Nursing: Connecticut Community College Program, AS

Program Description

The Connecticut Community College Nursing Program (CT-CCNP) is an innovative, six semester associate degree program of study offered at six Connecticut State Community College campuses - Capital, Gateway, Naugatuck Valley, Northwestern CT, Norwalk, and Three Rivers campuses. The CT-CCNP prepares students for entry-level practice as a registered nurse. The CT-CCNP is a Selective Admissions program. 

For admission criteria and other critical information please refer to the current Nursing Information Packet.

Mission

The Connecticut Community College Nursing Program (CT-CCNP) is dedicated to developing excellence in nursing by providing affordable, innovative, and academically rigorous nursing education. Our program strives to prepare graduates with knowledge, skills, and attitudes to meet the ever-increasing complexity of the healthcare needs for the diverse communities served.

Vision

The Vision of the CT-CCNP is to prepare safe, competent, and compassionate entry-level nurses who transform the lives of persons and communities. The CT-CCNP endeavors to be a personally and professionally rewarding academic program that fosters diversity, innovation, quality, and excellence.

Philosophy

CT-CCNP is committed to achieving excellence in nursing education and patient care based on our beliefs about the concepts of teaching and learning, nursing, person, society and environment, and health which provide a framework for the curriculum of our nursing program.

Teaching and Learning
We aim to create safe and nurturing academic initiatives supporting lifelong learning. The faculty strives to equip students with critical thinking and clinical judgment skills to provide safe, competent, high-quality care. We believe a robust educational foundation enables nurses to translate the knowledge to practice evidence-based care for people and the community.

Nursing
Nursing is a scholarly discipline focusing primarily on caring human interactions. Establishing meaningful human relationships helps promote healing. It encompasses autonomous and collaborative care that includes protection, promotion, and optimization of health and abilities, preventing illness and injury, and alleviating suffering. Nurses accomplish this by diagnosing and treating the human response to health conditions. We believe it is the moral responsibility of nursing to provide culturally congruent, compassionate, and competent care to all human beings.

Person
We believe in holism of an individual in the pure sense in which the whole is bigger than the sum of parts. We believe it is imperative to honor and care for the unique needs of individuals. Person is the focus and priority of self-care in relation to one another, including families, communities, and populations. Every individual deserves to be respected regardless of personal differences.

Society and Environment
We believe a caring environment can accelerate healing by making people feel safe and comfortable. The environment includes internal (physiological, psychological, spiritual) and external (cultural, political, social) factors influencing a person’s well-being. We believe it is society’s responsibility to eliminate healthcare inequities and create a fair environment in which all human lives can flourish.

Health
Health is not just a state free of symptoms of diseases but a dynamic state of being in which an individual can realize their maximum developmental and behavioral potential. An identified primary goal of nursing is to restore and maintain the health of the person and communities. Health and illness exist on parallel continuums such that even people with chronic or debilitating illnesses may experience optimal levels of health through adaptation. We believe it is imperative to focus on the totality of a person’s health parameters.

Learning Outcomes

While providing nursing care to individuals, families, groups, communities, and populations within the health care system, the nursing graduate:

1. Provide high quality, safe, patient-centered care across the life span to individuals, families, communities, and populations.
2. Use evidence-based practice to drive nursing care related to health promotion, risk reduction, disease prevention, and illness and injury management.
3. Demonstrate professional and collaborative verbal, nonverbal, and electronic communication to foster interprofessional care.
4. Promote health equity when caring for diverse populations within an evolving health care system.
5. Exhibit leadership, professionalism, and integrity congruent with safe, ethical practice as a generalist nurse.

Graduates are eligible to apply for licensure through the Connecticut Department of Public Health and take the National Council Licensing Examination for Registered Nurses (NCLEX-RN).

The CT-CCNP curriculum has been approved by the Connecticut Board of Regents for Higher Education and the Connecticut State Board of Examiners for Nursing, with the consent of the Commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Public Health.

The CT State Community College Nursing Programs at Capital, Gateway, Naugatuck Valley, Northwestern, Norwalk, and Three Rivers are individually accredited by the:

Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN)
3390 Peachtree Road NE, Suite 1400
Atlanta, GA 30326
(404) 975-5000.

