Master of Science in Nursing - Family Nurse Practitioner

1. Completion of the application for admission.

2. Complete all university admissions requirements.

3. Completion of a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) from an ACEN, CCNE, or CNEA accredited program, with a 3.0 GPA or better.

4. A valid and unencumbered license as a registered nurse in any US State or territory in which the student is licensed, including the State in which the student completes all assignments for the program.  

   1. Military, federal, and foreign-educated nurses must meet this State requirement for nursing licensure.

   2. An active and unencumbered RN license(s) must be maintained throughout the program.

   3. A domestic or foreign medical degree is not equivalent to a nursing degree.

5. Applicants can be conditionally admitted into the first week of the program by providing unofficial transcripts or a copy of the conferred nursing degree. Official transcripts which meet the requirements set forth must be received by the end of the add/drop period to be admitted to the program.

*Applicants submitting non-U.S. or non-English transcripts should refer to the International Admissions section of the catalog

Additional Nurse Practitioner Program Tracks Admission Requirements for Applicants with Nursing Degrees Awarded Outside of the United States

Students with nursing degrees outside of the United States will not be considered for admission into the Post-Masters Nurse Practitioner Programs [Adult-Gerontology Acute Care; Adult-Gerontology Primary Care; Family, and Psychiatric Mental Health]. There are additional requirements for consideration for entry into the MSN Nurse Practitioner Programs. Please see below:

Additional Academic Transcript Requirements

Applicants who have completed the equivalent of a baccalaureate degree or higher at an institution outside of the United States are required to provide official third-party course-by-course evaluations of those academic credentials, verifying the Grade Point Average (GPA) on a 4.0 scale. These evaluations must be completed by a recognized accredited organization such as the National Association of Credential Evaluation Services (NACES), American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers (AACRAO), or Association of International Credential Evaluators (AICE). Examples of acceptable evaluation services include:

• International Consultants of Delaware (https://www.icdeval.com/)

• World Education Services (https://www.wes.org/)

• International Education Research Foundation (https://ierf.org/)

In addition, those students applying to any of WCU’s MSN and Nurse Practitioner programs [Adult-Gerontology Acute Care; Adult-Gerontology Primary Care; Family, and Psychiatric Mental Health] must have their transcripts from nursing degrees awarded outside the United Stated reviewed by CGFNS International, Inc, and must include computed equivalent grades [course-by-course] and computation of GPA. It is the student’s responsibility to pay any fees associated with this evaluation. It is the student’s responsibility to cooperate with WCU in providing all essential required documentation for CGFNS and other national certification agencies such as the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), American Association of Nurse Practitioners (AANP), American Association of Critical Care (AACN), etc. This is to ensure that their foreign course(s) are recognized as if earned in the United States. A written confirmation must be provided to WCU of the student’s eligibility to sit for national certification upon successful completion of the program. If the courses are not recognized as equivalent by national certification bodies such as those mentioned above, they will not meet West Coast University eligibility.

Language Verification Requirements

Students with foreign degrees applying to a nursing program must possess proficiency in English at a level to enable them to succeed in graduate-level studies. The Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), International English Language Testing System (IELTS), or Duolingo English Test (DET) must be taken if the applicant’s native language is not English. Results must be sent directly from TOEFL, IELTS, or Duolingo to the West Coast University admissions department. Copies are not acceptable. Your application will not be considered until you have achieved at least the minimum score.  

• TOEFL - minimum composite score of 100, with sub-scores of 21 or higher.

• IELTS – minimum overall band score of 7.0, with a speaking band score of 7.0 or higher and other band scores of 6.0 or higher.

• DET – minimum score of 125.

Additional Admissions Requirements Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN) Tracks Only:

In addition to the admissions requirements above, applicants to the Master of Science in Nursing - Advanced Practice Registered Nurse tracks must also meet the following admissions requirements:

1. Recommendation for admission by the Program Dean/Director and admission committee members. Past academic performance and professional achievements will be evaluated using a rubric to determine the applicant’s level of qualification.

2. Applicants to the APRN tracks must have a minimum of one (1) year of direct patient care RN experience before entering APRN core courses as verified using the experience verification form.

