Since 2010, the Nursing profession has adopted a mission of achieving a more highly educated nursing work force, with the goal of 80% of the nursing workforce achieving a Bachelor’s degree in nursing (BSN) by the year 2020.

Today, a BSN degree is required for many nursing positions, graduate nursing programs and even for employment in some hospitals; however, many qualified students are not admitted to traditional BSN programs across the country each year because of the limited number of seats available.

The Joint Enrollment Pathway was developed to overcome barriers to achieving the BSN degree for ADN-prepared nurses by having students complete all the general education and nursing pre-requisite courses for the BSN degree in their first two years at the community college; then they can apply to the 5-semester Joint Enrollment Pathway where they complete required nursing coursework for both the associate and bachelor’s degrees in nursing.

This allows students to remain in their home communities while completing both degrees within 4 years, similar to students enrolled in traditional 4-year BSN programs.

The Joint Enrollment Pathway is designed to eliminate some of the barriers to achieving a bachelor’s degree in nursing. Through collaboration among UAB, WSCC, JSCC and BSCC the advantages of the Joint Enrollment Pathway include:

• Joint Enrollment students can complete all the general education and nursing prerequisite courses required for the bachelor’s degree at their respective community college campus.
• Joint Enrollment students will complete both the Associate of Applied Science in Nursing and the RN to BSN Pathway coursework and earn an AAS and BSN degree at the same time.
• The Associate of Applied Science in Nursing (AAS) coursework is offered on the community college campus and the RN to BSN coursework is offered in an online format through UAB School of Nursing.
• UAB students who have completed the general education and nursing prerequisite courses required for the bachelor’s degree can apply for the Joint Enrollment option and remain enrolled in and graduate from UAB.
• The Joint Enrollment Pathway curriculum can be completed in five semesters of full-time study.

Applicants to the UABNCCP Joint Enrollment Pathway must complete all general education requirements for the bachelor’s degree as well as nursing prerequisite courses.

A grade of C or better is required in all Area I and Area V courses.

UAB Students applying for the Joint Enrollment Pathway must have completed the following general education and nursing pre-requisite courses prior to Pathway enrollment:

Pre-requisite Course Requirements

Joint Enrollment Admission Criteria

• Achieve a minimum grade of “C” or higher in all required general studies and nursing pre-requisite courses (See Joint Enrollment Pre-requisites).
• A minimum ACT composite score of 20 (official ACT scores must be submitted to our community college partners and your ACT score must be taken within 5 years of the application deadline)
• A minimum cumulative GPA for all college work of 2.5 on a 4.0 scale.

Joint Enrollment Admission Overview

• Individuals interested in the Joint Enrollment Pathway should contact Gail Holmes at 205.975.7529 or by email at gmholmes@uab.edu prior to submitting an application to the Joint Enrollment Pathway.
• After students have completed admission to the partner community college, they must apply separately to both the Community College Nursing Program (WSCC, JSCC or BSCC) and the UABSON RN to BSN Pathway to be considered for the Joint Enrollment Pathway.
• Applicants must first be admitted to the Community College Nursing Program before their admission to the RN to BSN Pathway can be confirmed.
• Please refer to the Application for Admission/Application Deadlines section below for specific application steps and important deadlines.

CORE PERFORMANCE STANDARDS

The Joint Enrollment Pathway requires applicants to be admitted to both the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) and to one of our community college partners (WSCC, JSCC or BSCC), as well as their respective community college nursing program and the UAB School of Nursing RN to BSN Pathway.

In addition, the student must first be admitted to an associate degree nursing program before their admission to the RN to BSN Pathway can be confirmed.

Because admission requires the coordination and completion of several applications, please follow the list below when applying to the Joint Enrollment Pathway.

Steps to Application

1. Contact the UABSON Joint Enrollment Pathway Manager at 205.975.7529 or by email at gmholmes@uab.edu to discuss the application process and pathway eligibility.
2. Submit an admission application to UAB as a degree-seeking student at least one month prior to the UABSON RN to BSN Pathway application deadline. Note: Currently enrolled UAB applicants may skip this step.
3. Submit an admission application to a Community College Partner (WSCC, JSCC or BSCC) by the appropriate application deadline listed below. Note: Currently enrolled Wallace State, Jefferson State and Bevill State applicants may skip this step.
   • Jefferson State Community College admission process information
   • Wallace State Community College admission process information
   • Bevill State Community College admission process information
4. Once admitted to a community college partner (WSCC, JSCC or BSCC), apply separately to their community college nursing program by the appropriate program deadline (see chart below).
5. Once admitted to UAB, email the UABSON Joint Enrollment Pathway Manager at gmholmes@uab.edu for application instructions to apply to the RN to BSN Program by the appropriate deadline listed below.

