College of Nursing > Office of Student Affairs
The following packet includes detailed information about the onboarding process for the Upper Division program at the University of South Florida’s College of Nursing for the Fall 2024 semester. It is essential that you read the packet in its entirety.
The Upper Division program is a full-time program on the USF Tampa campus. Transportation for clinical experiences is the responsibility of the student, and some locations may be as much as two hours from the USF Tampa campus. Students will be assigned a clinical region. Generally, you will have courses, clinicals, and labs during the day Monday – Friday, and a Preceptorship in your last semester that may include overnights and weekends; however, the College of Nursing reserves the right to require clinical/lab participation on evenings, weekends as well as overnight. You will have common test times throughout the program that may take place during evenings or weekends.
All students admitted to the Fall 2024 Upper Division pathway have an academic program plan that structured sequentially over five consecutive semesters: Fall 2024; Spring 2025; Summer 2025 (12 weeks); Fall 2025; and Spring 2026. The anticipated graduation date is Spring (May) 2026.
In addition to University tuition and fees, there are other costs associated with the nursing program. Please ensure to review the estimated costs for incoming students.
All students must adhere to their program plans and academic continuity:
- Each student must adhere to the program plan received upon admission.
- Should a student break progression due to earning a non-passing grade or withdrawal, per the College of Nursing Progression Policy found in the College of Nursing Student Handbook, the student must petition and receive permission from the Baccalaureate Admissions Progression Committee to remain in or be readmitted to the program. The student’s program plan will be reviewed by the Program Director and/or Assistant Dean for any courses, clinicals, or labs that need to be repeated and to determine when there will be room in the next available cohort. Students must remain at their home campus in the pathway for which originally admitted.
- Should a student break progression due to a withdrawal with cause (WC), failure to register, or cancelation of enrollment by the University for financial reasons will be considered grounds for progression violation or dismissal. Students may not progress in their pathway if they voluntarily withdraw or withdraw with cause from any pre-licensure course, lab, or clinical in their designated pathway. The withdrawal will be considered a failed course and grounds for progression violation or dismissal.
- The student acknowledges that breaks in progression for any reason may result in pause for up to two years.
- If the break in progression causes the student to be outside of the graduation timeline outlined in the USF System Policy 10-505: Degree Progression and Completion Deadline for Undergraduate Students, permission must be received by Undergraduate Studies for the student to be readmitted to the major.
Action Items - Required of you to Complete
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The College of Nursing would like to know if you will accept or decline the offer for admission, no later than 5:00 p.m. EDT on Friday, March, 15, 2024. Please click here to submit Intent to Enroll . If you accept the offer, you will then proceed with your Onboarding Packet. In order for the Intent to Enroll to be received and valid, the submission date/time must show no later than 5:00 p.m. EDT on Friday, March 15, 2024. Submissions after the posted deadline will not be valid and will cause the admission offer to be rescinded. Please be sure to submit the Intent to Enroll using the link provided in this message. |
title | Complete College of Nursing Compliance Requirements |
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All College of Nursing students are required to complete a Background Check, Verification of Health Insurance, Immunization Verification, and Drug Screening for the College of Nursing via CastleBranch.com. This is not the same as the Medical History Form from USF Student Health Services. The Castle Branch requirements are required for all undergraduate students in the College of Nursing.
IMPORTANT: Watch this Compliance Video: UG Compliance Orientation Video
IMPORTANT: Along with the video above, the College of Nursing has created a Guide to Castle Branch (click to access guide) to assist you in the compliance process. Please reference both of these guides in its entirety, as it contains crucial information and will answer questions on completing College of Nursing compliance requirements.
Verification of health insurance must be submitted to Castle Branch and the College of Nursing must have clearance on your drug test and background checks by April 19, 2024 or your seat in the program will be forfeited. All other Castle Branch requirements need to be completed by the first day of classes. Please start the process IMMEDIATELY.
The COVID-19 vaccination documentation has been added to the Castle Branch immunization tracker.
At this time we do not require COVID vaccinations for students to enroll in any of our nursing pathways/programs. While we do not require a vaccination many of our clinical partners require vaccinations of students based upon the federal mandate. We expect that most if not all of our clinical sites will require COVID vaccinations by the end of February to comply with the federal mandate. Medical and religious exemptions may be granted but this is at the discretion of our clinical partners. We cannot guarantee an exception will be made.
