Program Information
Undergraduate Nursing Program Goals
The B.S. in nursing program is designed to prepare students to:
a) Be accountable for professional nursing care
b) Collaborate in leadership roles within the changing healthcare delivery system
c) Participate in the process of inquiry
d) Prepare for graduate study
Undergraduate Nursing Program Outcomes
Graduates of the Mercy College Bachelor of Science Degree in Nursing will be expected to demonstrate the following program outcomes:
Technology
- Students will demonstrate proficiency with patient care technologies and information management systems to gather and manage data to communicate effectively with patients, families, health care professionals, and policy decision makers.
- Students will demonstrate skills in using patient care technologies, information systems, and communication skills, based on a foundation of the arts, sciences and humanities, that support patient outcomes and nursing practice.
Research
- Students will demonstrate a basic understanding of how evidence is developed including the research process, clinical judgment, inter-professional perspectives, and patient preferences as applied to practice.
Leadership
- Student will apply leadership concepts, skills, and decision making to the provision of nursing care and nursing practice in collaboration with organizations and communities.
- Students will demonstrate leadership and communication skills to participate in quality improvement initiatives with health care teams.
Quality
- Students will appraise principles of quality improvement, health care policy, and cost effectiveness to assist in the achievement of safe and quality outcomes of care for diverse populations.
Admission Criteria
Acceptance into the Nursing Major requires the following:
- Minimum High School GPA of 85%
- High School Science and Math grades ‘B’ or higher
- High School Transcript
- Personal Statement (200-500 word statement about why you want to become a nurse)
- ACT or SAT
Admission Procedures
1. Applications to the Traditional BS in Nursing program are accepted once a year to begin in the Fall semester. Applications for Fall Semester entry will be accepted up until February 1st of the year the student plans to starting nursing courses in September. Applications received after February 1st will be considered only if there is space.
2. Students applying for acceptance to the Traditional Nursing program (BS in Nursing; 4-year program) applicants are able to apply with the Mercy College Undergraduate Application or the Common Application.
Progression Criteria
Once accepted as a B.S. Nursing major, students are required to achieve a ‘B-’ or better in all nursing (NURS) courses and a grade of ‘B-’ or better in prerequisite courses: BIOL 117, BIOL 130/BIOL 130A, BIOL 131/BIOL 131A, CHEM 140/CHEM 140A, BIOL 265/BIOL 265A, ENGL 111, ENGL 112, MATH 116. Students may only repeat one prerequisite course.
Students must maintain an overall GPA as follows for non-nursing courses:
| First year |
GPA 2.2 or above |
| Second year |
GPA 2.4 or above |
| Third year |
GPA 2.4 or above |
| Fourth year |
GPA 2.4 or above |
| Nursing courses |
GPA must be at 2.67 or higher |
Students are permitted to repeat one prerequisite course and one NURS course. Students may only withdraw once from one course.
Students will not progress to the next level of the program if they do not meet the above criteria.
Clinical Requirements
All students must complete the following before starting clinical. Copies of these documents/clearances must be submitted electronically to the Clinical Placement Coordinator by the specified due date.
No one is allowed to begin clinical without the following:
- Current CPR for Health Care Personnel
- COVID vaccination and Booster
- Liability malpractice insurance
- Health clearance approval
- Immunization titers - MMR, Hepatitis B, Varicella
- Annual Flu vaccine
- PPD or Quantiferon or chest x-ray (if PPD positive)
- *Criminal background check - Depending on agency requirements
- *Drug screen - Depending on agency requirements
- *Fingerprints - Depending on agency requirements.
Organization of the Program
This program has been designed for the full-time student. A variety of schedule patterns and teaching and learning community methods are utilized. All nursing and requisite science courses are offered at the Dobbs Ferry campus only.
Non-cohort general education requirements other than above, may be taken at the Bronx and Manhattan campuses. Student will be allowed to take general education courses online if they meet the following requirements: 1) completion of first semester of first year, and 2) GPA of 3.0 or above. Upon successful completion of the program, students will be eligible to take the NCLEX-RN licensure examination.
Program Dismissal Review
In cases which a student has been dismissed from the Traditional Nursing Program, the student may request a dismissal review when they believe that extenuating circumstances affected their academic performance in the program. The student must follow the SHNS Program Dismissal Review Policy detailed at the beginning of the School of Health and Natural Sciences section.
Complaints That Fall Outside the Realm of Due Process
The Department of Nursing is committed to meeting its mission as it relates to serving our students, potential students, staff, faculty, adjunct faculty, clinical faculty and the public consumer of nursing services. To that end, we are committed to ensuring that exceptional complaints for which there is no established College, School or program policy or procedure are considered and resolved in a timely, fair, consistent and equitable manner.
Procedure: Complaint to the Program: Complaints should be addressed to the Program Director through the online form located at here .
If the program director is the subject of the complaint, the complaint should be addressed to the Dean, School of Health and Natural Science.
Program Policies
- The readmission policy applies to students dismissed from the Mercy College nursing programs.
- The admission policy applies to students dismissed from other nursing programs.
- Readmission or admission is only offered once. If a student is dismissed a second time from the nursing program, they may not reapply.
Readmission Policy
A student dismissed from the nursing program at Mercy College because of academic criteria may apply for readmission 1-2 years from the date of the academic dismissal.
Students may need to take a qualifying exam or repeat theory and clinical courses already taken and passed successfully.
Students must meet all the current admission criteria to be considered for readmission to the nursing program.
Admission Policy for students dismissed from other nursing programs
A student dismissed from other nursing programs for academic reasons may apply for admission to the nursing program at Mercy College. Applicants must meet the current admission requirements at Mercy College. Students must have a grade of C or better in transfer courses. The program will accept up to 6-credits in transfer for the courses listed below (courses must be taken within 5 years of starting the program):
- Nursing Research
- Informatics
- Health Policy
- Contemporary Topics
Readmission to the College (Mercy College Students) or Admission (Applicants dismissed from other nursing schools)
The Applicant must:
- Apply to the Office of Admissions 1-2 years from the dismissal date.
- Submit a personal statement addressed to the Readmissions Committee (Admissions, PACT and Nursing) requesting readmission or admission to the Nursing Program for a specific semester and year.
The letter should also contain the following information:
- Reasons for dismissal from the program
- Explanation of contributing factors that led to dismissal
- Discussion about your academic readiness to begin the nursing program
- Plans to achieve academic success
- Submit two letters of recommendation supporting eligibility for readmission to the nursing program
Readmission to the Program
- Work with PACT mentor to initiate a review for possible readmission to the Nursing Program.
- Submit a personal statement addressed to the Readmissions Committee (Admissions, PACT and Nursing) requesting readmission or admission to the Nursing Program for a specific semester and year.
The letter should also contain the following information:
- Reasons for dismissal from the program
- Explanation of contributing factors that led to dismissal
- Discussion about your academic readiness to begin the nursing program.
- Plans to achieve academic success
- Submit two letters of recommendation supporting eligibility for readmission to the nursing program.
Students who are successful in their readmission or admission to the Mercy College nursing program, are required to adhere to academic requirements and maintain the required GPA for program progression and completion.
