2024-2025 Undergraduate & Graduate Catalog
Bachelor of Science in Nursing
For additional information about opportunities the college offers, please refer to the Kirkhof College of Nursing section in this catalog.
Website: gvsu.edu/kcon
The Kirkhof College of Nursing (KCON) undergraduate nursing program curricula provide educational experiences that encourage intellectual achievement, critical thinking, and self-expression while maintaining emphasis on the importance of human values and cultures. KCON faculty educate their students to become nurses who promote health and wellness, share resources and knowledge in both conventional and alternative approaches to health care, promote social justice and stewardship, and diagnose and treat a wide range of human responses to actual and potential health problems while holding the highest regard for those in their care. Graduates of the KCON Bachelor of Science in Nursing (B.S.N.) degree program function as generalists and provide comprehensive care to individuals, families, groups, and communities.
The B.S.N. degree prepares the graduate to fulfill the professional nursing roles of provider of care, designer/manager/coordinator of care, and member of the profession. It also provides the foundation for continued education in advanced practice through graduate nursing studies.
The KCON B.S.N. graduate will be prepared to do the following:
- Provide nursing care based on expanding clinical judgment within parameters of functional capacity of individuals, families, groups, and communities in multiple settings that incorporate knowledge from the liberal arts and knowledge unique to nursing.
- Coordinate health care with individuals, families, groups, and communities across the life span, using communication skills, in collaboration with members of the health care team.
- Assume ethical, legal, and professional accountability for the development and practice of nursing in a changing health care environment.
The KCON undergraduate program provides learning experiences in a variety of settings that integrate liberal arts, humanities and sciences with nursing theory and clinical practice. Clinical sites can consist of a variety of hospital and health care agency settings in the community, with placement at varying times of the day or week. Students are prepared to provide nursing interventions at a beginning generalist level to individuals, families, groups, and communities.
Prior to beginning KCON clinical courses, students must complete comprehensive health compliance requirements including, but not limited to, a criminal background check, fingerprinting, and drug screening. It is the responsibility of the student to establish and maintain all compliance requirements. Clinical sites can refuse to accept students who have not successfully completed all GVSU health requirements as well as those who have received exemptions through GVSU. Because clinical sites have the right to refuse a student's placement based on their health compliance status this may negatively impact a student's ability to progress in the B.S.N. program and subsequently graduate. Please note: If there is illegal activity in the background check/fingerprinting or if there is evidence of one or more prohibited substance(s) in the drug test, the clinical sites have the right to refuse a student's placement, which may negatively impact a student's ability to progress in the B.S.N. program and subsequently graduate.
With regard to registered nurse (RN) licensure:
- All State Boards of Nursing review records of all pre-licensure B.S.N. graduates who have completed a nursing program to determine eligibility to take the National Council Licensure Examination-RN (NCLEX-RN). All State Boards of Nursing retain the right to deny a B.S.N. graduate permission to take the NCLEX-RN licensure examination if convicted of a crime.
- Post-licensure B.S.N. students must be licensed as a registered nurse (RN) in their state of residency in preparation for the clinical practicum experiences in the senior nursing sequence. Timing of providing proof of RN licensure occurs in the senior sequence as communicated by KCON. The student's RN licensure must remain unencumbered while enrolled in the RN to B.S.N. program.
Nursing majors must complete core courses in the humanities and the social, physical, natural, and health sciences. These core courses provide a strong scientific and humanistic foundation fundamental to subsequently required clinical nursing courses. Before graduation, students must also complete the general education requirements of the university. (See Degree Requirements Undergraduate in the General Academic Regulations section in the Grand Valley State University Undergraduate and Graduate Catalog.)
States/Jurisdictions Where KCON's Prelicensure B.S.N. Curriculum Meets State Educational Requirements for Professional Licensure:
The prelicensure (traditional and second degree) nursing programs at Grand Valley State University's Kirkhof College of Nursing (GVSU KCON) position you to earn your Bachelor of Science in nursing (B.S.N.) degree and thereby gain eligibility to take the National Council Licensure Examination-Registered Nurse (NCLEX-RN) in the State of Michigan. Upon successfully passing the NCLEX-RN, the KCON nursing graduate achieves legal authority to practice under the protected title of registered nurse (RN) in the State of Michigan.
KCON B.S.N. prelicensure graduates seeking to practice as an RN in a state other than Michigan must meet the requirements of that state. GVSU KCON has not made a determination on whether its curriculum meets the educational requirements of all states/jurisdictions. To view board of nursing professional licensure requirements by state of interest, visit the National Council of State Boards of Nursing at ncsbn.org/14730.htm.
Program Requirements
The following programs are available: