School Profile: Marshall University

Named after the fourth Chief Justice of the United States, John Marshall, Marshall University is a coeducational public university located in Huntington, West Virginia. The university consists of nine undergraduate colleges in science, liberal arts, information technology and engineering, health professions, arts and media, business and education and professional development as well as three graduate colleges. Marshall University’s Lewis College of Business is among only one percent of worldwide business schools to have earned dual accreditation from the AACSB in both accounting and business, and its digital forensics program is the first in the world to be accredited by the Forensic Science Education Programs Accreditation Commission (FEPAC).

Marshall University Accreditation Details

Marshall University is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission (HLC). In addition, the school’s online RN to BSN degree program is nationally accredited by the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN).

Marshall University Application Requirements

In order to apply to the online RN to BSN degree, students must also apply to Marshall University and submit all official transcripts to both the Admissions Office as well as the school of Nursing. In addition, applicants are required to have earned a bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution, and they must take and pass a drug screen and background check to be accepted into the program. Students are also required to pay a $30 nonrefundable application fee and provide evidence of their current RN license number, state and status. Students must hold an unencumbered RN license before they begin the second semester of coursework or else they will be unable to complete the program.

Tuition and Financial Aid

Students pursuing the online RN to BSN degree from Marshall University can expect to pay $255 per credit hour, although this tuition may include additional fees. Marshall University offers financial aid options for eligible students at it committed to providing undergraduates and graduates with the best educational experience possible. Financial assistance in the form of work-study, loans, grants and scholarships is available to part- and full-time students who qualify. According to the school, the Office of Student Financial Assistance awards an average of $144 million of financial aid to professional, graduate and undergraduate students. In addition, Marshall strives to engage all military-connected students through educational benefits, transitional support and programs to promote engagement, learning and success. The school is part of the Veterans Upward Bound Program and offers individualized assistance with registration, admission paperwork and FAFSA. Other financial resources for veterans include VA work-study information, participation in the Yellow Ribbon Program and referrals and assessments to the appropriate academic support services.

Online RN to BSN Degree Available

The goal of the online RN to BSN program at Marshall University is to provide nurses who have graduated from from a diploma program or a nationally accredited associate degree program with a mechanism for obtaining a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree. This fully online, flexible program allows nurses to expand their capacity for clinical judgement and critical thinking.

If a student completes all general education requirements and takes classes on a full-time basis, he or she may earn the degree in two semester. Plans of study include four semesters if attending part-time, three semesters if taking an accelerated load and two semesters if attending full-time. Students who need to take program-specific courses or general education courses may need additional time to earn the degree. Part-time study is recommended for students who have full-time work or family obligations outside of school.

The online RN to BSN degree is nationally accredited by the ACEN, and students benefit from individualized plans of study. The professional, qualified faculty boasts online teaching experience as well as experience in the field, and the program is designed for the working nurse via part-time study. After graduating with a BSN, nurses may enjoy advanced professional opportunities as well as higher salaries.

The core curriculum provides a general education with exposure to a number of different disciplines, including humanities, social sciences and fine arts in an online, interactive environment. The RN to BSN nursing curriculum also offers learning opportunities that foster the integration of evidence-based practice, research and clinical knowledge. There is no set number of clinical hours required to earn the online RN to BSN degree. However, students will complete different course-specific assignments in order to meet the objectives of the course.

General education requirements include a writing-intensive credit, fine arts, humanities, communication, critical thinking, math, statistics, social sciences, English composition and science. In addition, the School of Nursing recognizes up to 40 hours of undergraduate credit for a diploma or associate degree for licensed RNs after they complete 12 nursing credits at Marshall University. Students must request these additional hours of credit.

In addition to general education classes, students in the online RN to BSN program must complete 28 hours of nursing credits at Marshall University in order to earn their degree. Nurses can expect courses that cover topics, including health and physical assessments for the RN, family nursing, concepts in professional nursing, an introduction to research for evidence-based practice and transcultural healthcare. Other areas of study include professional engagement in nursing, community nursing for the RN and contemporary nursing.

Upon graduation, nurses with an online RN to BSN degree will be able to use the nursing process to provide care to communities, groups, families and individuals in multiple settings while considering cultural diversity. They will also have the knowledge necessary to be able to examine professional activities that help define nursing as a whole, improve the health of the public and set health policies. In addition, nurses will understand the importance of responsibility and accountability as they continue to ethically and legally practice nursing, and they will be able to integrate evidence-based practice into nursing care.

Nurses who graduate from Marshall University with a BSN will be able to promote healthcare through collaboration and communication with clients and healthcare providers, and they will develop the leadership and management skills required to coordinate comprehensive nursing care, including the delegation and prioritization of care. Graduates from Marshall University also study how to use critical and clinical reasoning to address both complex and simple issues. The online RN to BSN at Marshall University also aims to prepare nurse graduates who are able to synthesize empirical and theoretical knowledge from the humanities, social and natural sciences and nursing in order to maintain, promote and restore health throughout the patient’s lifespan.