General Information

Transferring Credits

The required courses listed for the freshman and sophomore years are classified as “general education requirements” or “prerequisites” for the nursing major.

  • Please check with the transfer counselor in Admissions, nuprereqadmissions@northwestu.edu  to see if any perquisites taken at other colleges will transfer to Northwest University. 
  • All prerequisites MUST be completed on or before June 30, of the year you are entering the nursing program. Courses taken at NU are an exception to this and must be complete on the last day of the NU summer term.

The Chemistry, Anatomy and Physiology, and Microbiology courses must include a laboratory. Northwest University typically accepts as a substitute for SCIE 1213 and SCIE 1211, “College Chemistry II and Laboratory,” a biochemistry/organic chemistry class taken at another college if the student can document that it is the bio-organic chemistry course required by the respective college for admission into its own nursing program.

For a speech class to transfer to Northwest University as a substitute for COMM 1213, “Fundamentals of Speech Communication,” the course taken at another college must focus primarily on public speaking and on speech delivery.

Applying for Admission to the Nursing Major

Nursing major applications are available through NursingCAS a centralized application service in October.

An applicant to the nursing major must first be admitted to the University in order to be considered for admission to the Nursing Major. Transfer students must be in contact with the Enrollment Office (425-889-5231, toll free 800-669-3781, email nuprereqadmissions@northwestu.edu or fax 425-827-0148) regarding admission to the University.

Faculty Decision Regarding Applicant’s Admission to the Nursing Major

Only one cohort of 48 students is admitted each year. A group of faculty members evaluate applications and recommend to the Dean those applicants who demonstrate the greatest potential for success within the program. Acceptance letters are sent by the end of March for the fall cohort.

Accreditation

The baccalaureate degree in nursing at Northwest University is accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (https://www.aacnnursing.org/ccne-accreditation)

The Buntain School of Nursing is also approved as a program under Northwest University’s accreditation by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (regional).

The Washington State Board of Nursing has granted approval of the program and permits graduates to take the NCLEX-RN examination in order to obtain registered nurse licenses in the state of Washington.

Academic Standards

The nursing program is academically rigorous and a great deal of reading, research, and memorization is required. The faculty expects students to make rapid progress in the development of critical thinking, communication, and technical skills.  The university catalog and course syllabi prescribe specific standards of academic performance. A grade of “B-,” 2.70/4.0 or better must be earned in each nursing course in order to continue in the nursing curriculum toward graduation. Even though a 2.70 grade is acceptable in a given class, an overall grade point average of 3.00 must be maintained throughout each semester of the nursing coursework.

Professional Standards

Professionalism includes a variety of behaviors. Professional behaviors include being punctual, prepared, and compliant with the policies of NU, BCON, and our clinical partners. Conveying respect is yet another aspect of professionalism

Outside Employment or Extracurricular Activities

Students begin nursing courses as a cohort group and are quickly immersed in a rigorous routine of classroom studies with clinical practice. Students are advised to reduce any outside employment, sports, club, etc. to one shift per week that does not conflict with their classroom and clinical schedules. Similarly, it is recommended to not work the shift before a scheduled school clinical or immediately following a clinical experience. Client safety could be affected as a result of such scheduling. During the senior year, students should plan to drastically reduce hours or take a leave of absence from outside employment.

Evening, Night, or Weekend Learning Experiences

Students may be assigned to practicum or “clinical” experiences during evening, night or weekend hours based on availability of clinical site opportunities and qualified faculty. Also, at the beginning of a semester, a faculty member may notify students of mandatory Saturday class sessions. One reason for such sessions is the increased availability of some experts to make guest presentations on days outside of the typical workweek.

Local Transportation

Transportation to local clinical experiences is the responsibility of the student. Many local clinical experiences are between 5 and 20 miles of campus; however, some may require traveling up to 35 miles. Faculty members do not make clinical assignments based on carpool requests or geographic location of student residence.

Computer Requirements

It is required that each student have a laptop. *Check the Examsoft (testing platform) page describing computer requirements for the Examplify app.

Additional Program Costs

A number of costs within the junior and senior year nursing curriculum are substantially higher than those for other majors at Northwest University. Please see the Course Fee and Additional Cost Document for details. 

Scholarships and Other Forms of Financial Aid

Northwest University financial aid staff may be reached by calling (425) 889-5210 or by sending an e-mail inquiry to studentfinancialservices@northwestu.edu.  In the “Education Info” section of the website, www.nursesource.org, links may be found to a variety of websites relating to financial aid for nursing students.  Other helpful websites relating to financial aid for nursing students include:

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