RN to BSN Program Overview

Insights into our RN to BSN online degree program

The RN to BSN online program at UMFK is designed for working nurses like you, giving you the knowledge you need to advance personally and professionally. This program emphasizes the clinical reasoning that drives a culture of safety to prevent risk of harm to patients, colleagues, and the environment while enhancing your ability to use evidence-based practice to make decisions for quality outcomes.

This accredited, 100% online Registered Nurse to Bachelor of Science in Nursing program is designed for affordability – there are no additional fees. Plus, your schedule will never be interrupted by campus visits, so you can maintain the work/life balance you need. Prepare to provide the best in patient care and make a greater difference in your community by utilizing the flexibility of 7-week online courses to earn your degree.

UMFK is a very good university – the program is excellent and the staff are very helpful. From a pricing perspective, I think it’s a good deal for the education that you receive.

Tina P.

Student

$309
Per Credit Hour (no additional fees)
as few as 12 months
Duration
31*
Credit Hours of Core Nursing Courses

Accreditation

CCNE Accredited

The nursing program at the University of Maine at Fort Kent is accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education, 655 K Street, NW, Suite 750, Washington, DC 20001, 202-887-6791.

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screenshot of an interview with UMFK Assistant Professor of Nursing Stacy Thibodeau

You’re more than a student at UMFK. You’re our colleague – and the future of nursing.

The UMFK nursing faculty started where you are. Consider us your partners in helping you attain your BSN.

Tuition

Learn more about our affordable tuition

With affordable, pay-as-you-go tuition, the online UMFK RN to BSN program provides a quality degree for a great value. There is no application fee, and the tuition shown includes all fees.

View additional tuition information

Program Per Credit Hour Per Course Per Program
RN to BSN $309 $9,270

*The $9,270 Total Tuition shown is for the 30 credits of nursing courses only. Students needing additional general education courses will be charged the same $309 per credit hour rate.

Tuition breakdown:

$9,270
Total Tuition for RN to BSN CORE Courses*
$309
Per Credit Hour (no additional fees)

Calendar

Important dates for our students

The RN to BSN online program is delivered in an accessible format ideal for working nurses and conveniently features six dates to begin each year.


You won’t get left behind with UMFK’s extremely affordable, pay-by-the-course tuition and accommodating 7-week online courses.


Now enrolling:

4/29/2024
Apply Date
5/13/2024
Class Starts

View full calendar

Term Start Date App Deadline Document Deadline Registration Deadline Class End Date Term Length
Spring 2 3/18/24 3/4/24 3/4/24 3/20/24 5/3/24 7 weeks
Summer 1 5/13/24 4/29/24 4/29/24 5/15/24 6/28/24 7 weeks
Summer 2 7/1/24 6/17/24 6/17/24 7/3/24 8/16/24 7 weeks
Fall 1 9/3/24 8/20/24 8/20/24 9/5/24 10/18/24 7 weeks
Fall 2 10/28/24 10/14/24 10/14/24 10/30/24 12/13/24 7 weeks

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Admissions

Follow our streamlined RN to BSN admission requirements at UMFK

The admission process is the first step toward earning your online degree. Find out the requirements for the RN to BSN online, what additional materials you need, and where you should send them. An RN license is required for admission into this program.

Admission Requirements:

  • Official transcripts from previous institutions
  • GPA of 2.5 or higher
  • Free online application
  • Current RN license*

View all admission requirements

The admission process is the first step toward earning your degree and expanding your opportunities. We’ve streamlined the process to help you get started quickly and easily. Students interested in the RN to BSN online program must meet the following requirements for admission.

  • ADN/ASN from an accredited university, with a minimum 2.5 overall GPA OR diploma in nursing
  • Official transcripts from all colleges/universities attended and any other required documents
  • Current, unencumbered RN license*
    • *If students have not received the results of their NCLEX exam, they can take up to three courses as matriculated students. Students must demonstrate completion of NCLEX by the end of the second class or request an extension through the AAA committee to continue in the program.

Official transcripts, test scores, and other materials that come from third-party sources may be emailed or mailed from the granting institution(s) to:

Email address: edocs@maine.edu

Mailing address:
Application Processing Center
PO Box 412
Bangor, ME 04402-0412

Courses

The topics you’ll study in our RN to BSN online program

The RN to BSN online program features 7-week, asynchronous courses. Each of our fall, spring and summer semesters includes two 7-week terms. Most students take 1 course per 7-week term, but students are welcome to take 2 or more if they want to complete their BSN sooner. Two courses per semester qualifies a student to apply for student loans.

