Nursing Education Transfer

Background

In 2012, Massachusetts received a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to advance the work of increasing the percentage of the RN workforce who hold a BSN or above. As part of this initiative, the Department of Higher Education established a working group to create a seamless, cost effective, timely and transparent pathway for students to progress from community college Associate Degree in Nursing (ADN) programs to the Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree at a state university or UMass. Their recommendations formed the Nursing Education Transfer Compact, which was approved by the Board of Higher Education in January 2014 and, after a one year implementation period, was finalized in March 2015.

Nursing Education Transfer Compact January 2014
Campus and Nursing Community Implementation December 2014
Executive Summary March 2015

Implementation

Academic Requirements

Eligibility: A student shall be eligible for the benefits provided by the Nursing Education Transfer Compact if he or she has met the following requirements:

1. The student has completed an Associate Degree in Nursing at a Massachusetts community college with a maximum of 72 credit hours and has passed the NCLEX Registered Nurse licensure examination.
2. The student has completed the general education requirements, meeting the requirements of the MassTransfer policy

Credit Requirements: Credit requirements for completion of a generic BS/N degree in nursing are a maximum of 128 credits and are broken down into the following three categories.

1. Courses covering nursing education from a Board of Registration in Nursing (BORN)-approved Associate Degree in Nursing (ADN) Program. Maximum 72 credits as determined by the DHE.
2. General education/distribution/core courses, earned as part of the ADN program or through additional coursework, from Mass Transfer policy (Total of 11 courses/34 credits). These credits would be transferable following completion of the general education courses/credits at a 2-year public community college in Massachusetts, depending on the 4-year public institution’s policy on time limits for specific courses, i.e. sciences.

   2 courses/6 credits	English Composition/Writing
   3 courses/9 credits	Behavioral and Social Sciences
   3 courses/9 credits	Humanities and Fine Arts
   2 courses/7 credits	Natural or Physical Science
   1 course/3 credits	Mathematics/Quantitative Reasoning

   Baccalaureate institutions may also substitute their own general education requirements for the MassTransfer Block, if doing so will facilitate more timely completion of the BSN degree

3. Upper Division Nursing courses, related courses, and electives courses necessary to meet nursing degree requirements, and residency requirement for the institution. The Nursing knowledge incorporated into the 4-year BS/N programs is based on the Nursing Competencies.