With Excelsior College, formerly Regents College, you can get ready for the NCLEX® exam—and acquire the knowledge and skills RNs need—while tending to your work and family.
Accredited by NLNAC, Excelsior College associate degrees in nursing are the only ones you can earn at a distance. While you work in a health care clinical setting, you can study independently and test for credit in a respected program that prepares you to make a difference as an RN. It also prepares you to take the NCLEX® exam: Excelsior College graduates have an NCLEX® pass rate for first-time test takers that is at or above the national average.
On the associate level, you can choose from one of two nursing degrees: the Associate in Science (AS) or the Associate in Applied Science (AAS).
What You’ll Learn
At Excelsior College, we believe that the practice of nursing at the associate degree level involves three complementary and interrelated roles: provider of care, manager of care, and member of the profession. Our associate degree programs help our graduates deliver quality care, be effective members of the health care teams in collaboration with other health care professionals, and function as patient advocates within the legal and ethical parameters defined by the profession.
Degree Requirements
Both the Associate in Science (AS) and the Associate in Applied Science (AAS) require successful completion of 67 semester credits, including 31 in general education and 36 in nursing. The two degree programs have identical nursing component requirements but differ slightly in the general education requirements.
Many requirements for these degree programs may be met by taking Excelsior College Examinations. Of course, before registering for any courses or examinations, we encourage you to discuss degree requirements further with an Excelsior College academic advisor.
Technical Standards
Technical standards are the required and essential abilities that an individual must effectively demonstrate as an Excelsior College Associate Degree nursing student taking the Clinical Performance Nursing Examination (CPNE®).
Excelsior College School of Nursing is committed to providing educational opportunities to students with disabilities and is in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. The College provides reasonable accommodations based on the specifics of each case.
The CPNE tests a student’s application of the nursing process and technical components for nursing practice in the care of adults and children in the acute care setting. Therefore the nursing student must be able to perform the following:
Assess, perceive and understand the condition of assigned patients;
See, hear, smell, touch and detect subtle changes in colors;
Communicate (both verbally and in writing) with English speaking patients and/or family members/significant others as well as members of the health care team, including nurses, physicians, support staff and faculty;
Read and understand documents written in English;
Perform diagnostic and therapeutic functions necessary for the provision of general care and emergency treatment to the hospital patient
Stand, sit, move and tolerate the required physical exertion necessary to meet the demands of providing safe clinical care;
Solve problems involving measurement, calculation, reasoning, analysis and synthesis; and
Perform nursing skills in the face of stressful conditions, exposure to infectious agents and blood-borne pathogens.
