The School of Nursing and Health Sciences’ RN-BSN Student Guidebook serves nursing students in our competency-based education program. The Guidebook contains information, guidelines, procedures and resources directly related to the RN-BSN program.
East Texas A&M reserves the right to change policies and procedures without notice. The RN-BSN Student Guidebook is not intended to be and should not be regarded as a contract between the university and/or any student or faculty.
Welcome
The School of Nursing and Health Sciences provides the RN-BSN competency-based program as an opportunity for current nursing professionals to propel their careers to the next level by allowing them to obtain their BSN degree at their own pace using the knowledge and skills they have acquired rather than time in the classroom.
Mission
The mission of the School of Nursing supports the mission of the University and the College of Education and Human Services. The School of Nursing facilitates the development of safe,
competent practitioners with critical thinking skills to meet the diverse and evolving health care needs of individuals, families, groups, and communities.
Vision
The vision of the Nursing Department is to be recognized as a center of excellence in nursing education that prepares professionals to practice in a dynamic healthcare environment and serve a wide range of communities.
Student Resources
All listed resources, excluding the Food Pantry, are available remotely via phone or Internet.
Important Dates
Week 4
Acceleration Deadline, Friday @ 17:00 CT
Week 5
- Drop Deadline, Wednesday @ 17:00 CT
Week 6
- Withdrawal Deadline, Wednesday @ 17:00 CT
Week 7
- End of Term – all assignments and tests due, Friday @ 23:59 CT
Competency-Based Education Model
The Competency-Based Education (CBE) model allows students to complete courses based on their ability to master a skill or competency at their own pace and in any environment. The time needed to demonstrate competencies varies, while the learning expectations are held constant. Students acquire and demonstrate their knowledge and skills by engaging in learning exercises, activities and experiences that align with clearly defined programmatic outcomes.
CBE has Five Core Elements:
- Student advances based on mastery, not on seat time.
- CBE programs are 100% online and 100% Open Educational Resources.
- Students must demonstrate mastery with a grade of “B” or better on all post-tests and culminating projects.
- CBE courses are offered in seven-week terms at a flat rate tuition.
- Courses are self-paced, and students can accelerate or decelerate through the program.
Terms
Terms are seven weeks, for a total of six terms per year- two in fall, two in spring, and two in summer.
Your academic advisor will provide you with term dates.
Students are not permitted to “carry-forward” any work between terms. Students are expected to complete all pre-tests, post-tests. and required course assignments in each class, including acceleration courses.
Acceleration AND DECELERATION
ACCELERATION DEADLINE: The ability to accelerate into an extra course during a term will be provided to eligible students. To be eligible, students must successfully complete at least one of their current courses by the fourth week of the term by scoring 80% or better on all module post-tests and the culminating project by Friday of Week 4 at 17:00 CST. This means all assignments, tests, and projects must be submitted by Wednesday of Week 4 at 23:59 CST to provide the instructor an opportunity to complete grading. If a student drops a course, the student is not eligible to accelerate. Please contact your instructor or advisor if you have questions or concerns.
Step 1
Pass at least one course by week four of the first term and obtain verification of completion from the course instructor.
Step 2
Notify your advisor that you would like to accelerate and provide them with the verification of completion obtained in Step 1.
Step 3
Your advisor will determine which course is available for acceleration and register you.
Step 4
Once your advisor has notified you of registration, check your D2L for course information and to begin coursework.
Step 5
Successfully complete and pass the course before end of term.
DECELERATION: There may be times when a student needs to slow their pace by only enrolling in only one class at a time, and that is acceptable. Students should be aware that this will result in an overall higher cost for the program due to the flat rate tuition structure. Extended periods of non-enrollment (not taking any classes) could result in being withdrawn from the university. If this occurs, the student will need to apply for readmission to ETAMU.
Program Costs
The RN-BSN program offers an in-state single flat-rate tuition of $1000 per term with no additional costs for books or other resources.
| In-State (Texas Resident) | Bordering Counties in Neighboring States (Oklahoma, Louisiana, New Mexico, Arkansas) | Interior Counties in Neighboring States (Counties not on the border of Texas) | Out-of-State (states other than Texas and its bordering states) |
| $1,000 | $1,000 | $1,000 + $30/hour | $2,000 |
Financial aid and scholarships may be available to assist with tuition costs. For scholarship information, please contact your admissions or academic advisor.
Always confirm anticipated costs by reaching out to [email protected]. To schedule an appointment with the financial aid office.
Course Materials and Open Educational Resources
All courses use free access materials called Open Educational Resources (OER). Students will not be required to purchase any textbooks. All materials are
embedded within the course and are accessible via the internet.
How to Pay for Classes?
Student Accounts
When making payments towards a tuition balance or when there are questions regarding refunds, reach out to the Cashier’s Office.
Learn how to make payments and more about the student accounts by visiting the Cashier’s Office.
Financial Aid
When looking to identify funding opportunities or to answer questions about the FAFSA, reach out to the Office of Financial Aid.
Available Financial Aid (FA) for CBE students includes:
Check federal loan and Pell Grant history by visiting Student Aid.
Satisfactory Academic Progress is required for FA eligibility.
Financial Aid must be accepted before each Spring, Fall, and Summer semester.
The FA office will reach out via student email (LEOmail) when requesting verification documents or awarding aid. Students need to check their LEOmail daily.
To schedule an appointment with the Financial Aid office.
Registration
Registering for courses takes place each term. In the 3rd week of the first term, the advisor will email students to verify the number of classes they intend to take in the next term. The department will then determine which classes will be offered and will register students accordingly. The advisor will notify students of the courses they are registered for as well as the term start dates. Students should check their degree plan on DegreeWorks to verify registration, grades, and degree progress.
Communication
Instructors and advisors in the School of Nursing and Health Sciences have 24 hours to respond to student emails. This timeframe applies to communication and
not grading time frames. Replies will be in the order in which emails were received.
When emailing instructors, follow these guidelines:
- Send messages from your LEOmail account.
- Include the course name and title in the subject line (ex. NURS 3310)
- Include your name and CWID within your signature.
Many instructors are professionals working in industry and teach in addition to their full-time careers. As a result, their responses may be during non-business hours. During the last week of classes, be aware that grading may take longer than 48 hours. This is a busy time for grading, and instructors strive to provide quality feedback alongside grades.
DegreeWorks
DegreeWorks is a web-based planning tool to help students and advisors monitor students' progress toward degree completion. DegreeWorks is not a substitution for consultation with an academic advisor. DegreeWorks shows the student in an easy-to-read format the courses and program requirements that must be completed to achieve their chosen degree. All currently enrolled undergraduate students who attend East Texas A&M University should use DegreeWorks.
DegreeWorks is accessed through myLEO. It is located under the “Student Resources” tab, and is listed as “Undergrad DegreeWorks”.
MyLEO portal
MyLeo is the student portal powered by D2L Brightspace. Here, a student can access their student email, pay their university balance, review registration, access online courses, accept financial aid, and more.
Duo
Duo is East Texas A&M's authentication tool to enhance security. Learn more.
D2L
All of a student's courses are accessed through D2L. Within D2L, you will be able to read course materials, take tests, submit assignments, and more. To access D2L, log in to myLEO, then click the Apps tab and locate “myLeo Online (D2L Brightspace)” with the laptop icon. After clicking this icon, students will be automatically logged into D2L.
EAB
EAB is used as a communication and documentation tool in the advising and other offices on campus. Students utilize EAB to schedule appointments with their advisor. Students can use this link to access EAB. After logging in, the student can click the “get assistance” button on the right-hand side and follow the prompts to set up an appointment. Advisors have individual links to the advisor schedule. If no appointments are available, the student can request an alternate appointment time. A scheduling guide is available in EAB.
CBE Course Structure
Modules
Courses are organized by modules. Think of the course as a book and modules as chapters within a book.
Pre-Tests
There is a pre-test at the beginning of each module. The score on the pre-test is not part of the overall course grade. The pre-test results will help students identify gaps in their knowledge and where to focus their study time. Pre-tests may include multiple choice, short answer, true/false, and other types of questions. These tests are often timed. Completion of the pre-test unlocks the module content and module post-test.
Learning ACTIVITIES
Each module will consist of a variety of reading assignments and learning activities. Instructors have carefully chosen Open Educational Resources or Web-based materials available at no cost to the student for each course.
Post-Tests
Each module ends with a post-test that is part of the overall course grade and requires a score of 80% or higher to demonstrate competency. Students have three attempts to meet or exceed competency. Post-tests may include multiple choice, short answer, essay, true/false, and other types of questions. Many post-tests require students to video-record presentations, demonstrations, or community activities. Students are expected to communicate effectively orally and in writing using APA 7th edition
Culminating Projects
Each course requires a culminating project due after completing the post-tests. The culminating project requires an 80% or above to pass and is part of the overall
course grade. Students are allowed three attempts for the culminating project. It is recommended to submit the culminating project before the end of the week 7 in the course. This will allow for enough time to resubmit the project if needed.
Failing a Course
The following scenarios will result in a student failing a course;
- Not achieving an 80% on both the Post-Test and Final Project within 3 attempts
- Not submitting the Post-Test or Final Project before the term deadline
- Plagiarism
- Cheating
When retaking a course, the student must still pay for the course. If a student retakes a course a third time, there is an additional fee. In the event a student fails a course, their advisor will discuss the best plan for retaking the course.
