Accredited Nursing Programs

I have seen quite a few postings on Facebook lately about what people are thankful for at this time of year. Personally, I think it's a great practice to develop. So many times we don't think about being grateful for the little things we have in our life. It is so easy to get caught up in the day-to-day hectic schedules that we try to keep up. Work, exercise, school, kids, parents, friends...the list never ends. 

I encourage you to take a moment today to be thankful for the education that you have. It has brought you to where you are. If you think about education as building blocks in your life, you can see how far you have come. We learned to read, then write and then figure out if the sum of y is equal to or greater than x. (I still haven't figured that one out and as an English major, I hold little hope that I will.) Once we have those in place, we moved onto a more career-focused education. 

Many of you have completed your training and are now LPNs. It was this building block that allowed you to move forward and become a working nurse. Are you now ready to talk about your next building block?  The College Network offers a way for you to earn an Associate of Science in nursing degree to provide the education requirements necessary to become a registered nurse.   

Through our partnership with Indiana State University, we are also able to offer the only NLNAC-accredited LPN to BS in Nursing degree program that can be completed entirely through distance learning. This self-paced program allows you to work as an LPN while working toward your degree.  

Call us today at 800-395-1014 to learn more about our nursing programs.  It's time to think about the next building block you need to move forward. You will be thankful you did. 

I am really thrilled to see that Indiana State University's (one of the best schools in the Mid-West according to the U.S. News & World Report and The Princeton Review) online LVN to BS in Nursing program is now recognized in the state of Texas. This completely distance-based program allows an LVN to work full time and earn his/her BSN RN without ever having to return to the college classroom and without ever having to visit the campus in Terre Haute, Indiana. Indiana State University is accredited by the North Central States Association of Colleges & Schools (the same association that accredits such schools at the University of Michigan, Ohio State University, University of Chicago and the University of Illinois). It's recognized by the National League for Nursing and the Texas Board of Nursing.

This program has three phases. The first is the general education phase. Indiana State University allows nurses to transfer previous college credits into the program as long as the course 1) was taken within 30 years, 2) is from a regionally accredited school and 3) has a grade of C or higher. Any required subject the nurse hasn't taken, can be fulfilled by testing out via The College Network's Comprehensive Learning Modules in our online Resource Center. There is one learning module per subject. When the nurse passes the one exam, she/he receives the same credits from Indiana State University as if she/he sat in a classroom for an entire semester. Almost all of the general education examinations are taken from home via a webcam on the computer.

Phase Two are four nursing transition courses that essentially work the same way as Phase One except the exams are taken outside of the home but locally.

Phase Three are the online nursing classes taken directly with Indiana State University. Also, it's in this phase where the clinical hours are performed. This is one of the best parts of the program! The clinicals are performed locally one-on-one with a preceptor.

This program can be completed in the same amount of time or less time than if the nurse were to quit his/her job and go to school full time at a local university. One nurse told me recently what she liked about this program is that she can fit her education around her life instead of her life around her education.

For more information, please contact The College Network at 1-800-395-1014.

Very best regards,

Joel Kimzey

Many people I have the pleasure of talking to on a day-to-day basis ask me to help differentiate The College Network from Excelsior College® in obtaining their Associate of Science in Nursing Degree.  For your information, I'd like to go over a brief synopsis of what roles we each have in this process.

The competitive process of selecting nurse educators for the NLN Education Summit is now complete. 32 nurse educators will now be a  part of the National  League for Nursing' s Academy of Nursing Education. This class is the largest in the history of the Academy, which was established in 2007. This year marks the first time that five honorary fellows will be inducted as well, honoring distinguished retired nurse educators or other people who have helped to advance nursing education. 

“I believe it is noteworthy that the NLN has set a gold standard for excellence in nursing education such that more and more of today’s nurse educators aspire to fellowship in the academy,” said Judith A. Halstead, PhD, RN, FAAN, ANEF, the president of the NLN. Remarking on the new category of honorary fellow at the time it was established, Dr. Halstead added: “Honorary fellows will bring an added dimension to the diversity of the academy as the NLN seeks to spotlight individuals from outside the profession and other nursing leaders from around the country and around the world who may not be eligible for full fellowship.”http://www.nln.org/recognitionprograms/index.htm

This information came from a PRweb press release on timesunion.com. For more information on NLN click here. To learn about NLNAC Accredited online education programs through The College Network, call 1-800-39-LEARN.

