AAS Nursing Program Admissions

Application Period: March 12 - May 7, 2024

APPLY Early! It is critical that interested applicants apply as soon as the application period begins to be considered for admission to the AAS Nursing Program!

AAS Nursing Program Application

Please read all Application/Admissions Requirements very carefully and use the application link below to apply to the AAS Nursing Program.

Application for Consideration for Fall 2024 Admission

Application/Admissions Requirements

Applicants to the AAS Nursing Program must

• Earn a minimum cumulative Grade Point Average (GPA) of 2.5

• Earn a minimum Grade Point Average (GPA) of 2.9 in the Nursing pre-requisite courses below
  • ENG 111 Introduction to College Writing
  • PHL 130 Introduction to Ethics (preferred*) or SOC 100 People and Society
  • PSY 100 Introduction to Psychology
  • BIO 150 Human Anatomy and Physiology

*NOTE: If a student has earned grades for both courses, the PHL 130 grade will be calculated in the pre-requisite GPA.

• Have completed BIO 150 within five (5) years of application and have earned a minimum grade of C.

• Take the National League for Nursing (NLN/E-PAX-RN) exam and submit scores by email to AASnursingadmission@csi.cuny.edu  NLN benchmark scores vary each semester, and all sub scores are used in the admissions decisions.

Students are advised to review for the exam, and they must register for the E-PAX-RN exam (see guide below) before they file their AAS Nursing Program Application.

NLN Guide and Instructions for Fall 2024 (updated 2/21/24)

STUDENT GUIDE TO Taking NLN Exams with Proctor360 (updated 11/01/23)

NLN Testing Dates for Fall 2024 Admissions

NOTE: The nursing application portal closes on May 7, 2024. Students are encouraged to take the NLN/E-PAX-RN exam and submit their scores before May 7, 2024; however, in-person testing has been scheduled until May 16, 2024. Applications cannot be processed until applicants have submitted their NLN scores.

• Provide proof of U.S. Citizenship or Lawful Residency Status

Residency Information

• Create a CSI CastleBranch account by visiting portal.castlebranch.com/uz86 and order and complete a Urine Drug Screen (UDS) by selecting the code UZ86dt from the drop-down menu. Applications cannot be processed until applicants have completed a CastleBranch UDS. Students with a positive UDS may make an appointment to meet with a nursing admissions advisor at 718.982.3810.

Note: The AAS Nursing Program requires a negative UDS within 90 days of the start of each clinical practicum. For this reason, students who are accepted to the AAS Nursing Program are required to order and complete an additional UDS on or after 6/17/24 and before 7/15/24. Students who test positive at any point cannot attend clinical and will not meet course objectives.

Special Considerations

• Students may repeat one (1) pre-requisite course with a minimum grade of B once only. Pre-requisite courses include BIO 150, ENG 111, PHL 130/SOC 100  and PSY 100.
• If the BIO 150 course was completed more than 5 years from date of application, either in residence or at a previous institution, the course will need to be repeated in order to be considered for admission to the AAS Nursing Program.

CSI Freshman Forgiveness

CSI students who requested and received Freshman Forgiveness and do not meet the above admission criteria may appeal to the Admission Committee for consideration. A limited number of seats each semester will be assigned to students from Freshman Forgiveness on a competitive basis.
Students should apply and call the Nursing Department at 718.982.3810 to request an appointment with a nursing admissions advisor.

Transfer Students

In addition to the Admissions Requirements above, transfer students from other colleges must

• Be in good academic standing.

Students who are on academic probation, or who have been academically/administratively dismissed from a Nursing or health professional program at CSI or another institution are not eligible for admission to the AAS Nursing Program at the College of Staten Island.*

Note: Nursing pre-requisite courses taken outside of CSI must have transfer equivalency at CSI. The letter grades earned in pre-requisite courses at other colleges are used in the calculation of the Nursing pre-requisite GPA for transfer students.

• Earn a minimum Grade Point Average (GPA) of 2.9 in the Nursing pre-requisite courses below:
  • ENG 111 Introduction to College Writing
  • PHL 130 Introduction to Ethics, preferred* or SOC 100 Introduction to Sociology
  • PSY 100 Introduction to Psychology
  • BIO 150 Human Anatomy and Physiology
  • BIO 160 Human Anatomy and Physiology II (transfer students ONLY)

Pre-college Coursework

Students who have completed college coursework or college-level examination programs recognized by CUNY, as high school students, may repeat pre-requisite courses to be considered for AAS Nursing Program admission without prejudice (AICE, AP, CLEP, DLPT, DSST, UEXCEL, IB).

Admissions Decision

Admission decisions are communicated to students using the Application Portal only. Students are required to check their application status after 12:00 pm on Wednesday, June 5, 2024. Students will not be notified by email or in person of acceptance. This portal will close by Wednesday, June 12, 2024. Students unable to access the Application Portal may email AASnursingadmission@csi.cuny.edu. 

Admitted students will be enrolled in a Blackboard (Bb) organization titled “2024 Fall Clinical Onboarding (CSI)”. This Bb organization provides detailed information on all clinical clearance requirements.

