Admission Requirements

Nursing Admission Requirements

Students who are interesting in applying to the Nursing Program should be fully admitted to Central Methodist University. A Nursing Program Application must be submitted to be considered for admission to the Nursing Program. All students applying to the nursing program must pay for and have a criminal background check completed as part of the application process. Information regarding how to complete this is available from the Nursing Office.

Students may apply to be admitted to the nursing program in their Junior year if the following criteria are met:

  1. Applicants must meet the admission requirements of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences;
  2. Applicants must have an earned grade of "C" or better in Biology, Anatomy, Physiology, Microbiology, and Chemistry with a maximum of two (2) attempts (see Scholastic Standards) and a science sub-cumulative GPA of at least 2.5. The Biology and/or Biology lab requirement may be waived if the student has completed all other science pre-requisite course requirements. Students must have completed AH316 Data Analysis for Health Care or a Statistics course with a minimum grade of C.
  3. It is strongly recommended that students complete Pathophysiology prior to admission to the program; however, students may be provisionally admitted to the program and take Pathophysiology concurrently with their first set of nursing (NU) courses with the prior approval of the Program Director. Students must earn a minimum grade of B in Pathophysiology to progress beyond the first set of nursing courses.
  4. Applicants must have a cumulative GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale on a minimum of 53 hours of college course work;
  5. Students have the right to petition for consideration of alternative circumstances. Contact the Nursing Department Office for instructions regarding petitioning;
  6. A criminal background check is negative for felonies;
  7. While Central Methodist University currently does not require students to be vaccinated for COVID-19, area healthcare providers who provide clinical experience opportunities for health professions students may require the vaccination in order for students to be on their premises. Therefore, all pre-licensure nursing students must be vaccinated for COVID-19. Students seeking an exemption would need to contact CMU's clinical coordinator to receive the process on requesting an exemption. Exemptions from the vaccine are only granted by the clinical facility. 
Admission Selection Process

The Nursing Admissions Committee meets following the end of each semester to select the next cohort. Specific dates are available from the Nursing Department office. The following are the procedures for all applicants:

  1. Each completed applicant's file includes
    1. academic record;
    2. criminal background check
  2. Applicant files are divided based on GPA.
  3. A maximum of forty (40) applicants are accepted for each cohort, two cohorts accepted each year (Fall and Spring).
  4. Applicants may be accepted either "fully" or "pending successful completion of pre-requisite requirements," or "accepted provisionally" if completing pathophysiology concurrently with first set of nursing courses.
  5. Qualified applicants not accepted for the next cohort may be accepted to a wait list. Applicants on this wait list are used to fill program seats that may become available prior to the start of classes.
  6. All applicants accepted or on the wait list are notified of their status and are provided information regarding their responsibilities in completing mandatory requirements, including urine drug screens, and other mandatory items of applicant responsibility.
  7. An applicant forfeits her or his reserved seat in the program if she or he
    1. has not completed the mandatory requirements (other than coursework) prior to the announced deadline;
    2. does not meet the minimum requirements encompassed by the criminal background check and urine drug screen; or
    3. drops out of any required pre-requisite coursework (accepted pending).
  8. Forfeited seats will be awarded to the next applicant from the wait list who has completed the mandatory requirements.
  9. Applications are considered only in the year in which they are submitted. Applicants not previously accepted should speak with Nursing Department representatives concerning which part of their application packet should be re-submitted.
  10. The program director and faculty members shall review all applications to the Nursing program. The faculty will determine whether an applicant may be admitted unconditionally, admitted with provisions, or not admitted, based on established criteria.
After Acceptance

Each selected applicant is required to purchase a ViewPoint Screening account. Specific information is provided to each admitted applicant.

Students are required to upload the following to a personal information tracking account selected by the department prior to the start of the Nursing program (specific program and due date issued each semester):

  • Rubella titer and/or immunization
  • Varicella titer and/or immunization
  • Current diphtheria/pertussis/tetanus-DPT
  • Hepatitis B injection series
  • COVID-19 vaccination (required by clinical partners for student nurses to complete clinical experiences) exception may be granted by the clinical facility, check with the clinical coordinator for the process.
  • Urine drug screen by a department approved vendor, at the expense of the student is negative and must be completed prior to starting the clinical experiences in the program. If a urine drug screen comes back with a positive result, clinical placement is not possible and that student will not be allowed to start the program. Urine drug testing may be required prior to the start of any new clinical experience, depending on the policies of the health provider institution.