Many of you have probably heard the term "accredited." We use it a lot when we talk about accredited nursing programs, but many people may not truly understand the value behind that word: accredited.

When I hear the word "accredited", the first thing that comes to mind is excellence. When I was in college, it was extremely important for me that the program I was studying was accredited, because I knew that the education I would receive would be the best of the best AND would be reputable when it came time to look for a job.

Not every higher education program holds this status of accredited. It is something that must be both proven and earned. Those that have earned this level of excellence have gone through a long process of being reviewed by experts. The following is a list of benefits of choosing an accredited program:

• Program excellence
• Experienced faculty
• Respect from potential employers
• Ability to transfer credits more easily

The quality of the education you receive really does matter. At The College Network, we know the value of accreditation, which is why all of the universities we work with to offer online nursing degree programs are regionally accredited. You can learn more about online nursing programs here or by calling 1-800-395-1014.

Our partner universities nursing degree programs are accredited. When you enroll in an online nursing degree program, with help from The College Network, you will earn a fully accredited degree from one of the respected universities we work with. Every nursing degree is either NLNAC or CCNE accredited.

There is never a waiting list to get started in one of our programs. When you sign up to work with The College Network, you can begin working towards your degree immediately. Because our programs are online, you won't ever have to worry about waiting for space to open up in a classroom.

We offer the only distance LPN/LVN to Bachelor of Science in Nursing program, through Indiana State University, in the country. You can go straight from being an LPN/LVN to a Bachelor prepared RN entirely online and again, with no waiting list.

We offer unique financing options. The College Network has several different affordable payment plans available for our portion of your degree program. 

Academic support is available. The College Network offers complete academic support for our portion of the program. You can call, chat online or email our Academic Support department, and you can view discussion boards for assistance. 

The College Network has helped over 150,000 nurses begin an advanced education! And, we can help you too! Getting started is simple. Just call us at 1-800-395-1014 to learn more about how you can reach your dream of earning your advanced nursing degree.

The College Network would like to extend a special Thank You to all nurses in honor of National Nurses Week! We know how hard you work every day of the year to help other people in need, and your acts of kindness and compassion are truly selfless.

At The College Network, we take pride in helping people work towards their dream career in nursing. Whether you're looking to become an RN or earn your Bachelor of Science in Nursing or Master of Science in Nursing degrees, we've got a program for you.

We work with reputable universities to offer convenient, online nursing degree programs that are fully accredited. When you sign up to earn your nursing degree with help from The College Network, you can begin right away, because with our programs there is never a waiting list.

Thank You, again, to all of the nurses out there for your hard work and dedication to improving the quality of life of so many people. And, for those who would like to join the more than 150,000 nurses who have chosen to advance their education with help from The College Network, we look forward to helping you!

In my last blog post, I discussed the flexibility of our distance nursing programs where different kinds of people and learners are able to complete their degrees using the example of the Mario Kart video game series.  I'd like to continue using Mario Kart as a reference point to show how things you have already done, things we at The College Network can help you with, and things you can do to avoid obstacles in preventing you from finishing your degree program.

In Mario Kart, each character/kart can obtain different bonus items to help their cause in winning the race.  Some of these items are mushrooms (speed boost), turtles shells (wreck the opponent near you), banana peel (make someone spin out), and lightning bolts (shrink your competition).  Each of these can draw a parallel to helping you overcome obstacles in your program.

Mushrooms - a speed boost.  First off, with our Comprehensive Learning Modules, we streamline the test-out process, but we also offer other services to help as well.  Now, for certain prerequisite and general education classes, we offer online testing via a webcam proctor service to help you schedule and complete courses much quicker than a traditional testing center.  Also, by financing your exam fees with the rest of your learning modules, you do not have to wait to budget out test costs, we've done that for you!

Lightning Bolts - shrink the competition.  For those of you that have previous college credit, the good news is that it will most likely transfer in to the program if it is from a regionally accredited school.  By transferring in those credits, you can shrink the size of your program, and save time and money!

Turtle Shells - knock out the competition.  Each of our learning modules arms you with a turtle shell to knock out the opponent (the courses you need).  We guarantee you will pass each exam by using our modules, so whenever you shoot a turtle shell, it will be like a red one that finds the nearest competitor to knock them off.  Use the practice exams in the modules to help make sure you are prepared for your actual exams at the testing center or in the online webcam tests.  All in all, the modules will lead the way to finish your program and each one is a turtle shell to knock off your competition along the way!