3. Students in MSN APRN tracks will be required to have a Gap Analysis review upon admission.

Students who request transfer credits for courses must submit sealed official transcripts to the Registrar’s Office from originating institutions prior to their first day of class. All nursing transfer courses in which a grade of B or better was received will be evaluated for transfer credit. If students are unable to submit transcripts or transcripts are unavailable, students may submit unofficial transcripts by the student’s first day of the first course. Official transcripts must be received by the end of the first term. In addition to official transcripts, copies of course descriptions, school catalogs, and course syllabi may be requested for evaluation purposes.

APRN Transfer Credit Gap Analysis

1. All Post Masters Certificates and transfers of credit into the nurse practitioner programs must have an APRN Transfer Credit Gap Analysis completed prior to admission acceptance. Students will be required to submit transcripts and may be required to submit course syllabi to determine transfer credit equivalency.

2. Advanced Physiology/Pathophysiology, Advanced Pharmacology, and Advanced Health/Physical Assessment course(s) [3P] must have been completed within the last five (5) years with a grade of "B" or better.

3. Any 3P courses that are population specific (e.g., Advanced Pediatric Assessment, Advanced Pathophysiology for the CRNA, Advanced Pathophysiology for the Neonate, Advanced Psychopharmacology, etc.) are not transferable.

4. If courses were taken more than five (5) years from the date of program application, applicants must repeat the course(s).

   1. For Post-Masters Certificate applicants who have taken an equivalent 3P course(s) that is more than five (5) years from the date of program application, transfer of credit may be considered for those who have an active NP certification.

5. Applicants who hold an MSN degree with a focus on education, leadership, informatics, or another area will be required to take essential APRN core courses including Advanced Physiology/Pathophysiology, Advanced Pharmacology, and Advanced Physical Assessment prior to the desired focused specialty track courses.

6. APRN specialty courses will not be considered for transfer of credit. APRN specialization coursework must be completed at West Coast University.

Note: CA BRN related to prescriptive authority may have additional requirements. Some applicants may be required to take additional courses or continuing education equivalence based on licensure board of nursing.

Clinical Hour Requirement: this track requires a total of 540 precepted clinical hours.

A cumulative grade point average (CGPA) of 3.0 is required for all 500 and 600-level courses for graduation. Students are also required to meet all requirements under the Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) policy. 

1. Maintain an active, unencumbered RN license throughout the program.

2. An active, unencumbered license is required up to degree completion and will be verified throughout the program.

3. Failure to present a valid RN license may result in dismissal from the university until such a time an active, unencumbered license is obtained.

4. A student in the APRN tracks must participate in two (2) mandatory On-site Intensives (OSI). The OSI brings students to campus or other locations to learn, practice, and demonstrate essential hands-on skills and competencies required by nurse practitioners. Students who do not attend the OSI automatically fail the course that is associated with the missed OSI, and the student must retake the course and complete the OSI to progress in the program.

5. All course and clinical educational program requirements must be successfully completed to meet graduation requirements. All course and practicum requirements are published in the course syllabi and expanded upon in the Post-Licensure Nursing Student Handbook. Students will have access to course syllabi one week prior to the term start date. Students will have access to the Post-Licensure Nursing Student Handbook after acceptance into the nursing program.

6. Students in good standing are required to meet the academic progression standards as stated in the Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) Policy. Failure to meet the SAP standards will result in dismissal from the nursing program.  

7. Students in the nursing graduate program must earn a B or better in all post-licensure nursing courses. Students will be required to repeat any course for which they achieved less than a "B" the next term the course is offered. Students who fail a sequenced theory and/or clinical course may not continue to the next course in the sequence until the failed course is repeated successfully. Students must complete all required clinical hours in each of the clinical courses, or they will not progress to the next course and must follow the University's Incomplete policy.

8. Student Conduct from a Clinical Site

   1. Students in clinical sites will be held to the University’s Student Conduct Code. Incidents reported to the student’s Program Dean will be reported to the Campus Director of Student Affairs for investigation and potential adjudication and disciplinary sanctions.

An APRN student will be dismissed from the program if:  

1. The student receives a total of two non-passing grades, whether that is a single non-passing grade in two different courses or two non-passing grades in the same course.  

2. The student does not meet the required progression and good standing requirements as outlined on the Good Standing policy page of the catalog.

 Non-passing grades are not reset to 0 after a student transfers from one APRN track to another APRN track. If the student receives one non-passing grade while in one APRN track, they would be dismissed upon receiving another non-passing grade in a different APRN track were they to transfer.