UACCM Registered Nursing Program is an Arkansas State Board of Nursing approved 12-month program that runs from January to December. Admission into the UACCM Registered Nursing Program is a competitive process. A class of up to 48 students begins once per year.
Courses are held during the day on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Clinicals are held on Fridays and Saturdays.
Steps and Criteria
Applicants must Hold A Current Unencumbered Arkansas License of LPN, LVN, or LPTN Before The Program Starts.
Step 1
Complete the Admission Process.
Students who have not attended class or completed an admission application within the last 12 months at UACCM are required to complete a new College Admission Application.
Step 2
Pass All Prerequisite Courses With A "C" or Better.
Students may lack ONE prerequisite course by the fall semester directly prior to the program starting; however, they must be enrolled in that course in the fall. All pre-requisites must be completed before the program starts in January. The ten prerequisite courses are listed below:
- Anatomy and Physiology I*
- Anatomy and Physiology II*
- Microbiology*
- Nutrition
- Intro to Computers
- Math for Nurses
- Composition I
- Composition II
- General Psychology
- Psychology of Human Development
*Biology courses must be 4 credit hours with a lab. After 2007, both Anatomy and Physiology I and Anatomy and Physiology II courses must be taken at the same institution to receive credit.
College Algebra cannot be substituted for Math for Nurses.
The Nutrition course must cover the life span.
Step 3
Achieve a Minimum Percentage Score of 60% on the NACE Exam and Have A Minimum Total of 100 When NACE Score and Prerequisite GPA are Combined.
Students must pay $70 testing and proctoring fee for the Nursing Accelerated Challenge Exam (NACE) at the Student Accounts window in the University Center before scheduling an appointment with Testing Services to take the exam. Students will only be allowed to take the NACE twice per application period.
The Nursing Department does not have access to NACE scores after applicants have tested. NACE scores must be submitted by the applicant to the Nursing Department, Room 100 in the Kirk Building or by email to nursing@uaccm.edu. NACE scores taken at a testing centers other than UACCM Testing Services will not be accepted.
NACE testing may be scheduled on Mondays or Tuesdays at 8:00 am or 12:30 pm between March 1 and October 1.
Step 4
Complete and Submit the Application for the Registered Nursing Program Online.
Registered Nursing Application
A minimum 2.50 cumulative GPA and good academic standing is required for admission to the Registered Nursing Program.
Application window
- Applications are accepted from March 1 – October 1.
Step 5
Submit a Letter of Good Standing.
Only required for applicants who have previously attended another nursing program (RN).
Entrance Requirements
Admission to the College does not necessarily qualify a student for admission to the Registered Nursing program. A minimum 2.5 cumulative GPA and good academic standing is required for admission to the Registered Nursing Program.
Students who are selected for admission into the Registered Nursing program must submit to the Division of Health Professions and Natural Sciences office current proof of:
- 2-step Tuberculosis assessment and clearance
- Influenza vaccination
- Hepatitis B vaccination or titer
- Varicella vaccination or titer
- Negative urine drug screening
- American Heart Association Healthcare Provider CPR certification
All immunizations must be current upon acceptance and maintained during the program. Other immunizations may be required per facility.
Students selected for admission will receive a letter of acceptance into the program via email from the Director of Registered Nursing, and will need to accept the invitation. This acceptance will be linked in the acceptance email. In the event that the student does not plan to enroll, they need to notify the Nursing Department by filling out the declination form linked in the acceptance email so that an alternate student may have the slot. The Nursing Department will maintain an alternate list of students in the case of a selected student declining his/her acceptance letter.
Students who have been suspended from UACCM for the possession or use of controlled substances, illicit drugs, or the unlawful possession and use of alcohol will be ineligible to make application to the Practical Nursing program.
If an applicant failed twice in a generic RN program, then later successfully completed an LPN/LVN/LPTN program, the applicant will be eligible to apply to the UACCM Registered Nursing program.
Background Checks Upon Admission
Background checks will be conducted at the student’s expense on selected applicants prior to the beginning of the program. If an applicant’s/student’s background check is unsatisfactory, he or she will not be admitted to the program.
Selection of Candidates
Students will be ranked and selected based on their grade point average of the prerequisite courses and their pre-entrance exam score.
Academic Progression
Students are required to maintain a 75% in each course. Students are required to successfully complete all courses in a semester in order to progress to subsequent semesters. Final course grade will not be rounded to nearest whole number.
The following grading system is utilized to evaluate students in all courses
- A — 90-100%
- B — 80-89%
- C — 75-79%
- D — 60-74%
- F — 0-59%
Transfers
Due to differences in nursing curriculum in other nursing programs, UACCM will not accept transfer credit for previously taken Registered Nursing courses. Students who were enrolled in another program will follow the same requirements and admission procedures as students who have never attended another nursing program.
Readmission/Re-entry Information
Readmission or re-entry into a UACCM nursing program involves a number of requirements which must be met before a student will be considered.
- Students must have a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.5 and be in good academic standing.
- The following documents are required for readmission/re-entry. All documents should be submitted to the Vice Chancellor of Academics (University Center, Suite 100). Documents for the readmission should be submitted on or before the appropriate application period. Documents for re-entry should be submitted within two (2) weeks of withdrawing/failing any nursing course. If the deadline to submit the documents is on a Saturday, Sunday and/or holiday for which the campus is closed, the deadline will be the next business day in which the campus is open.
- Registered Nursing Readmission/Re-entry application.
- A letter of action which includes a brief summary of why the student is no longer in the program and a plan for successful completion of the program.
- A letter of recommendation from one of the nursing faculty.
- Readmission - Once approved by the Vice Chancellor for Academics to be readmitted, the student must make application to the Registered Nursing program. Students who are allowed to be readmitted will be ranked with all other applicants received during the application period. Acceptance into the program is not guaranteed.
- Re-entry - Should several students be approved by the Vice Chancellor for Academics for re-entry to the same program level, student will be ranked. Due to the limited number of available seats, student’s GPA, letter of action, and recommendation letter will be used to create a ranking scale to guide in the decision-making process.
Background Checks Upon Readmission/Re-entry
The Arkansas State Board of Nursing (ASBN) requires a criminal background check for all graduates applying for licensure. Graduating from a nursing program does not assure ASBN’s approval to take the licensure examination. Eligibility to take the licensure examination is dependent on meeting standards in the ASBN Nurse Practice Act and Rules. The student will be required to sign statements, before beginning the nursing program, that states the student has read and understood Arkansas Nurse Practice Acts, ACA §17-87-312, and ACA §17-3-102 and the specific offenses which, if pleaded guilty, nolo contendere, or found guilty of will make an individual ineligible to receive or hold a license in Arkansas.
Students will be required to complete a background check upon selection into a nursing program. A prior background check may be used only if it is less than one (1) year old; the student will need to complete a new background check when the prior one has expired. Please see the program requirements for details about background check requirements.
Co-requisites
All nursing courses are co-requisites within each semester; therefore, a student seeking re-entry must take all courses offered for the level of re-entry.
Clinical Competency
Students selected for re-entry into the RN program must successfully complete a Clinical Competency course prior to the semester of re-entry.