Lower Division Nursing Courses

Lower Division Nursing requirements are accepted in transfer from an Associate Degree or a diploma in Nursing

Lower division nursing requirements may be fulfilled as follows:

• Anatomy and Physiology II

New York State Regents Examination (RCE)

• Chemistry

Earned by credit only

• Microbiology

College Level Examination Program (CLEP) or National League for Nursing
Achievement Exam (NLN)

• Introduction to Psychology and Introduction to Sociology

College Level Examination Program (CLEP)

• Matriculation in the nursing major is required to earn credit for the lower division nursing (30 credits).

Upper Division Nursing Courses

• NURS 361 - Contmp Topics Prof Nursing
• NURS 362 - Transcultural Nursing
• NURS 363 - Nurs Resrch Evdnc Bsd Prof Nur
• NURS 364 - Nursing Informatics
• NURS 365 - Intro to Health Policy
• NURS 366 - Leadership & Management
• NURS 368 - Hlth Assessment/Hlth Promotion
• NURS 371 - Statistics for Nurses
• NURS 401 - Community Health Nursing

• Passing grade for NURS courses is a C in RN-BS program

   

Program Information

Undergraduate Nursing Program Outcomes

Graduates of the Mercy University Bachelor of Science Degree in Nursing will be expected to demonstrate the following program outcomes:

• Integrate concepts from liberal arts and sciences as the basis for nursing education and the practice of professional nursing 
• Demonstrate leadership strategies that promote quality improvement, client safety, and organizational effectiveness that promotes health 
• Evaluate the levels of evidence that guide evidence based on practice in professional nursing 
• Explore ethical management of data, information, knowledge, and technology to facilitate professional nursing care 
• Investigate healthcare policies and practices, finances, costs, and regulations that influence professional nursing and the general population while promoting advocacy and social justice particularly for the vulnerable 
• Examine the implications of interprofessional communication and collaboration in improving health outcomes 
• Examine the impact of clinical prevention on health promotion and disease prevention on population health 
• Integrate the core values characteristic of professional nursing 
• Integrate and apply knowledge, skills, and attitudes that lead to the improvement in health outcomes while recognizing the diversity of culture, spirituality, ethnicity, socio-economic status, gender, and sexual orientation of all clients 

Admission Criteria

Students who choose the major concentration in nursing must have:

1. An associate degree in nursing from an accredited Nursing Program or a diploma in nursing.
2. Students who completed their nursing degree outside of the U.S. must complete a WES evaluation
3. Passed the NCLEX-RN licensure exam.
4. A valid unencumbered state license to practice as a registered nurse in the U.S.
5. A GPA of 2.75
6. Students will be considered for matriculation with GPAs 2.5-2.70.

Admissions Procedure

1. Obtain an application form and general information regarding your eligibility for the nursing program from the Admissions Office at the main campus, any of the branch campuses or online.
2. All applicants for the Nursing Program must submit the following to the Office of Admissions:
   1. An application for Admission, accompanied by the $40 application fee. (The application fee will be waived for students who are presently matriculated at Mercy University.)
   2. An official transcript of record from each diploma school, college, or university previously attended.
   3. Evidence of current licensure as a registered nurse.
3. Students applying for acceptance to the RN-BS Program are able to apply with the Mercy University Undergraduate Application or the Common Application. 

Eligibility for Admission to Nursing Courses NURS 361  and above:

To be admitted to these nursing courses, the student must have passed the NCLEX exam and hold a valid license to practice as a registered nurse in the U.S. Students who are in their senior year of their Associates Degree program are permitted to take up to 6 credits (NURS 361 , NURS 366 , or NURS 371 ) in one semester before they graduate. These students will not be permitted to take anymore nursing courses until they pass the NCLEX-RN exam and have a valid RN license.

Transfer Credit

Previously earned college credit in the liberal arts and sciences may be accepted in transfer by Mercy University. Additional academic credits can be earned by passing RCE or CLEP examinations.

Organization of the Program

This program has been designed for the part-time or full-time student. A student may enroll for 3-16 credits a semester. Courses are scheduled for a combination of evenings, days, weekends (general education classes) and/or online (asynchronous, synchronous, hybrid modalities). A variety of schedule patterns and teaching and learning methods are utilized. Nursing courses are offered at the Dobbs Ferry and Online Campuses. General education courses can be taken at either of the branch campuses in the Bronx, or Manhattan. 

Additional Nursing Science Requirements

1. Anatomy and Physiology II (transfer credit or NYS Regents exam)*
2. Microbiology (transfer credit, College Level Examination Program [CLEP], or National League of Nursing Achievement Exam [NLN]) *

Clinical Requirements for NURS 401 - Community Health Nursing  

Current RN License. Additionally, must have taken at least three of the following courses at Mercy University: NURS 361 , NURS 362 , NURS 363 , NURS 364 , NURS 365 , NURS 366 , NURS 367 , NURS 368  and/or NURS 371 .

All students must complete the following before starting clinical. Requisite clinical documents must be submitted to CastleBranch. No one is allowed to begin clinical without the following:

1. Current CPR for Health Care Personnel
2. Liability malpractice insurance
3. Heath clearance approval
4. Immunization titers - MMR, Hepatitis B, Varicella
5. Flu vaccine
6. COVID-19 vaccines
7. PPD or Quantiferon or chest x-ray (if PPD positive)
8. Copy of current RN license
9. *Criminal background check - Depending on agency requirements
10. *Drug screen - Depending on agency requirements
11. *Fingerprints - Depending on agency requirements.

