Associate of Applied Science in Nursing (AASN)

RN Licensure Program – AASN
Program Description

The pre-licensure nursing curriculum provides a background in principles of nursing, the biological, physical, and behavioral sciences; as well as liberal arts. This rigorous academic curriculum ensures that our graduates are well prepared to function as a beginning professional nurse.

The aim of the AASN Program is to educate professional nurses to meet the healthcare needs of a changing society.

Associate of Applied Science in Nursing

AASN End of Program Student Learning Outcomes (6 EPSLOs)

1. Professional Identity. Utilize the legal standards and ethical guidelines of the nursing profession.
2. Communication. Communicate effectively with the client, the client’s support system, and interdisciplinary team.
3. Collaboration. Collaborate effectively within nursing and interdisciplinary teams, fostering teamwork, open communication, mutual respect, and shared decision making to achieve quality care.
4. Patient-Centered Care. Provide caring interventions that integrate individual’s specific needs, values, and preferences.
5. Clinical Judgment. Prioritize safe, effective, quality care to make clinical decisions using evidence-based practice and available technologies.
6. Managing Care. Manage care for a group of clients in collaboration with the nursing and interdisciplinary team to ensure optimum clinical outcomes across health care settings.

Nursing Philosophy

Our nursing philosophy is consistent with the mission of the College. Click here to view our Nursing Philosophy (PDF). 

Concept-Based Curriculum

The organizing framework for the nursing program is concept-based; identifying essential concepts related to the patient, the nursing profession, and the health care system. The concepts intrinsic to the patient are both physiological and psychosocial. The concepts intrinsic to the nursing profession are related to the core components of professional practice and incorporate the art of caring as well as the science of nursing. There is an emphasis on the nurse’s responsibility in protecting and empowering the patient. Nursing process and evidence-based practice are the foundation for clinical decision-making in providing patient-centered care. The concepts intrinsic to the health care system encompass community and society. The health care system is the environment in which the individual receives the care and in which the nurse practices patient-centered, collaborative care.

AASN Program Outcomes

1. License Examination Pass Rate: Annual licensure exam pass rate will be at or above 95% of the national mean for all first-time test-takers during the same 12-month period.
2. Program Completion Rate: At least 70% of students will complete the program within 3-4 years after beginning NUR101 Nursing I course (150%) of the published program length.
3. Job Placement Rate: At least 80% of graduates will achieve employment within 12 months from graduation date.

Progression in the Program

Progression in the Associate Degree Nursing Program encompasses the policy specific to grading in the nursing courses.

AASN Nursing Program Grading System

Progression Policy

AASN Sample Curriculum Plan

Curriculum Plan

The college admits students three times a year, in August, January, and May. The full-time curriculum plan is designed to be completed in five semesters.  Generally, the program takes 2 to 2.5 years to complete.