RPN-BScN Blended Learning Program FAQ

The Blended Learning program code is “PNY”.

A link can be found in the “Applications and Other Forms” section of the NU website under the "Spring/Summer start (full-time or part-time) OR Part-time/Flex-time studies (all terms)" Header. There is a link there labeled “RPN-BScN Blended Learning Program - new applicants” that brings them to the application.

Two.

Students can apply to start in January or September.

Your employer must provide you with a letter of support and will have access to this template.

If your employer has difficulty accessing the template, we recommend they reach out to your employer’s Human Resources department to obtain the letter. If they are unable to find the letter internally, they can email nursing@nipissingu.ca to request a new copy.

Please note: This letter will not be released to applicants and can only be accessed by your employer.

The letter of support is a template that was provided to your employer by the Nursing Department when the partnership agreement was signed.

Please ensure when you submit the letter it is on agency letterhead and signed by your employer and yourself.

The signatures on this form must be original signatures, whether done by hand or virtually, but cannot be a typed version of the name. Typing in a cursive font does not qualify as a signature.

Before you apply, we recommend you connect with your employer to discuss their processes with granting letters of support.

Letters of Support cannot be dated prior to the application opening date. You should not submit for your Letter of Support until you have completed your initial application.

You are encouraged to connect with your employer for your Letter of Support in a timely manner after you apply. It is your responsibility to ensure that your employer will be able to meet the document requirements and deadline.

The letter of support will need to come directly from someone in a supervisory role;

for example: the Director of Nursing, Director of Clinical Practice & Quality, etc. who can indicate they support your application.

Letters should not be dated prior to when applications opened for the intake you are applying for. The letter of support must be on your employer’s letterhead and be signed by yourself and the appropriate signing authority at your place of employment.

Decisions are typically released 7-10 weeks after the document deadline.

More information regarding your current intake, including decision timeline, can be found on the Next Steps website.

The Blended Learning Program is highly competitive and meeting the base program requirements will not guarantee admission.

To submit a more competitive application, we recommend exploring the option of course upgrading to raise your average.

For more information, please review the “How do I upgrade my courses to apply with a more competitive average?” FAQ.

To review the document requirements, please review the Next Steps website.

This link will be sent to applicants within a week of application.

We highly recommend all applicants review the Next Steps website thoroughly as it is the applicant's responsibility to meet all requirements.

You are not eligible to apply until you have completed your PN diploma.

During the application process we need to receive the final marks from your conferred PN program, confirm you are in good standing with the CNO, and confirm that you are employed at one of our partnered healthcare facilities. As you have not graduated and we would not have these documents, you are not eligible for the program.

No.

You are required to have the minimum 70% average to be considered for the program.

Our RPN-BScN Programs are competitive, and the average cutoff is often higher than the baseline 70%. If you are still interested in one of the programs and would like to raise your average to submit a more competitive application, you could explore the option of upgrading some of your college credits to boost your RPN Diploma average.

For more information on course upgrading, please review the next question titled “How do I upgrade my courses to apply with a more competitive average?”.

To upgrade the average from your PN diploma, you would have to retake one of (or some of) the same classes you initially did when pursuing your PN diploma and achieve a higher mark. Repeated courses from any other diploma will not be considered. It must be the exact same class and will need to:

• Be from the same college
• Have the same course code
• Have the same credit value
• Have the same course title

Then, when calculating your average for the purpose of admission to the RPN to BScN Blended Learning program, our Admissions team will use the highest mark attempt available when doing so.

It is important to understand that the ability to retake a course will be at the discretion of the College. You will need to reach out to them directly to see what is possible. We advise applicants to not ask the College to upgrade the course to increase their GPA - most Colleges will say this is not possible due to the Diploma GPA in their system will not change. However, here at Nipissing University we calculate our own admission averages allowing us to use the higher grade achieved if you retake a course. For the College's purposes, you are just looking to retake a course.

Also, please note that the minimum GPA to be considered for admission is 70%. However, because the program is very competitive, raising your average does not necessarily guarantee admission to the program. In order for the repeated grade to be used in your admission calculation, we must have the final grade on your official transcript by the document deadline of the intake you are applying for.

If your college updates or changes any of the course information for one you had taken previously, you are required to provide an official letter from your college stating the updated course is the same as the course you previously took. The letter must have both courses listed to acknowledge the change.

