51ÁÔÆæ

Application Deadlines

• Priority Deadline: December 1st
• Regular Deadline: April 1st
  • Student interested in LPN-RN Advanced Placement must complete their application by March 1 for priority consideration.
• Internal Transfers — Deadline for transfer is April 1. To be considered, students must complete the Internal Transfer Student Application. Completed application should be returned to Tammy Detterbeck for processing and include a TEAS score of 65 or higher.

All deadlines are based on the qualifications of the candidate and seat availability. Decisions are not made on a rolling basis for nursing, unlike other undergraduate programs.

Application Process 

• Complete the Commonwealth U application - be sure to select "Associates Degree" when prompted
• TEAS Score of 65 or higher
• High school students must submit transcripts from high school, including dual enrollment courses. Transfer students must submit official transcripts from high school and every college they have attended.
  • GPA of 2.7 or higher
  • Algebra- earning a C or higher. From high school or college level.
  • Biology with a lab- earning a C or higher. From high school or college level.
  • Chemistry with a lab- earning a C or higher. From high school or college level.
  • TEAS composite score of 65% or higher

Please Note: Acceptance into Commonwealth University does not guarantee acceptance into the nursing program. Admission to the nursing program is a separate process. Applicants for the nursing program are considered on a competitive basis for fall semester start date only. 

TEAS Information

You will need to have a minimum composite score of 65 on the TEAS exam as part of your admission application. You may take the exam once in a calendar year, Jan. 1 – Dec. 31.

The School of Nursing will accept TEAS scores from exams taken at (1) CU - Bloomsburg Testing Center (2) ; or (3) at another University/Testing Center. If you take the exam remotely or at another University it is your responsibility to have your scores sent to Lock Haven University. 

If you have questions about the application requirements or the application process please contact the Admissions Office at 570-484-2027 or admissions@commonwealthu.edu

Our advanced placement advisement pathway provides licensed LPNs an opportunity to advance to an RN. It offers LPNs a pathway to career advancement, increased earning potential, a broader scope of practice, and the opportunity to make a more significant impact in healthcare. It is a valuable investment in professional growth and the pursuit of higher nursing qualifications. Students must have an LPN license and completed all prerequisite coursework prior to the start of this program.

Students must submit official transcripts from high school and every college they have attended and meet the following requirements in order to be considered for this advanced placement option:

• Cumulative GPA of 2.7 or higher
• Algebra - earning a C or higher. From high school or college level.
• Biology with a lab - earning a C or higher. From high school or college level.
• Chemistry with a lab - earning a C or higher. From high school or college level.

PREREQUISITE COURSES (College-Level)
*Must be completed prior to the start of the program

MATH 101 or higher – Math (Quantitative)

WRIT 103 - Foundations in Composition

HLSC 115 - Anatomy and Physiology I

HLSC 120 - Anatomy and Physiology II

PSYC 212 - Lifespan Development (Interconnections)

Degree Requirements ASN Program Guide LPN-RN Checklist

Note: Degree requirements effective for enrolled students beginning Fall 2023. All enrolled students, including matriculating students prior to Fall 2023, can review their degree program requirements and track progress to degree completion with our degree audit and advisement tool, .

The Associate of Science in Nursing courses consist of liberal arts and selected sciences, as well as nursing courses. Each required course listed on the curriculum worksheet must be taken in the designated sequence as knowledge builds from less complex to more complex. Nursing courses include theoretical and clinical components.

Topics covered include

• Foundations of Nursing
• Medical Surgical Nursing
• Maternal Child
• Behavioral Health
• Geriatrics

Degree Requirements  

Note: Degree requirements effective for enrolled students beginning Fall 2023. All enrolled students, including matriculating students prior to Fall 2023, can review their degree program requirements and track progress to degree completion with our degree audit and advisement tool, .

This program includes a per semester clinical fee which supports the clinical education requirements by the accrediting agencies for the ASN and BSN Nursing Programs. For full details on various fees, visit the undergraduate student fees webpage.

The philosophy of the Breiner School of Nursing at Commonwealth University reflects the values and beliefs of faculty which provide a strong foundation for each nursing program, associate to doctoral, and contributes to excellence in professional nursing practice. Our program will prepare the graduate to be proficient in nursing competencies for clinical practice. Our philosophy is based on the belief that nursing is a unique and valuable profession that requires a commitment to caring, career-lifelong learning, innovation, and professional development. We believe that nurses should be competent, compassionate, and provide person-centered holistic care. Faculty believe in fostering a supportive and collaborative learning environment that equips students with the necessary cognitive, affective, and psychomotor skills, critical thinking, clinical reasoning, clinical judgment, and commitment to the values of the profession to function as effective nurse leaders. The faculty recognize diverse, equitable, and inclusive learning experiences based on the students’ individual learning needs, learning styles, and readiness. Learning is a continuous, career-life-long process that occurs throughout domains enhanced by an environment that encompasses critical thinking, clinical reasoning, clinical judgment, evidence-based practice, clinical simulation, and person-centered holistic care. In a developmental manner, students will progress from knowledge to proficiency in the eight core concepts. We are committed to providing our students with the knowledge, skills, and attitudes they need to succeed as competent, compassionate, and person-centered professional nurses.

Core Concepts

• Clinical Judgment
• Communication
• Compassionate Care
• Diversity, equity, inclusion
• Evidence-based practice
• Ethics
• Health policy
• Social determinates of Health

Upon completion of the Commonwealth University – Lock Haven Associate Degree nursing program, the graduate is prepared to:

• Provide nursing care across the lifespan, adapted to the health care consumer’s physiological, psychological, socio-cultural, developmental, and spiritual dimensions of health. (Patient-Centered Care)
• Demonstrate professional nursing behaviors, evidencing integrity, legal accountability, ethical responsibility, advocacy, caring and a commitment to lifelong learning. (Professionalism)
• Select informatics and technology to manage information, minimize error, and achieve defined health care outcomes. (Informatics and Technology)
• Select effective and professional communication skills. (Communication)
• Interpret effective relationships with health care consumers and members of the health care team in order to meet mutually determined health care outcomes. (Teamwork and Collaboration)
• Demonstrate the ability to provide nursing care that protects health care consumers and health care personnel from health and environmental hazards. (Safety)
• Evaluate the principles of quality improvement to achieve cost effective, patient-centered outcomes. (Quality Improvement)
• Use critical reasoning and best current evidence to make nursing care decisions. (Evidence-Based Practice)
• Select leadership strategies to direct nursing care, promote change and foster achievement of health care goals. (Leadership).
• Demonstrate professional nursing behaviors related to global health practices that include the effects of the culturally diverse community, from the individual to global perspectives, on such areas as disease transmission, violence, health care policy, and health care economics. (System Based Practice/Global Awareness)

If you are currently enrolled at any of our Commonwealth University campus locations and are requesting to change your major to Nursing (BSN) please complete the following steps: 

Internal Transfers/Change of Major — Deadline for transfer is April 1. To be considered, students must complete the Internal Transfer Student Application. Transfers are based on seat availability, pre-requisites met and GPA. Completed application should be returned to Tammy Detterbeck for processing.