Students receive a block transfer of 69 credits upon completion of the associate’s degree or diploma in nursing and proof of an active RN license. The core nursing curriculum is comprised of 30 semester credit hours.

Students may need up to 21 additional general education credits. A total of 120 credits are required to complete your Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree.*

Students with a prior bachelor’s degree will have their general education courses waived.

Students must complete 30 credits at UMFK to be awarded their BSN degree.

The complete list of courses is below.

RN to BSN Core Courses

Students must take the following courses. NUR 312 must be taken first.

NUR 301: Promoting Healthy Communities

Duration: 7 weeks Credit Hours: 3

Introduces students to the concepts and principles of community-based nursing, wherein the nurse promotes the optimum wellness of individuals, families, and communities to live and work in healthy environments. Provides an evidence and practice-based perspective to examine current and emerging issues in population health. The preferences, values, needs and culture of the community-as-client are considered to ensure safe, competent, and effective care. Offered Spring. Pre-requisites: NUR 302, NUR 330.

By the end of this course, students will be able to:

  • Discuss the philosophy, health-related goals, needed resources, and roles of population health nursing within the health care system.
  • Examine population health nursing as a specialty, as well as within the current public health system in their state and compare with national and international trends.
  • Identify how the population health nurse ensures the delivery of public health care that is competent, resourceful, collaborative, ethical, and culturally relevant for all populations across the lifespan.
  • Describe how the health of individuals, families and communities are influenced by multiple determinants, for example, sociopolitical and environmental factors.
  • Give examples to distinguish between community health promotion, health protection, primary, secondary, and tertiary levels of disease prevention as well as health education.
  • Utilize skills of communication, critical thinking, collaboration, and negotiation with peers, the public, and community leaders to establish and achieve mutual goals to improve community health outcomes.
  • Use the nursing process as well as principles, theories, and research from nursing, the liberal arts, and the sciences to enhance community health knowledge and practice, for example, application of epidemiological concepts.
NUR 309: Holistic Health Assessment with Lab

Duration: 7 weeks Credit Hours: 4

Prepares students with the knowledge, attitude, and skill needed to complete a detailed health history interview and comprehensive health assessment. With a focus on wellness, individual adult health status will be assessed, including physical, emotional, cultural, spiritual factors, from which appropriate nursing diagnoses may be derived. Only offered Summer. Co-requisite: NUR 309L.

NUR 312: Conceptual Issues of Professional Nursing

Duration: 7 weeks Credit Hours: 3

Promotes the development of professional knowledge, attitudes, and skills as foundational to professional nursing. Students will be introduced to selected concepts, themes, and theories that deepen an understanding of the historical, legal, ethical, and contemporary context of nursing practice. Offered Fall and Summer term.

By the end of this course, students will be able to:

  • Apply critical thinking skills in using theory and the tools of evidence-based practice to meet evolving health care needs of diverse populations within distinct settings.
  • Apply skills in written and verbal communication and interpersonal relations to enhance effectiveness as member of collaborative health care team.
  • Develop skill performing literature searches and use of resources to enhance knowledge and competence to utilize evidence-based practice to promote health, reduce health risks, and prevent disease.
  • Examine personal teaching techniques and enhance teaching and interviewing skills using evidence-based practice.
  • Discuss the attitudes, knowledge and skills required of the professional nurse to become instrumental as a health care provider in the global environment, including professional values, core competencies, and core knowledge and role development.
  • Examine aspects important to patient safety such as the role of human error, effective communication skills, and system issues.
  • Examine health literacy and numeracy. Develop awareness of issues and ideas for improvement.
NUR 342: Health Promotions**

Duration: 7 weeks

The purpose of this course is to introduce students to health promotion and health promotion strategies that can be utilized to improve or enhance health for individuals and families in a variety of settings. The use of evidence-based practice and prominent nursing theories will be explored to aid in the development of practical and relevant interventions for persons from different socioeconomic, cultural, and social backgrounds. Broad course content will include how biological, psychological, sociocultural, spiritual, and environmental domains influence physical activity, nutrition, and stress management across the lifespan.