Nipissing University does not have specific requirements for full-time, part-time, or casual employment.

We require the letter of support to be granted from your employer for the program and they may have additional requirements to provide this letter. You can contact your employer directly to see if they have any additional requirements about your employment.

Nipissing University does not have specific requirements for how long you must be employed by the healthcare partner.

We require the letter of support to be granted from your employer for the program and they may have additional requirements to provide this letter. You can contact your employer directly to see if they have any additional requirements about your employment.

No.

The program is for students who have obtained prior knowledge from their RPN or PN Diploma, and you are not eligible for the program unless you hold an RPN or PN Diploma from an accredited Canadian College. We do not accept PSW or Pre-Health diplomas for this program.

No.

Due to the program's structure, students must be employed with one of our healthcare partners for the duration of the program.

For more information on our in-person 3-Year program where you do not need to be employed by a healthcare partner, please follow this link.

If you are interested in creating a new partnership, please review the “My current employer is not a Healthcare Partner. How can they form a partnership for this program?” question below.

Employers who are interested in creating a Healthcare partnership with the School of Nursing at Nipissing University are encouraged to email nursing@nipissingu.ca for more information.

Please Note: It can take 6 – 10 months for a new partnership to be created. You would not be able to apply for the program until after the partnership is finalized. Please confirm with your employer regarding the status of their partnership.

No.

It must be a diploma, not a certificate, to meet the requirements for this program.

The only exception is for a PN Certificate who has upgraded to a diploma which was granted in Ontario prior to Date/year/month. For more information, please contact Admissions at admissions@nipissingu.ca.

For more information on Internationally educated nurses, please review the “I have an International Certificate – Can I apply?” FAQ.

We accept applicants who hold a PN diploma from any accredited college in Canada.

We do not give preference to graduates from certain colleges.

No.

Work experience is not considered during the admissions process.

No.

We do not round up averages for admission into the Blended Learning Program.

No.

The Blended Learning Program requires applicants to have previously completed their PN diploma at an accredited college within Canada. If you hold an international certificate, we recommend you explore Practical Nursing for Internationally Educated Nurses programs at an accredited college in Ontario.

There are colleges within Ontario that bridge an international certificate into an Ontario certified PN diploma. Once a student completes an accredited bridging program, they will be eligible for our Blended Learning Program.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Completing an International Certificate to Ontario PN Diploma program does not guarantee admission into the Blended Learning Program. It will grant eligibility to apply but will not guarantee a spot in the program.

Former students who were admitted to the program, and/or completed less than 18 credits during their initial time in the Blended Learning program, must compete for a spot in the program when re-applying.

If you have completed 18 credits or more, you will not be required to compete for a spot upon re-admission. All students must still be working with a healthcare partner, obtain a letter of support, complete a full application, and submit all required documents to be eligible for re-admission.

Should you be granted admission, but it is determined you will not complete the program within 7 years of your time of first admission, you will be provided further instructions on how to petition.

While we do aim to update out list of Current Partners when partnership changes are made, there are occasionally discrepancies between our website and the application. To confirm that your employer is still a Healthcare Partner, please connect with your employer directly.

No.

This is a highly competitive program, and late applications will not be accepted.

Applicants are required to declare all previous education.

This includes international education and education that is not related to the field of nursing. Regardless of when the previous education was completed, you must declare it.

Applicants will receive an email within five (5) business days of applying with a confirmation that your application was received.

This email will contain important information regarding the next steps for your application, and it is recommended that you read this email thoroughly to understand your responsibility as an applicant.

Please note: There may be additional delays when the application payment is made through debit. The five (5) business days begins after you receive proof/confirmation of payment from the OUAC.

Students will remain on the waitlist until the day courses start for their intake semester. Should a spot become available before classes start, our Admissions Team will contact the applicable waitlisted student directly.

Once classes begin the waitlist is dissolved for each intake. If you are waitlisted and continue to have interest in the program, you are required to re-apply for future intakes.

For a list of important dates, including when classes start for each semester, please follow this link: Important Dates.

Students who were previously waitlisted for the Blended Learning Program are welcome to re-apply.

Admission decisions are given based on the cohort of applicants each cycle, and a waitlisted student from one intake may be granted admission into another intake after re-applying. Re-applying does not guarantee admission.

For more information on how to submit a more competitive application, please review the “How do I upgrade my courses to apply with a more competitive average?” FAQ.