Students are not allowed to drop a course due to failure in the course. In the event a student does not make 80% or higher on a post-test or culminating project by the third attempt, the student is not allowed to drop the course due to this failure. The student is also ineligible to “accelerate” and/or re-take the course in the current term.
Academic Dishonesty
Undergraduate students at East Texas A&M University are expected to maintain high standards of integrity and honesty in all of their scholastic work. Conduct that violates generally accepted standards of academic honesty is defined as academic dishonesty. Additional information can be found within the East Texas A&M Policies and Procedures.
Academic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to, the following acts defined below.
CHEATING: Intentionally using or attempting to use unauthorized materials, information, notes, study aids or other devices or materials in any academic exercise. Unauthorized materials may include anything or anyone that gives a student assistance, and has not been specifically approved in advance by the instructor.
PLAGIARISM: The appropriation of another person's ideas, processes, results, or words without giving appropriate credit.
Academic Integrity
Students at East Texas A&M University are expected to maintain high standards of integrity and honesty in all their scholastic work. For more details and the definition of academic dishonesty see the following procedures: Undergraduate Academic Dishonesty 13.99.99.R0.03, Undergraduate Student Academic Dishonesty Form and Graduate Student Academic Dishonesty Form
Policy on Academic Integrity
Academic dishonesty includes cheating, complicity in cheating, multiple submissions (or substantial portions) of the same work for credit without authorization, submitting another's work, plagiarism, submitting algorithmically (AI) plagiarized work, and other acts that may reasonably be called academic dishonesty.
- Students who commit academic dishonesty will receive a grade of 0 for the assignment in the course and be issued a Written Warning that is reported to the COEHS Associate Dean's office and listed in a database.
- If the student does NOT have a previous Written Warning for academic dishonesty reported in NURS courses and has additional attempts available for the assignment, the student may resubmit the assignment (this applies to CBE courses only).
- If the student has a Written Warning of academic dishonesty reported in NURS courses, the student may NOT resubmit the assignment, and the instructor will follow the procedure detailed in Policy 13.99.99.R0.03 for Undergraduate Academic Dishonesty and report the incident to the Provost Office.
ADA Accommodations
All are students eligible for the same accommodations as students enrolled in traditional 16 week programs. Accommodations are set within the duration of the
course and do not extend beyond the end of the semester. Students must request their accommodation letters each 7 week term and for each course when accelerating. Contact the Student Disability Services Office at 903.886.5150.
Accreditation Statement
East Texas A&M University is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) to award baccalaureate, masters, and doctoral degrees. Questions about the accreditation of East Texas A&M University may be directed in writing to the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges at 1866 Southern Lane, Decatur, GA 30033-4097, by calling 404.679.4500, or by using information available on SACSCOC's website. The RN-BSN program is also accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE). To inquire about East Texas A&M University's accreditation status, please contact Dr. Ricky Dobbs, at 903.886.8707.
Notice of Non-Discrimination
East Texas A&M University is committed to providing safe and non-discriminatory learning, living, and work environments for all members of the University
community. The University provides equal opportunity to all employees, students, applicants for employment or admission, and the public regardless of race, color, sex, religion, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, veteran status, sexual orientation, or gender identity. Texas A&M University will promptly,
thoroughly, and fairly investigate and resolve all complaints of discrimination, harassment, including sexual harassment, complicity and related retaliation based
on a protected class in accordance with System Regulation 08.01.01, University Rule 08.01.01.M1, Standard Administrative Procedure SAP 08.01.01.M1.01, and applicable federal and state laws.
In accordance with Title IX and its implementing regulations, Texas A&M does not discriminate on the basis of sex in any educational program or activity, including
admissions and employment. The University's response to allegations of discrimination, harassment, complicity, and related retaliation will be 1) prompt,
thorough, and equitable; 2) intended to prevent the recurrence of any harassment; and 3) intended to remedy its discriminatory effects, as appropriate. A substantiated allegation of such conduct may result in disciplinary action, up to and including separation from the University. Visitors,contractors, and third parties who commit discrimination, harassment, complicity, or related retaliation may have their relationships with the University terminated and/or their privileges of being on University premises withdrawn.
The procedures for responding to allegations of discrimination, harassment, complicity, and related retaliation against students, faculty, staff, and third parties
are detailed in the University's SAP. The sanctioning guidance for substantiated allegations against employees and students can also be found in the SAP. Additional sanctioning guidance related to substantiated sex-based allegations against students can be found here: Title IX Cumulative Sanctioning Matrix. Questions about the University's policies or procedures should be directed to the Office of University Ethics and Compliance.