The most recent accreditation decision made by the ACEN Board of Commissioners for each nursing program is Continuing Accreditation. View the public information disclosed by the ACEN regarding this program on the ACEN Program Search website.

Licensure Disclosure Statement

The Connecticut Community College Nursing Program (CT-CCNP) at the Capital, Gateway, Naugatuck Valley, Norwalk, Northwestern Connecticut, and Three Rivers campuses meet the state education requirements for a Registered Nurse license in the state of Connecticut.

The CT-CCNP has not determined if the associate degree registered nurse program meets the state education requirements in any other state, any U.S. Territory, or the District of Columbia. Applicants should investigate licensure requirements prior to accepting an offer of admission to any CT CCNP program.

The licensure boards in each state are responsible for establishing the requirements for licensure/certification for their state. Students who intend to seek licensure in any state other than Connecticut need to consult with the state professional licensing board. The state professional licensing boards make the decision on whether an individual is eligible for licensure based on the rules and regulations in place at the time the individual submits their application for licensure.

Websites for each State Regulatory Agency for Nursing can be found on the NCSBN Member Boards webpage.

CT State Community College nursing programs are approved by the Connecticut State Board of Examiners for Nursing with the consent of the Commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Public Health. 

The nursing programs of CT State Community College at the Capital, Three Rivers, Gateway, Norwalk, Northwestern, and Naugatuck Valley campuses which are located in Hartford, Norwich, New Haven, Norwalk, Winsted and Waterbury Connecticut are accredited by the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing, ACEN, 3390 Peachtree Road NE, SUITE 1400, Atlanta, GA 30326; Phone: 404-975-5000, Fax: 404-975-5020, Email: info@acenursing.org.

The most recent accreditation decision made by the ACEN Board of Commissioners for the six associate degree nursing programs is continuing accreditation. 

Nursing admission requirements are detailed in this linked information packet and include the following courses:

• • BIO 2111 Anatomy and Physiology I 
    • Final grade of C+ or greater
    • Taken within 5 years of application
  • BIO 2112 Anatomy and Physiology II 
    • Final grade of C+ or greater
    • Taken within 5 years of application
    • May be in progress during the spring semester of the application year
  • CCS 1001 College and Career Success 
    • Final grade of C or greater
  • ENG 1010 Composition 
    • Final grade of C or greater
  • MATH 1011 Applied Algebra with Modeling OR MATH 1200 Statistics I equivalent or higher
    • Final grade of C or greater
• The Nursing Admission GPA must be 2.70 or higher to be eligible for admission. The Nursing Admission GPA is calculated by the CT State Community College Selective Admission team.  This GPA is calculated on a very specific set of college courses completed prior to application. Prospective students must consult the Nursing Information Packet linked below for detailed information regarding this and other requirements.
• TEAS (Test of Essential Academic Skills) total score of 58.7% or higher taken within 3 years of application
  Please note: Only the most recent TEAS score will be used when determining eligibility

The CT-CCNP offers an advanced placement option for LPNs who are admitted to the RN nursing program. Eligibility for the advanced placement option is based on the admissions ranking process, recommendation by the college LPN Advisor, and space availability at each college campus. If space and resources are available for the LPN to enter the third semester of the nursing program, the following requirements must be met:

• Complete the required general education courses for the first-year curriculum of the CT-CCNP with a grade of C or higher. A&P I & II require a minimum C+ grade.
• Successfully complete NUR 1150 LPN to AD RN Bridge and NUR 1152C LPN to RN Transition.
• LPN program graduates may enroll in NUR 1150 LPN to AD RN Bridge prior to licensure as an LPN; but are required to have current Connecticut LPN licensure to enroll in NUR 1152C LPN to RN Transition.

• Review the Nursing Information Packet for admission details.

Degree Requirements

¹

all general education courses must be completed with a minimum grade of “C”

²

all program courses must be completed with a minimum grade of “C” excepting BIO 2111 Anatomy and Physiology I and BIO 2112 Anatomy and Physiology II, which require a “C+”

***Pre-requisite courses for BIO 2111 Anatomy and Physiology I and BIO 2350 Microbiology may add an additional 8 credits, therefore total credits could reach 79.