About the Associate Degree in Nursing Program
If you want to work in healthcare, an associate degree in nursing (ADN) program gets you on your way and prepares you for a career as a registered nurse. RNs work in hospitals, physician offices, home healthcare services and nursing care facilities.
You’ll start taking nursing courses during your first semester. Carroll’s nursing center includes a modern, fully-equipped nursing lab with high-tech patient simulators that help you safely learn procedures before performing them on real patients.
Clinical practicum experiences start in the third semester. You will begin in long-term care facilities and eventually transition to medical-surgical units in a hospital acute-care setting under the supervision of faculty and professional nurses. Throughout the program, your patient care responsibility will increase from simply observing to being responsible for planning, managing and administering care for two to three patients at a time.
Your final semester includes a “capstone” experience in which you will be required to complete 160 hours in a healthcare setting at one of the area’s health systems. This gives you the chance to advance your skills and network as you prepare to search for a job after graduation. Carroll’s strong partnerships with local healthcare organizations allow for a variety of clinical placements without waiting lists.
After completing the two-year program (six consecutive semesters), you will be eligible to take the National Council Licensure Exam (NCLEX-RN), which is required to begin full-time employment as a registered nurse.
The Carroll ADN curriculum is designed so you can continue on with your education with the specially designed RN-MSN program. And, as a working RN, you may be able to pursue employer tuition assistance, offered by many healthcare systems, to help with the cost of your next degree.
In addition, the ADN program has a dedicated student support specialist to support academic, professional and personal success.
Carroll has a history of providing an excellent nursing education and exceptional student outcomes. The NCLEX pass rates for our nursing programs are among the highest in the state.
Admission Criteria
The ADN program will admit qualified students regardless of race, color, creed, sex, age, sexual orientation, national or ethnic origin, or handicap that does not interfere with the performance of professional nursing as provided by law. The admission process for the ADN program is holistic in nature. This means that no single criterion will ensure or prevent your acceptance into the program. Rather, the Admissions Committee makes a determination of a candidate’s admission based on holistic consideration of the following criteria:
- Two semesters of high school algebra I, biology and chemistry; one semester of high school social sciences (communications, economics, history, sociology) with grades C or better
- High school or college GPA of 2.5 or higher
- If CHE101, CHE102, ANP130, ANP140, or BIO212 equivalencies are completed within 5 years of application, transfer credit may be awarded provided grades of B- or better are earned
- Preference given to applicants who can speak conversational Spanish as well as English
- Be a U.S. citizen or eligible non-citizen with a valid social security number
- Two letters of reference (one from a teacher; another from teacher or community leader)
- Admission essay focusing on experience with cultural immersion and addressing motivation for
- Nursing
- Desire to work with culturally diverse populations
- Interview with Admissions Committee
- Submission of the technical and progression standards for the nursing program (upon acceptance into the program)
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The Carroll University Associate Degree in Nursing Program is accredited by the National League for Nursing Commission for Nursing Education Accreditation (NLN CNEA) located at 2600 Virginia Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20037. 202-909-2487.