Subject: Academic Affairs

Policy: Application, Admission and Placement into the College of Nursing Undergraduate Programs

Revised: September2021.

Effective date: December 14, 2021

Review date: December 14, 2021

Responsible Party: Level I:  UAAC; Level II: Associate Dean for Academic Affairs

Introduction and Purpose

The College of Nursing at Montana State University (MSU CON) is committed to supporting the Mission of Montana State University to increase academic success for all students and to foster a culture of collaboration with university partners (Choosing Promise, Goals 1.1 and 3.1). All first-degree BSN students are required to complete MSU CORE requirements, ensuring a solid foundation in the arts, sciences, and humanities.  Due to regulated clinical capacity, student enrollment in the Nursing major is restricted and students must apply to the program. Hence, all students seeking a major in Nursing must complete the Pre-Nursing curricular requirements prior to application for admission into the Nursing major and placement on one of our five clinical campus locations (Billings, Bozeman, Great Falls, Kalispell, and Missoula). Requests for subsequent changes in placement are considered based on available resources.

Policy

All students  applying for admission to the traditional or accelerated programs must meet the qualifications as outlined below. During the application process, MRJCON distinguishes between admission to the program and placement on one of its campus locations. The MRJCON and specific MSU affiliated programs (Caring for Our Own Program, ROTC, Athletics, Music/Band/Orchestra, Hilleman Scholars, Honors, and Rodeo) collaborate to support the success of scholarship and/or waiver-based students who are applying for admission and placement into the Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) major.  MRJCON admits students to the Bachelor of Nursing Science through a competitive process based on a holistic review of academic metrics, attributes, and experiences.  Once admitted to the BSN major, students are placed at one of MRJCON’s five campus locations through a second competitive process based on student preference, holistic review, and scholarship considerations. Requests for subsequent changes in campus placement are considered based on campus capacity and scholastic committee approval.

Procedures

Application

  1. Program application is conducted through NursingCAS, an online centralized application platform that provides transcript verification and a secure portal for application submission.
  2. All official transcripts are required as part of the application process.
  3. Applicants with non-MSU coursework seeking transfer equivalency evaluation are directed to work with advisors on course equivalency early in the process.
  4. A urine drug screen and background check are required at time of application through a clinical compliance tracking vendor.  
  5. Students provide a ranked list of preferred campus placement during the application process.
  6. See Traditional BSN application timelines or ABSN application timelines
  7. Criteria for Pre-Nursing and Transfer Students applying for Admission:
    1. A calculated GPA of 3.0 or higher in nursing prerequisite courses is required. Those courses are: BIOH 201, BIOH 211, BIOM 250/251, CHMY 121/122, CHMY 123/124, COMX 111, HDFS 101 or PSYX 230, NUTR 221, PSYX 100 or SOCI 101, M 121, STAT 216, WRIT 101, WRIT 201, and NRSG 116.
    2. ABSN applicants must have completed a baccalaureate degree prior to the beginning of the nursing program.
    3. Applicants with a baccalaureate degree are exempt from WRIT 101.
    4. All required prerequisite courses must be completed with a grade of C minus or better. Prerequisite coursework must have been completed within 15 years of application date.  No more than two repeats of the required prerequisite courses are allowed.  Students may contact their advisor for information on an appeal process for these rules or other variances.
    5. At time of application, at least 3 of the 5 required natural science courses must be completed with a grade of C minus or better of which one must be BIOH 201. Those natural science courses are: BIOH 201, BIOH 211, BIOM 250/251, CHMY 121/122, and CHMY 123/124.
    6. All prerequisite coursework must be completed with a C minus or better prior to the start of nursing coursework. A prerequisite completion plan (limited to 21 outstanding credits) is included in the NursingCAS application and reviewed for feasibility for intended program start date. 
    7. For students pursuing their first bachelor’s degree, any remaining CORE 2.0 courses (University Seminar, Diversity, Arts, and Humanities) must be completed for the degree. The research CORE is available from NRSG 324R.

Admission 

  1. Beginning with the fall 2023 admission cycle, applicants are admitted to the Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN or ABSN) program through a competitive process based on a holistic review of attributes, experiences, and academic metrics, included in their NursingCAS
  2. The specific holistic score for admission to nursing varies with each application cycle and is based the pool of applicants’ academic metrics, attributes, and experiences.
  3. Students who have been previously enrolled in, but have not completed, another nursing program will provide a letter of good standing from the institution’s nursing director in the NursingCAS application process.  The letter must address the student’s standing in the program at the time of exit and eligibility for readmission or reinstatement. 