Banana Peels - in case you slip.  Banana peels are notorious for being slippery, and the same is true in Mario Kart.  In life, and in these programs it is easy to fall behind, or slip up every once in awhile.  This is why we offer our Academic Support team to help you stay on track.  They are there to help you with curriculum questions, scheduling exams, obtaining exam fee checks, navigating the online resource center, and making sure you properly enroll and complete your top online nursing programs with one of the schools we partner with or recommend.

We at The College Network enjoy serving you to help you complete your education and lifelong goals.  Mario Kart is a great game on all platforms of Nintendo video game systems, and although it may not be the first thing you think of when completing your education, maybe now you can see the parallels between your education and having fun with a game.  So go out, run your race, complete your program, and come away in 1st place!

As always, feel free to contact us with any questions or needs.  Have a great day!

Kevin Burton, Program Advisor, kburton@collegenetwork.com, 1-800-307-1006 Ext. 4734

You may have heard about the nursing student education dilemma that's currently happening in the U.S. There are more student's applying to nursing programs at brick and mortar schools than these institutions can accommodate. As a result, many of the students are getting turned away.

Did you know that with The College Network's distance nursing programs, you can begin working towards your degree whenever you are ready? That's right, with our nursing programs from leading universities there is never a waiting list to get started!

Once you enroll, you can complete your degree in as little or as much time as you like. Our online nursing programs are designed with you in mind, and with the understanding that life happens. You should be able to earn your degree on your own time, and with our programs that's exactly what you can do.

We offer fully accredited online Associate's, Bachelor's and Master's in Nursing degrees from top nursing schools. If you would like to learn more, visit our web site or call and speak to one of our Program Advisors at 1-800-395-1014.

If you're thinking about earning an online nursing degree, you may have heard about The College Network, but maybe you aren't exactly sure who we are and maybe you aren't exactly certain how our programs work?

Well, let's start from the beginning. We are very seasoned in our industry as we have been around for nearly two decades. The College Network first began helping people reach their educational dreams in 1992, and since then we have helped more than 150,000 nurses begin their journey toward advanced education!

As for how our programs work, we partner with reputable universities to offer associate's, bachelor's and master's degrees, which are regionally accredited. With our online Comprehensive Learning Modules you can take equivalency exams to earn college credit.

Each online nursing degree program is designed with you in mind, and the programs are self-paced. You can complete your degree in as much or as little time as you choose so that you do not have to interrupt your daily life. The most important thing to remember is that you are your own boss here, so you are in charge of how long it takes you to earn your degree.

One of the best things about enrolling in one of our online nursing degree programs is that you won't have to deal with any waiting lists. You can get signed up and begin working towards your degree right away! If you would like to learn more about our online nursing degree programs, click here and follow the link the the video demo.

While it is a fact that the nursing field is dominated by women, there are many great male nurses as well. 

The Delaware Chapter of the American Assembly for Men in Nursing(AAMN) has set out to lessen the gender gap between men and women in the nursing field with their "20x20: Choose Nursing" campaign. The goal of the campaign is to have 20% of the nursing workforce consist of male nurses by 2020. The efforts of the campaign include local chapters of the AAMN reaching out to junior high and high school students to try and encourage more men to go into nursing. 

Currently, in the United States, male nurses make up about 5.8% of all nurses which is about 168,743 total nurses. This number is growing about 2-3% each year and if it continues to do so, that would make the total population of male nurses more than 20% by 2020.

If you're a man who is thinking about a career in nursing, I encourage you to purse your dreams. As we know, the future outlook of nursing is extremely positive with job growth expected to skyrocket over the next several years. Nursing also has a reputation for paying extremely well with starting salaries averaging between $25-$30 per hour for registered nurses.

If you are already in a nursing career but it's your dream to advance to a higher level, The College Network can help! We offer online degrees from top universities. Our nursing degree programs are accredited, and there is never a waiting list to get started. Plus, they are all self-paced so you can earn your degree while continuing to work. For more information, visit our website, or call us at 1-800-395-1014.

Sources: nurse.com, malenursingscholarships.com

“I am nearing the end of my [paramedic] career. Health care is a logical choice for me, so nursing was a great choice,” Lloyd says. His two sons are both in college and Lloyd has used that to motivate himself. “My goal is to get a degree before each of my boys finish,” he explains.

