Nursing Degree On Line

Q: My wife has a 2 year nursing Diploma and is working as a registered nurse. The hospital she is working at is willing to train her in the ICU and she would like to upgrade herself to a BSN. Is it possible to do this via a correspondence course (primarily) though she knows there will be some time spent classroom and practical classes? She doesn't really want to have to stop work and go back to University for 2 or 3 years and start out again. I've looked out on the Net and haven't been able to find any information on this though I may be using the wrong keywords. Has anyone got experience/comments in doing this and has some leads for me?

A:I'll bet you work with computers....your wife is going to "upgrade" herself, eh? Sounds like something my husband would say. I do wish there were some way to download the college courses offered online directly into my mainbrain file. You may want to do a search for "Regents College" in New York. Also, do a search under the topic "distance learning". I know the University of Southern Colorado offers affordable, online, accredited courses. USC is only one of many that offer this, however. Aaaah yes, this is one area I know a bit about as I am trying to do the same thing. Most colleges now have "distance study" correspondance courses which only require one or two proctored exams. If she is like me, she'll need a heck of alot of history, government and other non-nursing related courses before she even starts the BSN nursing part - these are called General Education requirements. I suggest you find Peterson's or Bear's guide to campus-free college degrees or non-traditional degrees. Yes, there are many degress one can get without ANY classroom time. Unfortunately, nursing isn't one of them. Three BSN programs you can try, I have been quite happy with the last one. 1) Regent's College 2) Graceland 3) University California State - Dominguez Hills * Bottomline is they're ALL accredited by the proper regional authorities. Now, there may be others but these are the three I know for sure are. Look into their General Education requirements and find out what you can take at other institutions to keep the cost down. For instance, my nusing courses are $225 a credit but I'm taking a G.E. course at an other accredited school for only $90 a credit. Also, there is always the option for your wife to test out of some of her classes as well. I must tell you it can be a frustrating experience to say the least. I don't see how all the G.E. course will make me a better nurse but, to get the BSN I covet, there is no other way. OK fine, I'll be more "well rounded", yeh, whatever.

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