Placement

  1. Once admitted to the BSN major, students are placed at one of MRJCON’s five campus locations (Billings, Bozeman, Great Falls, Kalispell, Missoula) through a second competitive process based on both holistic review and scholarship considerations.
  2. The number of placements is contingent on the overall available placements at each MRJCON campus location.
  3. MRJCON offers priority placement on a specific MRJCON campus location for scholarship and/or waiver-based participants when continued scholarship and/or waiver-based support is contingent upon the student’s geographic location.
    1. Scholarship and/or waiver-based participants in [Caring for Our Own Program, ROTC, Athletics, Music/Band/Orchestra, Hilleman Scholars, and Rodeo] are defined as Pre-Nursing students who receive substantial financial support (funding 50% or greater of tuition, fees, books, and living stipend) contingent on their participation.
    2. Scholarship and/or waiver-based participants are admitted through a competitive holistic admission process into the Nursing major using the same process as other students.
  4. Using the holistic placement score, the top ranked students will be offered a placement for the duration of the nursing program until all available placements are filled. These students will receive a letter offering them admission to the Mark and Robyn Jones College of Nursing with a specific campus placement based on their preferences noted in their application and on overall availability. Students may decline their placement offer and elect to be on the waitlist for their preferred campus.
  5. Waitlist: The remaining applicants who met the minimum requirements can request to be placed on the Wait List by rank. If a student declines a placement, they remain on the Wait List by rank. The wait list is used to fill unexpected vacancies that might occur and is created for each application cycle.
  6. Students who accept a placement cannot be added to the Wait List. Students not offered placement while on the list are not automatically entered into the applicant pool for the next application cycle and will need to reapply during the following application period.

Subsequent Placement Requests

Initial placement decisions are considered permanent and program enrollment is guaranteed for students in good standing.  Requests for a change in campus placement are categorized, considered, and prioritized as outlined below:

  1. Students who fail or withdraw from first semester nursing course(s) for the first time after the 15th day of the semester will be offered a new placement at the original campus in the next available application cycle.  Students who experience a second attempt that result in failure or withdrawal are not allowed to progress and may appeal to the Scholastic Committee for readmission.  The Mark and Robyn Jones College of Nursing considers a “W” grade as a failed attempt.
  2. Depending on the circumstance, ABSN students may appeal to transfer to the traditional program. Only traditional students with a prior bachelor’s degree may appeal to transfer to the ABSN program.
  3. Campus placements, vacated due to withdrawal, failure or transfer to another campus, are available to be requested according to the following order of priority by category. Within each of these categories, students are ranked by the date (semester and year) of their initial request. If two requests are submitted on the same date, students will be ranked according to their MSU/CON cumulative GPA.
Category #1

Due to extraordinary circumstances, students may appeal to the Scholastic Committee to transfer to another campus location. Extraordinary circumstances are defined as situations that occur which are beyond the student's control such as military orders, death of an immediate family member, or personal illness or injury.

  1. The student will consult with their Campus Director to complete the scholastic appeal form, the Campus Placement Request Form, write a letter explaining the extraordinary circumstances, and provide appropriate documentation supporting their appeal.
  2. If the scholastic appeal for extraordinary circumstances is approved, the student will have first priority over other students for the campus placement.
  3. Transfers to other campuses are available dependent upon space only.  If not available, students may need to sit out one or more semesters. Once transferred, the new placement decision is final for the remaining terms.
Category #2

Students who fail or withdraw from a nursing course must repeat the course. Progression may be delayed in order to accommodate prerequisites in the curriculum.

  1. The student will consult with their Campus Director to complete the Campus Placement Request form and rank their campus choices.  Students who wish to remain on their current campus will have second priority.
  2. Students who have experienced first time failure or withdrawal after the first semester have second priority for available openings.  This subsequent placement is accommodated by considering the student’s preference ranking and available campus capacity.
  3. If there are no openings at any of the campus sites for the needed course, the student will need to sit out the semester. Once transferred, the new placement decision is final for the remaining terms.
Category #3

All other students requesting transfer to another campus who do not have extraordinary circumstances.

  1. Students requesting a change of campus, without extraordinary circumstances, will consult with their campus director to complete the Campus Placement Request form and provide their preferred campus ranking. 
  2. Students who have been approved for a campus change due to personal preference have third priority for available openings. 
  3. If there is no opening, a student may need to remain at the original campus or sit out a semester. Once transferred, the new placement decision is final for the remaining terms.

Internal control considerations, if applicable: N/A

Previously Updated:

Level I: Undergraduate Academic Affairs Committee - UAAC (May 11, 2020)

Level II: Associate Dean for Academic Affairs (June 17, 2020)