NUR 380: Transcultural Care in Nursing

Duration: 7 weeks Credit Hours: 3

Addresses the impact that social, political, cultural, spiritual, gender, age, and lifestyle factors have upon the health of individuals and communities. Provides students with evidence-based learning related to the complementary therapies and approaches used by the public and available to nurses that can be used in culturally-appropriate ways to treat illness, prevent disease, and promote well-being. Identifies personally held beliefs and values and responds to the diversity and uniqueness of individuals and populations to provide culturally sensitive, safe, and effective care.

By the end of this course, students will be able to:

  • Articulate one’s own beliefs and values about professional nursing practice in relation to health, illness, healing, the diversity of people, and the diversity of healing and treatment modalities.
  • Reflect upon one’s own knowledge, attitudes, and skills to gain self-knowledge and use this information to guide thinking and actions.
  • Apply knowledge of human diversity and cultural norms to peer relationships within the workplace to promote collegiality, reduce conflict, and improve patient care outcomes.
  • Advocate for patients by identifying nursing strategies that offset the health disparities experienced by marginalized groups and underserved populations.
  • Examine the philosophic underpinnings of nursing as a holistic practice integrating the healing arts and allopathic evidence-based science.
  • Develop knowledge, values, and skills needed to provide holistic nursing care with sensitivity and respect for the diversity and complexity of patients, including factors related to socioeconomic well-being, growth and development, race, religion, as well as cultural, ethnic, and spiritual values and practices.
HLT 386: Health Care Policy

Duration: 7 weeks Credit Hours: 3

This course provides students with an overview of contemporary health policy in the United States. Health disparities and the evolving healthcare system have a profound impact on the nursing profession. Nursing students develop a greater understanding of the social, political, cultural, and financial variables affecting health care outcomes, including nursing practice. Students learn to analyze healthcare policy using a framework. The effect of current health care policy on vulnerable populations is examined. Students participate in healthcare policy discussions as patient advocates and consumers of healthcare. Current issues and trends affecting the nursing profession are examined. Offered Fall, Spring, and Summer. Pre-requisites: NUR 200, NUR 230.

By the end of this course, students will be able to:

  • Identify the defining characteristics of the United States healthcare system.
  • Discuss the ethical values and ideals influencing health care policy.
  • Discuss the variables and dynamics that influence efforts to improve the healthcare system.
  • Explore ways to improve patient care outcomes through political advocacy, particularly among vulnerable populations.
  • Examine the impact of policy and politics on members of a vulnerable population.
  • Explain how patient insurance coverage may influence treatment decisions and relate this to nursing ethics.
  • Evaluate the strategies and resources available to address cost, access, and quality issues in healthcare.
  • Engage in a comparative analysis of health systems among industrialized nations and discuss global health issues.
  • Discuss the impact policy and politics have on health care professionals in their workplace, such as regulatory guidelines and employment standards and practice.
  • Discuss various health service systems in the United States and their implications for health care delivery and practice.
NUR 401: Health-Related Research

Duration: 7 weeks Credit Hours: 3

Introduces students to the conduct of research; research sources, utilization, and dissemination; as well as concepts and principles of evidence-based practice (EBP) as a way to improve nursing practice and healthcare outcomes. Focus of the course is on developing clinical EBP questions; conducting a literature review; and to appraise and apply current, reliable research findings and clinical practice. Standards for the conduct of ethical research in qualitative and quantitative research designs are also reviewed. Offered Fall, Spring, and Summer.

HLT 407: Leadership & Management in Healthcare

Duration: 7 weeks Credit Hours: 3

Prepares students to assume leadership, decision-making roles, and political awareness within an increasingly complex and changing health care system. Principles of leadership and management are examined in context of their application within current and prospective global health care environments. Role development and values clarification are emphasized. Offered Fall, Spring and Summer.

NUR 413: Health Care Ethics & the Law

Duration: 7 weeks Credit Hours: 3

The focus of the course includes examining ethical and legal issues in the context of nursing and healthcare practice. Students explore the principles of ethical reasoning and decision-making to resolve of ethical dilemmas present in healthcare. Students analyze the ethical obligations, policies, and laws that guide healthcare delivery. Students examine current ethical issues. Offered Summer and Fall.

NUR 456: Integrated Nursing Practice

Duration: 7 weeks Credit Hours: 3

This practicum provides students with the opportunity to demonstrate leadership and management abilities by assessing, planning, conducting, and evaluating a community-based nursing intervention. This course assists the RN to BSN student to transition to baccalaureate level proficiency in to include competency development in systems-based organizations, evidence-based practice, interprofessional collaboration and communication, and clinical prevention and population health. The community as client is emphasized. Students will integrate prior learning and experiences. The student will conduct original work. This course also includes a portfolio requirement. The portfolio should be a reflection of the nursing student’s accumulated works supporting the achievement of the ten program outcomes for baccalaureate-prepared nurses graduating from UMFK. Please see the Portfolio Guidelines link at the end of this syllabus. Offered Fall and Spring. Pre-requisite: NUR 301R.