The College of Nursing has created a Guide to Castle Branch (click to open) which can assist you in the compliance process. Please ensure to review this guide in its entirety, as it contains crucial information and may answer questions on completing College of Nursing compliance requirements.
Purchase your CastleBranch account IMMEDIATELY using your USF email ($205):
For fingerprinting purposes, you must purchase your CastleBranch based on where you are currently residing and will be doing your fingerprints (this is not your state of residency). If you will be getting your fingerprints done outside of Florida, you must purchase the out of state fingerprinting package (Code UD99osfp).
- Go to https://portal.castlebranch.com/UD98
- Select Place Order –> College of Nursing –> Undergraduate Program –> Upper Division
- Select Code UD99: I am a new student ordering for the first time
- If you are currently residing out of state*-Select Code UD99osfp: I am new student ordering for the first time and need an out of state* fingerprint
- Once purchased you will receive instructions from CastleBranch within 48 hours
- The urine drug screen must be completed within 72 hours after receiving your instructions
- If the drug screening is not completed within 72 hours of purchase, an additional cost will be required as the drug screen package will need to be re-purchased
*Out of State Coding: Out of state is considered where you are currently physically residing and not your state of residence
Purchase, complete, and upload your HIPAA Compliance in Castle Branch:
- Go to https://portal.castlebranch.com/UD98
- Select Place Order –> College of Nursing –> Undergraduate Program –> Upper Division
- UD99hipaa: HIPAA eLearning Tracker
Please contact Castle Branch at 888-723-4263 with any questions regarding the uploading of documentation or requirements for your profile. The USF College of Nursing Compliance Team con-compliance@usf.edu) can assist you if the Castle Branch Customer Service cannot resolve an issue. Please ensure to email through your USF email and include your name, program (Upper Division), and cohort (Fall 2024).
Due to military documentation not being in line with civilian documentation, there is the possibility that your military documentation will be rejected. If this happens, please contact the College of Nursing's Student Academic Compliance Officer, con-compliance@usf.edu). Each rejection will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis. Please remember to include your U-ID in your email.
Please note that this is not a one time process. You, the student, must monitor all requirements and keep them up to date during the time of your enrollment in The College of Nursing. Failure to keep the programmatic and clinical requirements up-to-date can result in being restricted from attending clinicals.
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Click here for specific instructions: MyClinicalExchange Instructions |
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If you are a brand new University of South Florida degree-seeking student, welcome! You MUST attend the University's General Orientation in addition to the Nursing Student Orientation. You can register for USF Orientation online at http://usf.edu/orientation/. Once you register and pay for a USF Orientation session, you will be assigned a registration time ticket within two weeks. Please note that your registration time ticket is created within two weeks after you register and pay for a USF Orientation session, not after you attend your USF Orientation. The University mandates new students make academic advising appointments; however, your mandatory Nursing Student Orientation will count as your new student advising and there is no need to make a separate appointment with an Academic Advisor. The College of Nursing has no preference on when you attend your USF Orientation; therefore, please select a date that is most convenient for you. University policy mandates that brand new University of South Florida degree-seeking students MUST attend a University orientation before the start of classes for the semester; those students that fail to do so will have their enrollment canceled by the University, which will result in cancellation/forfeiture of their seat in the nursing program. |
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Per USF Policy 33-002, it is mandatory for USF students to submit all required immunization documentation and sign the official Medical History Form prior to course registration. A hold preventing registration will remain on your account until you have fulfilled the following requirements.
If you are missing any vaccine and/ or labs, please contact your current healthcare provider or schedule an Immunization Compliance Appointment by clicking here. For an exemption request, please contact our office directly. Please refer to the tabs on the left side for additional information particular to your student status/population. For questions on USF Compliance, please contact USF Student Health Services directly at 813-974-4056 |
title | Attend the Mandatory College of Nursing Orientation |
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We are very excited for you to start your nursing journey with us and officially welcome you at the College of Nursing's Student Orientation on Friday, April 26 from 9am-3:15pm either In Person. Those who do not attend will forfeit their seat in the program. The Nursing Student Orientation is for admitted students only and there is no room for guests.
