Excelsior College Required Exams for ASN Degree
Excelsior College requires that you pass certain nursing and general education exams to earn your Associate of Science in Nursing Degree. Study for the Excelsior courses using Rue Total Learning Systems™ and Nursing Exam Preparation materials, then take and pass the standardized exam to receive credit from Excelsior College.
You may already have some college credits that may be transferable into this program. All of these nursing and general education exams may not be required. Rue’s Educational Consultants can help you determine what courses you actually need to earn your degree.
The following exams are required to earn your Associate of Science in Nursing Degree from Excelsior College:
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Associate of Science in Nursing Degree
Total Degree Credits Required: 67
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| General Education Requirements |
Credit Hours
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| Written English Requirement |
3
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| Information Literacy (a) |
1
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| Humanities |
6
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| Social Sciences |
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| Life Span Developmental Psychology |
3
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| Sociology |
3
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| Natural Sciences |
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| Anatomy and Physiology (b) |
4
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| Microbiology |
3
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| Sciences Supportive of Nursing (c) |
1
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| Electives |
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Total General Education
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31
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| Nursing Component |
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| Essentials of Nursing Care: Health Safety |
3
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| Essentials of Nursing Care: Health Differences (d) |
3
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| Essentials of Nursing Care: Chronicity (e) |
3
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| Essentials of Nursing Care: Reproductive Health (e) |
3
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| Health Differences Across the Life Span 1 (e) |
3
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| Health Differences Across the Life Span 2 (e) |
3
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| Health Differences Across the Life Span 3 (e) |
3
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| Transition to the Registered Professional Nurse Role (e) |
3
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| Focused Clinical Competencies Assessment (FCCA) (f) |
4
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| Clinical Performance In Nursing Examination (CPNE®) (g) |
8
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Total Nursing
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36
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| (a) Rue does not have a Total Learning System for the Information Literacy course. |
| (b) The Anatomy and Physiology requirement can also be met by: Anatomy (2 credits) and Physiology (2 credits). |
| (c) The Associate in Science Degree accepts a minimum of seven credits of Arts & Sciences Electives. |
| (d) The examination in Essentials of Nursing Care: Health Differences can be waived if you hold a valid and current U.S. LPN/LVN license and enroll with Excelsior within 5 years of passing the NCLEX-PN exam. You will need to submit a copy of your LPN/LVN license to Excelsior College as part of your enrollment so they can validate your license and award you credit for this examination. |
| (e) Excelsior College exams are available only to ASN students enrolled in the Excelsior College School of Nursing. |
| (f) Excelsior College ASN students are eligible to take this examination when all 8 of the nursing theory examinations and 21 of the required 31 credits in general education are successfully completed. |
| (g) This examination may be taken only after all 8 nursing theory examinations and the FCCA are successfully completed. However, nursing students may register for the CPNE® when 2 of the 3 required FCCA examinations are completed. |
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Course Descriptions
You may already have college credits that can be applied to some of these Excelsior nursing and general education courses. Contact a Rue Educational Consultant to learn more.
Essentials of Nursing Care: Health Safety (3 credits)
This examination tests the ability to apply concepts and principles related to medication safety, physical safety, emotional safety and environmental safety. In addition, application of the nursing process to care for patients across the life span in relation to common health needs such as health promotion, wellness and self-responsibility is tested.
Essentials of Nursing Care: Health Differences (3 credits)
This examination tests the ability to apply concepts and principles relevant to the nursing care of patients across the life span with common health differences related to nutrition, elimination, oxygenation, fluid and electrolyte balance, rest and activity.
Essentials of Nursing Care: Chronicity (3 credits)
This examination tests the ability to apply concepts and principles in a community setting relevant to the nursing care of patients across the life span who are experiencing chronic illness, disability, or end of life, with primary health concerns including comfort, pain and sensory impairment.
Essentials of Nursing Care: Reproductive Health (3 credits)
This examination tests the ability to apply concepts and principles related to the application of the nursing process to the care of patients across the life span with nursing care needs related to human sexuality, congenital anomalies, genetic and reproductive disorders. In addition, this examination tests the nursing student’s ability to care for the childbearing family.
Health Differences Across the Life Span 1 (3 credits)
This examination tests concepts and principles related to the application of the nursing process to care for patients across the life span who are experiencing health differences related to cardiovascular and respiratory illness or abnormal cell growth.
Health Differences Across the Life Span 2 (3 credits)
This examination tests concepts and principles related to the application of the nursing process to care for patients across the life span who are experiencing health differences related to behavioral, cognitive, regulatory, and metabolic dysfunction.
Health Differences Across the Life Span 3 (3 credits)
This examination tests concepts and principles related to the application of the nursing process to care for patients across the life span who are experiencing health differences related to musculoskeletal disorders, infectious and communicable diseases, tissue trauma and neurological dysfunction.
Transition to the Registered Professional Nurse Role (3 credits)
This examination tests concepts and principles related to the professional role development of the registered nurse. Emphasis is placed on supervisory and delegation functions of RN practice as well as differentiating levels of RN practice. In addition, the examination tests factors affecting the healthcare system, knowledge and skills necessary for functioning on interdisciplinary teams, legal, ethical, and educational aspects of nursing as well as the influences of history, nursing organizations, and regulatory bodies on nursing practice.
Anatomy & Physiology (6 credits)
This exam includes an understanding of anatomical and physiological factors involved in the functioning of major body systems, with emphasis on systems that maintain, integrate, and control body functions.
College Mathematics (3 credits)
Tests for material generally taught in a college course for nonmathematics majors and majors in fields not requiring knowledge of advanced mathematics.
English Composition (6 credits)
This exam assesses the ability to do the kind of writing that explains, interprets, analyzes, or presents and supports a point of view, as well as to apply the principles and conventions of standard written English.
Ethics (3 credits)
This exam measures ethical knowledge as it applies to practical ethical situations. Application of knowledge about ethics is accomplished through the use of case studies and related sets of multiple-choice questions. Knowledge categories include basic theories and concepts such as utilitarianism, natural law theory, justice, duties and obligations, and rights.
Foundations of Gerontology (3 credits)
This exam covers concepts and definitions, demography and statistical/empirical trends. It covers the biological, physiological, and sociological aspects of the aging process, death and dying, economics of aging, work and retirement, and political and public policy.
Introductory Psychology (3 credits)
This exam includes topics such as learning and cognition, behavior personality, perception, motivation, emotion, lifespan development, and social psychology.
Introductory Sociology (3 credits)
This exam deals with social institutions, stratification, social patterns, processes, changes, and the sociological perspective. It emphasizes facts and concepts as well as general theoretical approaches.
Life Span Developmental Psychology (3 credits)
This exam covers developmental psychology throughout the life span. It measures understanding of the concepts, covers principles and theories associated with life span development, as well as the ability to apply this understanding in specific situations. The ASN student will be expected to integrate content across the stages of the life span.
Microbiology (3 credits)
This exam tests for a knowledge and understanding of bacteria, algae, fungi, protozoa, viruses, and their relationships with humans. It includes introduction to microbiology, biology of microorganisms, control of microorganisms, disease and resistance, biology of infectious diseases, and industrial and environmental microbiology.
Religions of the World (3 credits)
This exam reflects an interdisciplinary course of study of the major religions as viewed in their social and historical contexts. It draws content from sociology, psychology, and philosophy.
Material compliments of Excelsior College.