College of Nursing > Office of Student Affairs
The following packet includes detailed information about the onboarding process for the RN-BSN program at the University of South Florida’s College of Nursing for the Spring 2021 semester.
It is essential that you read the information below in its entirety. There are several steps required before you are allowed to register for classes, as well as additional information to prepare you for your first semester in the RN-BSN program.
Classes begin on January 11th, 2021. Your courses have a mandatory first day check-in online. If you do not log in to your courses and complete any required assignments by those deadlines, you will be dropped from your course(s).
Please note:
- The RN-BSN program is intended to be part-time (6 credits/semester) to ensure the success of our working RN’s. A formal request to go full-time (12 credits/semester Fall or Spring; 9 credits/semester Summer) must be sent to your advisor via e-mail to be approved by the RN-BSN Program Director. Please inquire with your advisors for the official process by Friday, November 27th.
*The Castle Branch requirements (Section 1: Step 3) and additional forms must be completed prior to final approval - Consecutive enrollment is expected in the RN-BSN program (Summer, Fall and Spring semesters). Students who take off three consecutive semesters willl have to reapply to both USF and the College of Nursing.
- Experiential Learning hours must be completed in the state of Florida.
- It is USF policy that 20 of the last 60 credits are completed at USF.
If you have any questions after reviewing this information, please contact your RN academic advisor:
Justine Nankishorelal (advised last names A-L) justinen@usf.edu
Maikelyn Lopez (advises last names M-Z) mlopez21@usf.edu
Appointments: Phone and in-person appointments can be made through USF's online appointment scheduler-ArchivumWe look forward to working with you!
Warm Regards,
USF College of Nursing - RN Academic Advising
Section 1: Prior to Registration
You will not be able to register for courses until these items have been completed and verified. You will receive an email notification that your holds have been removed and at that time you will be cleared to register at your assigned registration time.Please note: this is a manual process which can take up to 48 hours after completing the appropriate steps.
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To confirm your admission to the College of Nursing, you must complete the Intent to Enroll form via SOAR (https://hsccf.hsc.usf.edu/soar) no later than 5:00 p.m. on Friday, November 27th. Please note: Once you submit your Intent to Enroll form via SOAR, please allow one week for your major to be changed to Nursing.
If your form is not submitted by 5:00 p.m. on Friday, November 27, you will forfeit your seat in the program. |
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All College of Nursing students are required to complete a Background Check, Immunization Verification, and Drug Screening for the College of Nursing via CastleBranch.com. This is not the same as the USF Health Immunization Form from USF Student Health Services. The Castle Branch requirements are required for all RN-BSN students. The USF Health Immunization Form cannot be used in lieu of Castle Branch. The College of Nursing has created a Guide to Castle Branch which can assist you in understanding the required documentation for Castle Branch. To remove the Castle Branch hold, you must purchase the package by Thursday, December 31st. After you've purchased the package, all Castle Branch requirements must be completed and approved by in order to progress to semester two. If you are a returning USF RN to BSN student, please contact your advisor as you may not need to repurchase the package.
Please contact Castle Branch with any questions regarding the uploading of documentation or requirements for your profile. When completing the waiver for the Florida FDLE Fingerprints, please follow these directions:
The USF College of Nursing Student Academic Compliance Officer Mr. Shawn Afflick (safflick@usf.edu) can assist you if the Castle Branch Customer Service cannot resolve an issue. 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 will result in a HOLD on your course registration and/or clinical placement. |
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The College of Nursing requires new students to complete a mandatory Online Orientation and quiz. Through this orientation, you will become acquainted with program and college policies.
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title | Step 4: Review Personalized Program Plan in DegreeWorks |
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Your individual program plan and degree audit (showing outstanding General Education/State Mandated graduation requirements) can be accessed through USF’s online degree audit system, DegreeWorks. You can access DegreeWorks through OASIS (http://oasis.usf.edu/) using your NetID and password.