By the end of this course, students will be able to:

  • Demonstrate effective, collegial communication and shared decision making while functioning competently within own scope of practice as a member of the healthcare team to enhance knowledge, experience, and healthcare outcomes.
  • Examine the impact of culture, gender, values, beliefs, and age on client preferences and health behaviors in the development of health-related goals of a select aggregate, community, or population.
  • Analyze the legal, political, regulatory, and socioeconomic factors that influence nursing practice and the delivery of patient care.
  • Use and evaluate information from established health information technology systems and population data sources to support decision-making and patient education for improved healthcare.
  • Apply the nursing process framework, current research evidence, and clinical practice experience in the development of an integrative nursing practice project that addresses a nursing or healthcare issue of interest for quality improvement.
  • Engage in clinical experiences that integrate new baccalaureate practice-related knowledge and skills that are responsive to ethical, professional, and legal healthcare obligations and demonstrate attainment of program outcomes.

Electives (If needed)

These courses are available for students who have completed the required courses and still need to reach 120 credit hours in order to graduate.

NUR 302: Pharmacology

Duration: 7 weeks Credit Hours: 3

Provides students with knowledge about general principles of drug actions along with nursing responsibilities and accountability in the administration of medication over the lifespan. Using the nursing process, numerous pharmacologic classifications will be discussed, including mechanisms of drug actions, key adverse effects, and drug interactions. Genetic and genomic considerations will be examined. Students will develop skills needed for safe practice, including calculating dosages and administering various medications.

NUR 435R: Concepts in Patho

Duration: 7 weeks Credit Hours: 3

Examines normal and abnormal human physiologic and pathological processes encountered in clinical practice. Emphasis is placed on the integration of knowledge of pathology, genetic, pharmacologic, and biochemical concepts and disease symptomatology into the delivery of nursing care. Prerequisites: BIO 401 or Valid RN license or (for international students) approval to practice nursing in your jurisdiction or instructor permission.

NUR 384: Global Health & Humanitarianism

Duration: 7 weeks Credit Hours: 4

Provides an opportunity for students to develop personally and professionally as global citizens by applying their knowledge and skills to examine and address social, economic, political, and environmental factors that influence global health and healthcare challenges through a framework of humanitarianism and service. Introduces students to health disparities that exist in the world and developing countries around the world and fosters student critical thinking and discussion about healthcare and humanitarianism efforts within a global environment. This practicum course satisfies the university’s general education requirements for global awareness and learning for citizenship and for nursing students in lieu of NUR 380: Transcultural Nursing. This course is closely tied to the International Medical Relief or related international service programs. Offered Summer.

General Education Requirements (21 hours)

In accordance with UMFK policy, all baccalaureate candidates must complete the following General Education requirements. Transcript analysis will be conducted to determine if courses taken prior to admission to UMFK are congruent with the courses of the General Education program.

General Education Credit Credit Hours General Education Area
English Composition II 3 credits Communication
Statistics (if not previously completed) 3 credits Quantitative Reasoning
Literature 3 credits Literature
History 3 credits History
Language 3 credits Foreign Language
Art/Music 3 credits Visual and Performing Arts or Philosophy
Computer Science 3 credits Information Fluency

*Based on 120 undergraduate credit hours needed for graduation. Total program cost varies based on number of transfer credit hours accepted. Students may take electives upon advisement to complete 120 undergraduate credit hours.

**NUR 342 is offered as a 1, 2, or 3 credit course, depending on the number of credits still needed to meet the program requirement.

screenshot of an interview with Ashley Plourde, a multi-unit nurse manager and UMFK graduate

Discover why our 100% online RN to BSN is exactly what you need.

“I think the number one reason registered nurses pursue their [BSN online] is because of the convenience and for career advancement.”

– Erin Soucy, Ph.D., RN, Dean of Undergrad Nursing; Assistant Professor

The Princeton Review
UMFK has made the Princeton Review’s Best Colleges list 14 years in a row

Online classes require self-determination and discipline, but it’s also fun. You can still work during the day to provide for your family.

Sarah S.

Student

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