“This has not interfered with any aspect of my life. It’s self paced, so any pressure is self applied—which is really cool because a traditional college would disrupt your life,” Lloyd says. “It’s really excellent for someone who has the kind of commitments I do, but still wants to pursue a degree. This is really career based education and it’s kind of refreshing.”

Read more of Lloyd Snider's inspiring story or or call 1-800-395-1014 to learn more about how The College Network's online Paramedic to RN program from an accredited university can change your life.

In a recent article published in the Middletown Journal it was announced that Miami University which is one of Ohio's top nursing programs is ending its two year nursing degree programs to concentrate on four year and bachelor's degree completion programs.  This is big news considering the fact that Miami University reportedly provides many nurses to surrounding hospitals such as McCullough Hyde in Oxford, Atrium Medical Center in Middletown and The Fort Hamilton Hospital.

This change is also going to impact an existing problem with waiting lists due to the limited number of NLNAC accredited universities with online nursing programs. 

"The shift has implications for the region and the state’s most popular type of higher education that enrolled nearly 30,000 students in 2009, according to the most recent Ohio Board of Nursing data.

The demand for all types of nurses is expected to grow in coming years as older professionals begin to retire while new students often face waiting lists of up to two years because of a shortage of educators and clinical training sites."

The good news is that there are options for nurses in Ohio and everywhere even those with minimal nursing school prerequisites.  The College Network partners with leading universities to provide nursing education programs that can be completed entirely through distance learning. Best of all, The College Networks programs are designed for busy nurses looking for flexible nursing education with no waiting lists.  

Visit www.collegenetwork.com to learn more about LPN to RN, LPN to BS in Nursing, RN to BS in Nursing, and other advanced nursing education programs.

This post is the first in what will be an occasional, ongoing series entitled TCN Perspectives that will show our readers a few of the names, faces and stories that comprise The College Network.  After all, our people are our best asset and what truly gives our company its strength, and TCN Perspectives will showcase the people who comprise The College Network and give them a chance to tell us a bit about who they are and what they do.  First up is Burt Rosenthal, from the in house Program Advisor team.

"I was in the radio business in Detroit prior to my family moving to Indiana. I grew up in the Detroit area and became a 'Motor City' guy very quickly. I’m still a huge fan of the Red Wings and the Tigers and follow them religiously. I graduated from Wayne State University with an education/teaching degree and got into the radio business shortly afterward.

I was married in 1981 and celebrated 30 years with my wife, Ann, on the 23rd of August. We have two grown sons, Eric and Mike, 27 and 25, who are both working and very productive people in the business world. We have a wonderful 6-year-old granddaughter named McKenna who is a pure delight in our lives.

I started in Seminar Sales and for 3 and half years, traveled all over the country conducting seminars for nursing students. It was an interesting job, helping a wealth of people. This company offers a lot of educational options, including Certificates in Paralegal Studies, Project Management, Lean Six Sigma Certificate programs with Purdue University and Nursing programs from associates degrees up to master’s programs online all over the country.  These programs are designed to allow working adults the opportunity to further their education while still working full time and caring for their families. These programs are fully accredited and available almost everywhere in the country with 24 hour, 7 day a week access. The convenience factor is essential in making this a wonderful way to enhance a person’s career and choices in life, along with job security and personal satisfaction.

I enjoy helping people, and I truly enjoy the opportunity to be involved with one of the finest quality companies I’ve had the pleasure to work for in my lifetime. The people here are also a wonderful reason I come to work each day. I enjoy interacting with everyone here and truly enjoy being a part of The College Network.

I recall a seminar I conducted, I believe somewhere in Pennsylvania, where an older LPN came up to me after she had enrolled and asked if she could hug me. I said okay, but why, and she said she was not sure what direction she was going in and she received a postcard, reminding her that this seminar was tonight. She said it was like a message from above, and that she was directed to do this with our company.  As you might imagine, it was a very touching moment, and I told her how much I appreciated her and congratulated her once again for moving forward with her education. 

As a member of the house team, I pride myself on being a professional consultant for The College Network, and I believe I’m once again blessed to work with the best group of professional sales consultants I’ve ever been associated with in my extensive career.

In closing, we’re happy to be in Indy, it’s a great place to raise a family and earn a living. The people are very gracious and I’ve been fortunate enough to forge a few good friendships and had a pretty happy life. I love the Colts and I’m looking forward to a championship season this year, culminating with the Colts winning the Superbowl in their hometown!!!"