UAB School of Nursing/Community College Joint Enrollment Pathway

Coordination of Application Deadlines – Students Enrolled at UAB

Students are expected to follow the program of study.^1,2

¹Program of Study is subject to change.
²Curriculum is currently under revision due to credentialing updates and new programs of study will be updated in 2024.

The RN to BSN Curriculum builds on the Associate in Applied Science Nursing Program Curriculum, which together meet the American Association of Colleges of Nursing’s (AACN) Essentials of Baccalaureate Education for Professional Nursing Practice.

The curriculum prepares nurses to:

• Apply knowledge from diverse liberal arts educational content to generalist nursing care principles and practice experiences.
• Incorporate a basic understanding of organizational systems and the application of knowledge and skills needed to provide safe, quality care to individual patients and to function as part of an interprofessional team.
• Participate in and utilize structure, process, and outcome measures to evaluate the implementation of patient safety and quality improvement initiatives.
• Demonstrate an understanding of the basic elements of the evidence-based practice and participates in the retrieval, appraisal, and application of best practices.
• Demonstrate skills in the ethical use of healthcare information communication technology (ICT) and how technology supports safe practice and examination of patient data for outcome analysis.
• Demonstrate understanding of healthcare policy, advocacy, global health, legal, and regulatory issues as factors that may influence healthcare delivery and practice.
• Utilize effective intra and interprofessional communication skills to advocate for evidence-based, holistic care as a member of the healthcare team.
• Assess determinants of health in relation to multiple factors (genetics, environmental exposure, family history, individual health, and health preferences) to guide and advocate for the delivery of health promotion/disease prevention strategies.
• Apply knowledge of nursing history, nursing standards, and one’s beliefs and values to the application of professional nursing behaviors, communication, and actions.
• Practice safe, evidence-based, compassionate, holistic, and patient and family centered care applying knowledge of leadership and healthcare delivery for individuals and communities.

NOTE: For courses completed at the community college, please refer to the published tuition and fees at WSCC, JSCC and/or BSCC

The following tuition and fees are valid for the 2024-2025 academic year. Tuition and fees and are SUBJECT TO CHANGE annually based on approval from the University of Alabama System Board of Trustees and/or University.

The estimates below are based on the costs listed at the UAB Office of Planning and Analysis website.

Each student’s costs will vary depending upon a number of factors including state of residence, the number of credits taken in a semester, or whether the student attends class live or through a distance-accessible format. Fees vary by program and course.

UAB Financial Aid and Scholarships

Information on Financial Aid, University Scholarships and other funding opportunities is available at:

UAB School of Nursing Scholarships

• The School of Nursing at UAB has an excellent scholarship program that provides financial support to Alabama’s best and brightest nursing students.
• Currently, the School’s scholarship portfolio consists of 76 endowed scholarships and 3 active sponsored scholarships.
• The school currently has an $10.1 million endowed fund that supports nursing scholarships annually.
• Scholarships are awarded twice a year – spring and fall semesters. The scholarship application process is simple. One application is needed to be considered for all undergraduate or graduate scholarships.
• Application and additional information can be found at https://www.uab.edu/nursing/home/scholarships-financial-aid

For Information about School of Nursing Scholarships, Contact:

Stephanie Hamberger, MPA

Director of Student Engagement, Recruitment and Scholarships

ssallen@uab.edu 205.934.5483

Out-of-state applicants to any of our distance-accessible programs should become familiar with their state’s regulations governing distance accessible programs. Prospective students residing in states other than Alabama should contact their state’s Board of Nursing and Department of Education for specific rules and regulations pertaining to students enrolled in out-of-state programs and are planning to conduct UABSON distance education in their home state. Only those students who reside in Alabama or those states where the UAB School of Nursing programs are available will be eligible to receive an offer of admission.

More information is available at the State Approval Website for Online Degree Programs at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.