Admission decisions are given based on the cohort of applicants each cycle.

A waitlisted student from one intake may be granted admission into another intake after re-applying.

Re-applying does not guarantee admission.

For more information on how to submit a more competitive application, please review the “How do I upgrade my courses to apply with a more competitive average?” FAQ.

Yes.

Students have the option to study on the part-time study plan or flex-time study plan and can switch between the two options if necessary. Once enrolled in the program, you can meet with an academic advisor to stay on track for your program completion goals.

Students should not expect to complete the program in less than 3.5 years.

No.

This program is offered through distance education. Theory-based courses are offered through online delivery, while practicum-based courses are offered either within the health care agency that the student is employed by or one of our other partner agencies. Students are not required to travel or study in North Bay for this program but may need to travel up to 100km for their placements.

Each placement is the full length of one semester.

Each semester is twelve (12) weeks of course content.

Most students will take somewhere between two to three (2-3) courses per semester, but they can opt for more or less if necessary.

Students can take 1-5 courses per semester and must complete the program in 7 years.

The ability to take additional courses per semester is dependent on the course availability, however, there is no guarantee taking additional courses will shorten the time it takes to complete your degree.

Nipissing University has a policy which allows students to be away from their studies for 18 months and keep their account active.

During that time, if you do not register for any courses, you will not be charged any fees. In case you change your mind and want to return to your studies during this 18-month period, you won't have to reapply for admission, you simply would just register for courses through WebAdvisor.

If you don't end up taking any courses during the 18-month period, we will then just automatically end-date your account for you, without notifying you. After 18 months, if you wish to return, you will need to reapply for admission.

The program will typically take 5 years to complete when studying on a part-time basis.

However, students can follow the flex-time pathway to complete the program in 3.5 years, or, can take fewer courses per semester to complete it in up to 7 years.

Students have a maximum of 7 years to complete the program.

All theory-based courses are offered asynchronously, and some may include a synchronous option. It is important to review the delivery method of each course you intend to take to ensure you understand the time commitment required.

All placements are done synchronously, and most placements are done in person.

Although students are required to be employed at a partner agency, this does not guarantee that you will be having placements at your own agency. We arrange the clinical placements as close to your home address as possible, however, students may be required to travel up to 100km for placements.

Students do not need to travel to North Bay for their exams. Some courses have exams, and some courses do not. Any courses that include an exam are done virtually. Exams may be synchronous or asynchronous and will vary depending on the specific course.

All placements are done synchronously.

Although students are required to be employed at a partner agency, this does not guarantee that you will be having placements at your own agency. We arrange the clinical placements as close to your home address as possible, however, students may be required to travel up to 100km for placements. Students must be prepared to complete all clinicals in person. Occasionally some placements will have virtual components.

Tuition is dependent on the number of courses you take per semester. The expectation of this program at a part-time basis is that you take 2 courses worth 3 credits each per semester for 3 semesters a year. You can review tuition rates here.

Maybe OSAP, not Learn and Stay.

On average, Nipissing University receives 1000-1200 applications for September intakes and 800-1000 for January intakes for the Blended Learning Program.

Readmission/Former applicants for whom it has been deemed that they will be unable to complete the degree within the required timeframe must submit a petition to the Academic Appeals and Petitions Committee requesting an extension.

This petition will be a condition of your admission. Details about this condition will be outlined in your Offer Permit, which will be attached to your offer email. Please review your email and Offer Permit carefully, as they will include instructions on how to access the petition form, as well as the deadline for submission and/or decision notification.

Former students who completed less than 18 credits during their initial time in the Blended Learning program must compete for a spot in the program when re- applying.

If you have completed 18 credits or more, you will not be required to compete for a spot upon re-admission. All students must still be working with a healthcare partner, obtain a letter of support, complete a full application, continue to be licensed with the CNO without restrictions and submit all required documents to be eligible for re- admission.

Note: This question is intended for students who were previously enrolled in the program. This is not applicable to students who have previously applied and were unsuccessful in receiving an offer of admission. Students who have not previously been granted admission into our Blended Learning Program are welcome to re-apply for the program.

It is recommended that you use caution to avoid registering in more courses than you have time and energy to commit to. All students must plan to balance their work, home, and school commitments.

We encourage students to reflect on the time they can commit to the program. It may be preferable to start with two courses and increase their courseload upon successful completion of two courses.