The College of Nursing's Student Orientation is mandatory.
Attire: Business Casual
You must RSVP for the Nursing Student Orientation by April 13th at midnight. Click here to RSVP.
Check-in will begin at 8:30am as orientation will begin at 9:00am sharp. The deadline to RSVP is April 13th.
USF Health Campus Map . Lunch will be provided for those that RSVP on-time. If you do not have a USF Parking Decal you will need to park in the Laurel Garage- 6th Floor. The garage is located off of Holly Drive and USF Laurel Dr- Parking Map If you do have a USF decal you will need to reference the Parking Map for the closest parking location based off of your decal.
You have successfully RSVPed when you get the message ‘We thank you for your time spent taking this survey. Your response has been recorded.’ after submitting the survey.
You will need to bring the devices you intend to use during the program with them for computer checks (E.g. Laptop and mobile devices- cell phone/tablet).
Additionally, there will be a mandatory face-to-face Clinical Onboarding - TBD
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Please ensure to check and remove all holds prior to registration. You can view registration holds in your myusf: OASIS; Student; Student Records; View Holds. Only the office that placed the hold on your account is authorized to remove the hold. Therefore, if you have questions regarding how to remove a hold, please directly contact the office that placed a hold. The earliest any student can register for in Nursing courses for the Fall is Friday, April 26, 2024, even if your registration day/time assigned by the University is earlier. Please note that no matter when you register, you will be guaranteed a seat in all nursing courses, clinicals, and labs. The registration times varies for current USF students and new USF students: If you are a current USF student, you will be assigned a day and time when you can register for classes by the University. You may register for classes on Friday, April 26 or on/after your assigned registration day by the University; whichever is sooner. If you are a new USF student, within two weeks after you register for USF Orientation, you will be assigned a time ticket to register for classes. You can then register for classes on or after April 26 Dr. Cheryl Zambroski, Tampa Campus Director, will go over your first-semester schedule in-detail at the College of Nursing Orientation. Therefore, we request that you save scheduling questions until the College of Nursing Orientation. You will be assigned a clinical region and will need to onboard to the respective hospitals within that region. Please note that the College of Nursing cannot provide any guarantees on any specific clinical regions. Transportation for clinical is the responsibility of the student and may be as much as two hours from the USF Tampa campus. All of our clinical partners provide excellent opportunities to our students. You will find out your clinical region via USF email as soon as that information has been finalized. |
title | Apply for VA Education Benefit and Complete Clockworks; Review Base Guide (Military Connected Students Only) |
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The College of Nursing has created a Base Guide to help familiarize our military-connected students with University, College, and Tampa Bay resources.
If you are using VA Benefits, after you register for classes, you will then apply for your VA Education Benefit and Submit a Clockwork Application. For questions on applying for VA Education Benefits and submitting Clockworks, please contact the USF Office of Veteran Success directly at 813-974-2291.
Apply for Your VA Education Benefit
FIRST SEMESTER STUDENTS ONLY* Visit https://www.va.gov/education/how-to-apply/ to either APPLY FOR or UPDATE your VA education benefits. Click the green "Find your education benefits form" button, complete the application, and save a screenshot of the "Claim received" page at the end to upload onto your Clockwork application. In 4-6 weeks, you will receive your first Certificate of Eligibility (COE) in the mail.
Submit a Clockwork Application
To request to use your VA education benefits each semester (Chapter 33, 35, 30, or 1606), you MUST complete steps 1-5 on your Clockwork application EVERY SEMESTER. If you make ANY changes to your class schedule AFTER OVS has certified you, complete a Change in Benefit Request by clicking the button at the top left of your original Clockwork application.
Out of State Student Waiver
*FOR STUDENTS BEING CHARGED OUT-OF-STATE FEES ONLY* You MUST complete an online Out of State Fee Waiver with the Office of Veteran Success EVERY SEMESTER that you qualify. Keep in mind that this waiver DOES NOT change your residency status at USF, but instead waives 100% of your out-of-state charges each semester.
Out of State Fee Waiver