All students who are admitted to the AAS Nursing Program are required to have a dedicated working laptop that supports ExamSoft (Chromebooks are not supported). Students are responsible to have their device available for all NRS course examinations. All classes use a national leading software program called ExamSoft – sometimes called Examplify for exams. Students and exam-takers downloading the test-taking software, Examplify, should review these Minimum System Requirements (MSRs) to ensure their devices are supported. Examplify works with most modern computers, both Mac and Windows operating systems. For example, Examplify will not run on Chromebooks, Android, or Linux operating systems. Examplify does not support touchscreen input on Mac or Windows laptops. See Examsoft link for for information (https://examsoft.com/resources/examplify-minimum-system-requirements/)

Admitted students must meet ALL matriculation clinical clearance requirements.

Admitted students will be permitted to register provisionally, contingent upon timely completion of matriculation clinical clearance requirements (Nursing Physical Examination (NPE), CastleBranch Background Check and CastleBranch Compliance Tracker), by July 15, 2024. Registration in any clinical NRS course  has both academic and financial consequences. Clinical clearance is required for clinical class attendance. Students who are not fully cleared will earn an absence in their clinical course. Excessive absences will result in an earned course grade of F (see course syllabus).

Matriculation Clinical Clearance Requirements

Matriculation in the AAS Nursing Program is defined as enrollment in NRS 110. Only students who are admitted to the AAS Nursing Program may enroll. Enrollment is predicated on clinical clearance requirements which are practice environment driven, and no exceptions can be made. Students are guests of the agencies and must comply with all agency requirements in real time. The requirements can change precipitously, and students must comply in order to participate in agency clinical experiences. 
NOTE:  Students may not contact the agencies directly at any time.

Clinical Clearance Requirements:

All admitted students to the AAS Nursing Program are required to maintain the CSI CastleBranch account they created during the application process in good standing reflecting a clear criminal background check, negative Urine Drug Screen (UDS) and a completed Compliance Tracker.

• Nursing Physical Examination (NPE)

The Nursing Physical Evaluation (NPE) form must be submitted and approved by the CSI Health Center, as soon as possible and by July 15, 2024. A copy of a CastleBranch Urine Drug Screen (UDS) completed on or after 6/17/2024 along with the completed NPE and all lab results must be submitted to the Health Center in 1C-Room 112 in person by Monday, July 15, 2024. DO NOT EMAIL your NPE and medical documents to the Health Center. Students may schedule appointments by calling 718.982.3045. Appointments are recommended. Students are responsible to follow up on their physical with the Health Center if they do not get an initial approval.

          Additionally, CSI students may call at 718.982.3045 to request an appointment with the CSI Health Center Nurse Practitioner to complete the NPE. The number of appointments offered is limited. Act early to reserve a space!

NPE Instructions (updated 3/6/24)

NPE Form (updated 7/19/23)

• AHA Basic Life Support (BLS) Certificate

Students must provide current American Heart Association Health Care Professional: Basic Life Support (BLS) certification valid for the duration of the clinical rotation. Only BLS certificates with hands-on skills sessions from the American Heart Association (AHA) are accepted. More information/instructions on how to meet the BLS requirement will be provided on the application status notification. All students must reserve the following days for possible enrollment in a mandatory BLS hands-on class: 6/12/24, 6/13/24, 6/17/24, 6/18/24, 6/19/24 & 6/20/24.

• CastleBranch Background Check (Cost of approximately $130)

Admitted students are required to use the same account they created when they applied to the AAS Nursing Program (portal.castlebranch.com/uz86) and order a criminal Background Check by selecting the code UZ86bg from the drop-down menu. Students without a clear CastleBranch Background Check may make an appointment to meet with a nursing admissions advisor at 718.982.3810.

• CastleBranch Compliance Tracker (Cost of approximately $50)

All admitted students are required to use the same account they created when they applied to the AAS Nursing Program (portal.castlebranch.com/uz86) and order a Compliance Tracker by selecting the code UZ86im from the drop-down menu. Students must upload all required medical and other documents to the Compliance Tracker for review and approval. A completed Compliance Tracker is required for clinical clearance.

Agency-Specific Clinical Requirements

In addition to the general matriculation clinical clearance requirements above, students may need to complete all agency-specific clinical requirements such as training and orientation, completing agency specific forms, etc. Enrolled students are required to monitor the Blackboard organization titled "2024 Fall Clinical Onboarding (CSI)" for more detailed instructions. Students who are not fully cleared will earn an absence in their clinical course. Excessive absences will result in an earned course grade of F (see course syllabus).

Enrollment in NRS 110

Enrollment in NRS 110 will be by permission only. After 10:00 am on Thursday, June 6, 2024, students who are admitted to the AAS Nursing Program will be permitted to register (self-enroll) in NRS 110 and NRS 115. Detailed registration instructions will be available with the admission acceptance notification.

Registration for NRS clinical courses is predicated on clearances that are time sensitive. In the AAS Nursing Program, there is no guarantee of any specific clinical sites, days or times. All are subject to changes due to the evolving nature of the health care practice environment. "Schedule of Classes" designations for agencies and clinical days are always tentative and subject to precipitous change. Changes will be posted on CUNYfirst. Additionally, Navigate CSI is the official method of communication of the Department of Nursing and the College. Students who are unable to accommodate changes may defer enrollment until the subsequent semester without academic consequences. 

Nursing 110 Orientation

All admitted students must attend an in-person NRS 110 New Student Orientation on Monday, June 10, 2024, from 9:00am to 1:00pm in 1P-Lecture Hall. More information on the New Student Orientation will be available with the admission acceptance notification.