All new students are highly encouraged to make an appointment with their Nursing advisor to discuss their personalized program plan. We offer appointments in-person and over the phone. Please schedule an appointment through our online appointment scheduler - Archivum.Justine Nandkishorelal (advises last names A-L) justinen@usf.edu
Maikelyn Lopez (advises last names M-Z) mlopez21@usf.edu
Items to note when reviewing DegreeWorks:
- The Planner tab in DegreeWorks will show a split screen; one screen showing the full degree audit (items in green are complete; items in red are outstanding) and one screen showing your Nursing degree plan for your entire program.
- RN Nursing coursework is intended to be taken in the order listed in your program plan. If you register for a Nursing course outside of your program plan without pre-approval, you may be dropped from that course.
- Statistics (and its pre-requisites) must be taken before Semester 3
- The Capstone and Writing Intensive USF Exit Requirements are built into your Nursing coursework and will be covered by core Nursing classes.
- The High Impact Practice and Ethical Reasoning & Civic Engagements are built into your Nursing coursework and will be covered by core Nursing classes.
- A Portfolio requirement is built into your Nursing coursework and will be graded at the end of NUR4634C in your last semester.
- Most USF General Education requirements that you may need can be taken at any time during your program and are not listed under specific semesters on your degree plan.
- USF Undergraduate Admissions has taken into consideration transfer credit received from your previous institutions. However, DegreeWorks sometimes requires manual application of those credits to the College of Nursing requirements, so please let us know if you see anything missing that you think you have taken.
- If you attended an ASN school that granted credits based on the quarter system - please schedule an appointment with your Advisor as soon as possible to ensure you will meet the final credit requirements.
- If you attended an LPN to RN program OR a Diploma Nursing Program - please schedule an appointment with your Advisor as soon as possible to ensure you will meet the final credit requirements
- Note that your ASN Nursing courses have not been counted for credit - if you are in need of additional credit in DegreeWorks in excess of the 30 credits in nursing and any other outstanding requirements you have, we will count your nursing courses for credit to cover the outstanding value. This will happen in your first semester once you're enrolled.
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The USF Health Immunization Form from Student Health Services is not the same as the Castle Branch Profile immunization requirements and cannot be used in-lieu of completing the Castle Branch immunization requirements.
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We strongly encourage you to take the opportunity to join us online for the Virtual RN-BSN Welcome & Connect Event. You'll get to meet some of the faculty that will be teaching your courses. You'll also get to meet your academic advisors. There will be a short presentation followed by question and answer session. While not mandatory, it is highly recommended.
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Log into OASIS to view your Financial Aid information. Be sure to note your credit limit (if applicable). If you have any questions regarding your account, please schedule with the USF Health Office of Financial Aid by using Archivum. |
Section 2: Prior to the Start of the Semester
title | Step 1: Register for Classes! |
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Once you have completed the steps in Section I and received email notification that the holds have been removed from your account, you are able to register for your courses.
If you are seeking tuition reimbursement though your employer be sure to confirm policies and requirements prior to registration!
To register:
- Please review that Planner tab in DegreeWorks to confirm your Semester I Nursing courses
- To find the CRN, use the "Schedule Planner" accessible via OASIS
- Here is a quick guide for registration: Registration Quick Guide
There will be a $100 late fee if you register after Friday, January 8th. For more information please view the fee information HERE
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All new USF students should obtain a USF Photo ID before the start of the Spring 2021 semester. You will need $10.00 (cash or check), a photo ID, and your USF ID number.
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RN-BSN students are required to complete the HIPAA certification before January 11, 2021.
