Purpose:

To establish the minimum requirements for the Bachelor of Science Degree in Nursing awarded by Platt College.

Revision Responsibility: Registrar

Responsible Executive Office: Dean of Nursing/Faculty Chair

Created: July 29, 2009, Revised: April 11, 2012 to include Post Licensure Track and eliminate AAS degree requirements, October 22, 2012 to eliminate Post Licensure Track, December 1, 2012 to eliminate The School of Design, June 22, 2014 to reflect the new curriculum change form 198.5 to 184.5 quarter credit hours.

Policy:

The School of Nursing students at Platt College must meet the following degree requirements:

• Be enrolled in Platt College classes for the term in which the student intends to graduate.
• Complete a minimum of 184.5 quarter credit hours for the Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree.
• Pass all courses with a minimum of a “C” and maintain a 2.75 GPA. Letter grades of “D” or “F” in any nursing or cognate courses will constitute a course failure and the student will be required to repeat the course to achieve a passing grade at his/her own expense.    
• Complete the program within 1.5 times the total program length in duration or credit hours.
• Complete a minimum of 50% of credits at Platt College in the program area.

Platt College’s General Education

The General Education Curriculum at Platt College strives to introduce all students to the fundamental knowledge, skills, and values that are essential to further study in the major, to the pursuit of life-long learning, to the development of educated members of the community and the world, and to provide the foundation for becoming informed, independent thinkers who can comprehend, evaluate, and address the issues that human beings face in their personal lives, in their careers, and in community and public affairs.

The Effective Citizen Model 

Platt College has adopted a general education model similar to one of the three models described in Robert Newton’s (2000) Tensions and Models in General Education Planning, the Effective Citizen model in which the needs of society and the student are emphasized in the liberal arts curriculum.  Coherence is achieved through liberal arts goals that focus on the skills, knowledge, and values that can be applied in a broad range of situations, from community action to entrepreneurship. 

“Real-world” skills important to any profession are intended to help students prepare for their careers:  writing, speaking, listening, teamwork, critical thinking and reading, computer skills, and mathematical problem-solving.  Broad cultural and scientific knowledge provide a context in which to frame future issues and problems.  To address values, Platt College includes instruction of ethics as part of instruction in human influences, offering a highly practical curriculum where students explore cultural and societal development and ethic principles where students gain valuable tools to analyze and solve problems in an increasingly global society as well as providing the opportunity for students to study and apply virtues and universal ethical principles such as justice, autonomy, veracity, fidelity, nonmalificience, and beneficence.   

Through Newton’s model, Platt College concentrates on competencies needed to enhance the civic and professional lives of students.  The guiding principle behind the college’s liberal arts curriculum is “what kind of general education is required to live well and participate fully in the world of the 21st century” (Newton 174).   Thus, the curriculum is structured “[. . .] around the issues and problems graduates will be expected to confront in order to lead productive lives” and become engaged citizens (174-5).  Within that thought, Platt College seeks to achieve one goal through liberal arts: “educating informed citizens” (175). 

As Newton describes in the Effective Citizen model, “relevancy is emphasized” throughout the curriculum.  The end result of Platt College’s General Education Program is an understanding of the value of life-long learning, as students grow to recognize the changing nature of their world over the course of the program.