Admission Policy

Berkshire Community College

Associate Degree in Nursing Program

Admission Policy

Admission into BCC’s Associate Degree in Nursing (ADN) Program is competitive and restricted to applicants who meet the requirements and space availability in the program. Students applying to this program must complete and submit the same college application form as other students applying to the college plus an ADN matriculation form.

Applications and matriculation forms must be received by the BCC Admissions Office by February 1^st of the calendar year to be considered for entry in the fall semester and September 1^st of the academic year to be considered for entry into the spring semester. This program has a selective admission process. Only students who have met all ADN admission requirements by the above deadlines will be considered for admission. Admission decisions are made in February for the fall semester of the same calendar year and late September for the following spring semester. Admission decisions are mailed to students by mid-March for the fall semester and mid-October for the spring semester. In the event that there is space availability in the fall cohort, late qualified applicants will be considered through June 1^st.

Applicants must ensure that their contact information is accurate and up-to-date at all times. Students will have up to three business days to respond to BCC.

Accepted students may defer one time for a one-year period if submitted in writing to admissions by August 1^st for the Fall semester and December 1^st for the Spring semester. Students offered readmission to the ADN program are not eligible to defer.

Students with two nursing program failures or two withdrawals or a combination of (taken at another institution, at BCC, or in combination) will not be admitted or readmitted to the program. The student must have been in good standing - rectifying any documentation of unprofessional behavior or clinical safety concerns before leaving the program for any reason or in any manner - failure versus withdrawal, in order to be considered for readmission.

After a period of 10 years, qualified students with two nursing program failures/withdrawals will be considered for admission one time as long as they were in good standing - rectifying any documentation of unprofessional behavior or clinical safety concerns before leaving the program for any reason or in any manner - failure versus withdrawal.

Students who are dismissed from any of the BCC nursing programs for unprofessionalism or unsafe clinical behavior will be denied admission and/or readmission into any BCC nursing program as per the nursing dismissal policy.

Students will not be admitted concurrently into any two of the following degree or certificate programs: Physical Therapist Assistant, Respiratory Care, Practical Nursing and Associate Degree in Nursing.

Admissions Requirements:

The student’s overall GPA, success in science courses, the number of additional required courses completed, and the completion of additional college degrees are considered and do influence the admission decision. Admission specific criteria are as follows:

Submit official transcript(s) from high school or high school equivalency, or its equivalent for candidates with evidence of college graduation, and official transcripts of previous colleges or post-secondary schools attended. College transcripts indicating a completed degree are satisfactory evidence of secondary school graduation.

International transcripts will only be accepted for consideration if they have been translated and evaluated by a foreign credential evaluation service provider. BCC recommends World Education Services - www.wes.org.
Math: ACCUPLACER Next Generation QAS score of 262 or greater OR successful completion of MAT-029, MAT-029C, or MAT-136 or higher (with a minimum grade of C). (MAT-123 Statistics recommended for transfer)
English: Readiness to take ENG-101 as demonstrated through the Accuplacer or completion of a college-level composition course (ENG-101) with a grade of C (73) or better;
Support Courses: Completing a minimum of 10 credits of college-level ADN support courses including BIO 201.
Students who have not completed BIO-201, BIO-202 and BIO-207 prior to January 1, 2018, will be required to earn a grade of C+ (77) or better in these courses to be eligible for admission to the ADN program. Courses taken prior to January 1, 2018 require a C (73 or better). These three science courses, (BIO-201, BIO-202 and BIO-207), must be completed within seven years of application date. (A science refresher class will be offered in the summer, beginning in 2022, for students who have expired A&P or Microbiology classes. The refresher will include a comprehensive exam for that class. A student may take the refresher and if they pass the exam with a C+ or better, will not have to repeat the expired course. This refresher class will be good for three years.)
Attend a Mandatory Nursing Information Session. Register online at www.berkshirecc.edu/nursinginfo.
Students must submit proof of compliance with MADPH immunization requirements by the August 1 deadline for admission into the program in the fall and by Dec 1 deadline for the spring.

Determining Acceptance to the ADN Program

A maximum of 56 students –are conditionally admitted to the program for both the fall and spring semesters. A Selective Admission Rubric is used, following non-discriminatory practice, for admission into the ADN program. The rubric does not contain any identifying student characteristics besides the student BCC ID number. Applicants with the highest scores are accepted in rank order. A student must have a minimum of 15 points in order to be eligible for consideration of admission.

The following components are the basis of ranking:

Program GPA – Students are awarded points for GPA to the hundredth decimal point (e.g., GPA of 3.14 = 3.14 points, GPA of 3.27 = 3.27 points). The GPA is calculated only on courses required for the program.

Students will receive 2 bonus points for all 3 science courses completed with a B or better in each course at the time of application.
Science courses and general education courses according to the Selective Admissions Rubric.
Completion of a minimum of 10 credits of college-level ADN support courses (science and general education courses) prior to submitting the ADN matriculation form. Science (A&P I and II and Microbiology) must be completed within seven years of admittance to the program.
Other degrees: A student who possesses a(n) Associate’s Degree, Bachelor’s Degree, Master’s Degree, and/or Doctorate will be awarded a maximum of one point, regardless of the number of degrees held.
Students will be awarded 2 points for each degree program course(s) that are successfully passed through AP exams or CLEP.
Students will receive 1 extra point for any honors class completed as part of the nursing required courses.

Space Available List

If a top-ranked student, admitted into the program, decides to defer or decline admission, an alternate list (Space Available List), of the second tier of qualified students, is developed. Individuals on the Space Available List will be identified only by their BCC ID. To remain eligible, individuals on the Space Available List must continue to meet all eligibility requirements up until the starting semester, at which time individuals on the space available list may be notified of their admission to the program. If not admitted, those students on the Space Available List must reapply to the program each term. Individuals on the list must ensure that their contact information is accurate and up-to-date at all times. Individuals, from the Space Available List, admitted, will have up to three business days to respond to the offer.

Revised: ADN Faculty Committee, 12/18/18, 2/14/20, 5/28/20, 7/20/20, 11/04/20, 12/18/20, 2/25/21, 6/28/21, 8/16/21, 11/3/21, 11/10/21, 2/23/22, 5/11/22, 7/13/22, 11/2/22