Program Probation

If a student’s cumulative and/or major GPA falls below a 2.00, they will be placed on program probation and will have two semesters to raise their cumulative and/or major GPA to a 2.00 or higher.

RN-BS-MS

RNs with 3.0 GPAs from an associate degree program are eligible to apply for the accelerated R.N.-B.S.-M.S. program. In this program, up to six graduate credits are substituted for undergraduate credits. After 120 credits, a student earns a bachelor’s degree in nursing and is able to enter either the Masters in Nursing Education or Masters in Nursing Administration track. Students must apply to the MS program of their choice.

Requirements for applying to the RN-BS-MS program:

1. Undergraduate GPA 3.0.
2. Completion of a minimum of 50 general education credits.
3. Undergraduate nursing courses NURS 363  and NURS 371 .
4. Meet with PACT mentor in the undergraduate program to inform them of intent to apply for RN-BS=MS program plan.
5. Meet with Associate Dean of Post Licensure Nursing Programs to discuss acceptance into the program.

 The student must receive a B or better to receive credit for two graduate courses taken (NURS 502 and NURS 503).

Substitution courses are as follows:

NURS 503* in lieu of NURS 365 
NURS 502* in lieu of NURS 364  

*(These are graduate courses-  please see the graduate catalog for the course description)

Admission requirements for the RN-BS-MS Program:

Students admitted into the RN-BS-MS program must complete all of their undergraduate requirements. Pending undergraduate graduation, the graduate application is initiated. The following information must be in evidence:

1. Undergraduate GPA 3.0.
2. NURS 502 and NURS 503* (Grade: B or better).
3. Completed graduate application in MS in Nursing Education or MS in Nursing Administration .
4. Approval from Program Director or Associate Dean of Post Licensure Nursing Programs.

Before entering into the M.S. component of the RN-BS-MS program, the student must graduate from the R.N.-B.S. program.

Program Dismissal Review

In cases which a student has been dismissed from the Nursing Program, the student may request a dismissal review when they believe that extenuating circumstances effected their academic performance in the program. The student must follow the SON Program Dismissal Review Policy.

Complaints That Fall Outside the Realm of Due Process

The School 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 University, 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 here. 
If the program director is the subject of the complaint, the complaint should be addressed to the Dean, School of Nursing.

Program Policies

Readmission Program Policies

• The reentry policy applies to students with Mercy University nursing credits who seek to reenter the Mercy University nursing program.
• The admission policy applies to students dismissed from other nursing programs.
• Reentry or admission is only offered once. If a student is dismissed a second time from the nursing program, they may not reapply.
• Readmission to the nursing program is not guaranteed.

Re-entry Policy:  Mercy University students

A student academically dismissed from the nursing program at Mercy University may apply for reentry. The student seeking re-entry must initiate the process within two semesters of leaving the nursing program.

Students must meet all the current admission criteria to be considered for re-entry to the nursing program.

Admission policy: Nursing transfer students

A student dismissed from another nursing program for academic reasons may apply for admission to the nursing program at Mercy University. Applicants must meet the current admission requirements at Mercy University.

Nursing courses must be a grade of B- or higher to transfer. The program will accept up to 6 credits in transfer for the courses listed below (courses must be taken within the last 5 years).

• Nursing Research
• Informatics
• Health Policy

Students dismissed from another nursing program will need to submit additional information, see below.

Where to apply

Students seeking re-entry will need to apply directly to the nursing program by emailing Maryanne Allis and Bryan Enriquez  mallis2@mercy.edu  and  benriquez@mercy.edu
Students seeking admission as a nursing transfer student will need to apply to the Office of Admissions.

Admission Requirements

Students seeking reentry or admission as a transfer nursing student must submit additional information.

The applicant must:

• Submit a personal statement addressed to the Readmission Committee requesting re-entry or admission to the nursing program for a specific semester and year. The Readmission committee is composed of nursing faculty, an admissions counselor, and PACT advisor. The personal statement should contain all the following information:
  • Detailed explanation of the factors that contributed to the nursing program dismissal.
  • Discussion of your academic readiness to resume the nursing program.
  • Outline of your plans to achieve academic success.
  • Submit two letters of recommendation supporting admission to the program. If the applicant was dismissed from a nursing program that was not Mercy University, one letter of recommendation must be from the program from which you were dismissed. The letter should address the reason for dismissal.

Nursing Course Transfer

Mercy University will accept some nursing course(s) taken at accredited nursing programs and accredited colleges or universities. To evaluate courses, students must submit applicable course syllabi and have a grade of B minus or higher in the transfer course. The School of Nursing will only accept up to six transfer credits for the courses listed below. Courses taken must be within 5 years of starting the program and must be weighted at 3 credits or more.

• Nursing Research
• Informatics
• Health Policy

School of Nursing Withdrawal Policy

Students may withdraw from a Nursing (NURS) course as per the Mercy University Student handbook.

• Students must withdraw during the designated nursing withdrawal period.
• A student may withdraw from a NURS course only once throughout the nursing program.
• Students are required to withdraw from all components associated with a NURS course [i.e., didactic, clinical and/or lab]. The withdrawal from all components associated with an NURS course will be considered a total of one withdrawal.

Professional Licensure

If you are interested in obtaining professional licensure, please check with the appropriate licensing body in the state where you intend to practice. For additional information and detailed requirements, please refer to the specific program of interest on the “School Resources” section of the Mercy University NC-Sara webpage.