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All students must complete the infection control training prior to beginning the NUR 4828C Essentials of Leadership and Management course before March 26, 2021. Please complete the following COVID-19 modules/courses (2 total). NCSBN--2 modules You will need to register for the modules. They are free. Your confirmation email will come from "Canvas Catalog" and it will ask you to confirm your address for "ICRS Connections Catalog". It will ask you to create a password and then push you to a Canvas platform. This is not the USF Canvas platform. Once you are "enrolled" in one course, you can click the link to the other course and "enroll" to have it added to your dashboard. Once you have completed both modules, click on the "badges" link. Click on each "badge" on the button "view details" (only appears if you hover the mouse over the badge). Do NOT click download. Take a screen shot or picture of the window that pops up when you click "view details" that has the completion date and your email address for verification. Please submit that screen shot in your Castle Branch. Module 1 Module 2 For assistance, please contact the USF College of Nursing Student Academic Compliance Officer Mr. Shawn Afflick (safflick@usf.edu) |
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Textbooks for online classes may be purchased through the USF Bookstore in three different ways:
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The RN-BSN program courses are 100% online (not including the experiential learning hours) and require daily access to the online classroom (Canvas) and email. All USF College of Nursing students are required to have a laptop/notebook computer with wireless internet connection. Students are also required to have a compatible webcam and microphone. The webcam and microphone should either be built into your notebook or be a portable model. Specific information on requirements can be found here. Students in all nursing courses are expected to meet these requirements to successfully participate in their courses. Failure to meet these technology standards may result in inability to complete course or program requirements. It is the student's responsibility to ensure all requirements are met prior to the start of the semester. The USF Computer Store offers laptop "bundles" and discounted software for registered students. For more information, visit http://www.computerstore.usf.edu. Additionally, as a Baccalaureate program, the RN-BSN program will expect a certain level of scholarly writing. Review the following documents to help prepare for and understand the program’s requirements: |
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The following link will help you to navigate and to better understand CANVAS, USF’s online portal for classes.
Canvas has a mobile app for your tablet and phone! Follow the link below for download instructions! |
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Learn more about the College of Nursing, our academic policies, and our student resources by reading the College of Nursing Handbook found here. |
Section 3: The First Week of Classes and Beyond
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Your courses have a mandatory first day check in online on January 11th! If you do not log in to your courses and complete any required assignments by the deadline, you will be dropped from your course(s). |
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Tuition is due at the end of the first week of classes (Friday, January 15th at 5pm).
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You have until Friday, January 15th at 5pm of the first week of the semester to make modifications to your schedule (add/drop) with no academic or financial penalty. |
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Advisors cannot assist with any difficulties if they are not made aware of the problems. Please communicate any difficulties during the registration process with your advisor(s).
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The RN-BSN program requires students to complete at least two elective courses from the same cluster. The following presentation will allow you to navigate and better understand the cluster requirement and options.
The presentation does not have active links. Please see below for the resources/links mentioned in the presentation:
You won't need to declare your cluster until your final semester in the BSN program. |
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The RN to Bachelor’s curriculum is designed to integrate new practice related knowledge and skills to function in the professional role as a Baccalaureate prepared nurse. Students typically complete NUR4828C: Essentials of Healthcare Leadership & Management in the second semester of the BSN program. This course requires Experiential Learning hours at their place of employment if the facility approves. Students who do not have an approved work location for Experiential Learning hours will be placed in the Tampa Bay on a space available basis. Please keep in mind; it is your responsibility to please notify us if your employment has changed since filling out your SOAR application. The College of Nursing is unable to guarantee a specific time/schedule or specific preceptor availability for students requiring placement. The student must be able to complete their hours when the preceptor is available to them. Generally, there are no weekend and evening hours available. These hours are intended to be done outside of your normal work hours. If you plan to move out of state during your RN to BSN program you must contact your advisor ASAP. Experiential Learning hours must be completed in the state of Florida. The Experiential Learning within NUR4828C consists of 10 hours of one-on-one interviews and observational experiences. The learning is facilitated by a specific nursing preceptor which is typically a nursing unit leader. The preceptor will engage the student in shared and reflective discussion on observed behaviors, attitudes, and beliefs within the organization. There is a separate process to sign up for NUR4828C which involves submission of medical records and online student training classes for your Experiential Learning Clinical Practice Site. This is completely separate from your Castle Branch requirements. To assist you in completing the process to sign up for NUR4828C, you'll be invited to join a Canvas course during your first semester to help you get signed up for NUR4828C in your second semester. |