the required science, social science, and English courses
3. Grade improvement over time
4. Probability of completing all required courses in the next four semesters
5. Nursing 210 reference form or equivalent
6. Availability of space.

Registered Nurses

RNs interested in completing the B.S.N. degree need to meet the University’s requirements for admission. A registered nurse who brings advanced placement may build a minor in order to complete the 122 semester hours required for graduation. The registered nurse who has completed the prerequisite academic work and is ready to enter the professional major may earn up to 30 hours of credit for selected courses by special examination. Applications for special examinations are available in the Advising Center of the School of Nursing. Registered nurse students must make a C (2.0) or better in NUR 370 and 371 and a passing grade for the special examinations to be admitted into the 400-level nursing courses. Registered nurse students must provide evidence of current, active, unrestricted RN licensure prior to admission to the required 300-level courses, and must have a current, active, unrestricted North Carolina RN license prior to enrollment in the required 400-level courses. Registered nurse students who hold unrestricted RN licenses in states covered by the multi-state Nurse Licensure Compact do not need to be licensed separately in North Carolina, unless they become residents of North Carolina. See the NC Board of Nursing Web site. The length of time required to complete the program varies with each individual.

Criteria for Progression in the Major

1. Students must earn a grade of C (2.0) or better in all required 300- and 400-level nursing courses in order to progress and graduate. An overall grade point average of 2.0 or better is required to graduate.
2. Failure to earn a grade of C (2.0) or better will result in immediate dismissal from the School of Nursing.
3. Students in the upper division clinical nursing courses who interrupt their studies for personal or academic reasons for longer than one year must reapply for admission to the upper division. (This item does not apply to RN to B.S.N. students).
4. The required 300- and 400-level courses in the pre-licensure program are designed to be completed in two academic years. Students who voluntarily withdraw from one or more of these required courses are considered to have withdrawn from the program and must apply for readmission prior to enrolling in the next semester.

Grading in Practicum and Laboratory

A grade of unsatisfactory in lab or clinical practicum in nursing courses will result in a course grade of F.

Appeal Procedure Related to Progression Policies

If a student wishes to appeal a policy in the School of Nursing, the student should complete a “Student Appeal Request.” The Student Admission, Progression, and Appeals Committee hears student appeals. Students may obtain the request form and discuss the appeals process with the Chair of the Committee or the Associate Dean (undergraduates) or the Director of Graduate Studies (graduate students). The Student Appeal Request form may be printed from the School of Nursing Web site, www.uncg.edu/nur.