NOTE: Information for obtaining a personal information tracking account, the urine drug screen, immunization tracking and CPR currency will be mailed to the student from the Nursing Department following acceptance into the program.

Students are required to show proof of the following, yearly:

  • Tuberculosis screening
  • Current CPR certification (good for 2 years)
  • Personal health insurance
  • Flu vaccination (available on campus annually)

Malpractice insurance will be obtained yearly through the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

Requirements for Licensure
  1. Graduation from an approved nursing program.
  2. An arrest or conviction may disqualify a candidate for licensure examination. The State Board of Nursing has the authority to deny the opportunity to take the NCLEX or to refuse the issue of a license.
Fees

A full list of student expenses can be viewed on CLAS Health Profession Program Fees.

Nursing Program Technical Requirements

PC Operating System: Windows 7 or higher, "full" version, not "RT" or "Mobile"

2+ GHz CPU, 4+ Gb RAM, ample Hard Drive storage space, Ethernet &/or WiFi connectivity

Mac Operating System: Mac OS X 10.7 or higher (Lion, Mountain Lion, Mavericks, Yosemite, El Capitan - 10.9.5 "Mavericks" or higher recommended)

1.6 GHz or higher "Intel-Based" CPU, at least 4+ Gb RAM (8+ recommended), ample Hard Drive storage, Ethernet &/or WiFi connectivity

Software: IE 11 or higher, Firefox 38 or higher, or Safari 7 or higher (Firefox Highly Recommended)

Adobe Reader, newest version (free download)
Java browser plugin, newest version (free download)

Microsoft Office 2013 or 2016 for Windows (Word, Excel, and PowerPoint)

Microsoft Office for Mac 2011 or 2016 (Word, Excel, and PowerPoint)

Microsoft Office 365 "Cloud" Internet version (Windows or Mac)

*** NOTE *** All written assignments must be turned in with .doc, .docx, or .rtf format to allow faculty to grade them, unless specific alternative instructions are provided.

Internet: Students must have regular access to reliable, high-speed, internet access. (DSL, U-Verse, Cable Modem, Fiber link, etc.)

Satellite-based or Cell phone "Hot Spot" based connections are typically unsuitable. (Contact Technology Services for more information if this is your only option.)

*** NOTE *** "Mobile" computing devices; Smartphones, iPads, Tablets etc are NOT fully supported with all features of required electronic resources. There may be some features or assignments that CANNOT be done with a mobile device, and will require a "full" Desktop/Laptop computing system. If your mobile device is your primary computing device, make sure you have readily available access to a full computer system if needed.

Before classes begin, please check with your instructors for any other special technical requirements they may have.

However, nursing students are required to have a portable device to take into the clinical setting. Please understand that a laptop will server both situations.

Students can access desktop computer systems in the library, residence hall computer labs, and the nursing computer lab - on a limited basis.

Other General Information

Syllabi, hand-outs, calendar and assignments are accessed through Canvas, the learning management system used by CMU. Students must have a CMU email account. Transportation to all clinical experiences is the student's responsibility.

CMU has a chapter of the Student Nurses' Association (SNA), a constituent of the Missouri/National Student Nurses' Association (MOSNA/NSNA) (advisors: Meredith Buchmeier and Barbara Cook). Any pre-Nursing or Nursing student who wishes to attend department meetings may do so. However, all students will be dismissed from meetings prior to any discussion that is part of a private or privileged nature in order to protect confidential information.

Lecture courses are allotted credit based on 1 hour of classroom contact per week for each credit hour. Credit assigned to clinical components of courses is based on a minimum of 3 contact hours per credit hour per week. Clinical hours may include simulations, community-based clinical experiences, and health-care provider organization-based clinical experiences.

The CMU Nursing Department does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age or federally defined disability in its recruitment and admission of students.

Requirements for Continuation in Program

Students who earn less than a "B" in a course may not continue in their cohort. Any one course where the student earns less than a "B" must be repeated and completed with a grade of "B" or higher, and then the student will join the subsequent cohort. Any second instance when a student earns less than a "B"- whether it is a repeated course or one taken for the first time - results in the student's dismissal from the program.