GRADUATION REQUIREMENTS

Graduation Requirements: Only students who successfully complete the program within the maximum time frame (MTF) of 2232 clock hours will be awarded a diploma and may apply to the New Jersey Board of Nursing for licensure as LPN.

To successfully complete the Practical Nursing Program at Best Care College students must:

• Achieve a grade of 80 or above and pass the practical nursing laboratory and clinical components of every course in each level of the program within the maximum time frame (MTF).
• Satisfactorily complete each of the four levels of the program. The student would have then been promoted from the first to the second level of the program, from the second to the third level of the program, and from the third to the fourth level of the program.
• Have a minimum required cumulative grade point average (CGPA) of 80%.
• Demonstrate clinical competence by passing the clinical practicum for each course with a clinical component.
• Return all library books and course materials on loan.
• Complete payment of all financial obligations:
• Pay all tuition, fees and expenses due to the school; and,
• Pay the graduation fees ($300.00).

 

PROFESSIONAL LICENSURE DISCLOSURE

Upon successful completion of the LPN Program, graduates will qualify to sit for the NCLEX-PN exam. Graduates who pass the NCLEX-PN exam will qualify to be employed as Licensed Practical nurses.

 

STUDENT COMPLAINT AND GRIEVANCE PROCEDURE

Best Care College makes every effort to provide a very supportive environment and respects the rights of all students. It is the college's practice to fairly and objectively address the concerns of any complainant in an attempt to equitably resolve his or her grievance.

A student filing a complaint is encouraged to first make the complaint to the immediate supervisor of the individual against whom the complaint is being made. A written complaint is preferred but not required. If the matter is not resolved to the student’s satisfaction, the student may pursue his or her grievance up to the level of Best Care College’s CEO/College Director. If the student's complaint is against the CEO, the student may lodge a complaint directly with the Best Care College Board of Directors.

A student has five (5) school days within which to make the complaint and the college has ten (10) school days in which to attempt to resolve it. If the complaint is not resolved to the student's satisfaction the student may also file a formal, written complaint with the New Jersey Board of Nursing, the Office of the Secretary of Higher Education (NJ), or with both. Contact information for each of these agencies is listed below.

Office of the Secretary of Higher Education

PO Box 542

Trenton, NJ 08625-0542

Tel: 609-292- 4310

www.OSHE@oshe.nj.gov

 

New Jersey Board of Nursing

124 Halsey Street, 6th Floor

Newark, NJ 07101

Tel: 973-504-6430

www.njconsumeraffairs.gov

ORGANIZING FRAMEWORK, PHILOSOPHY, PROGRAM OBJECTIVES, & PROGRAM OUTCOMES

Organizational Framework: Virginia Henderson’s Human Needs Theory provides a nursing framework for the practical nursing program. A holistic approach to healthcare supplements this foundation of delivery care taught throughout the program. Holism accepts the premise that all aspects of a patient’s needs including psychological, physical, social, and spiritual must be addressed when caring for the patient. (See the Appendix regarding Virginia Henderson.)

The curriculum is disseminated through four levels of content, increasing in complexity from Level I to Level IV. Each Level builds on previously learned material and clinical experiences. Students are exposed to the core competencies identified in the NLN Educational Model (Caring, Diversity, Ethics, Excellence, Holism, Integrity, and Patient-Centeredness) as they acclimate themselves to the culture of nursing.

Holistic nursing is defined as “all nursing practice that has healing the whole person as its goal” (American Holistic Nurses’ Association, 1998, Description of Holistic Nursing).

Practical Nursing Philosophy: Best Care College accepts the philosophy of the Practical Nursing program as being consistent with the College’s mission and educational objectives. The philosophy is based on the following beliefs relative to nursing and embraced by the faculty:

The faculty believes that nursing is a process of caring for, or assisting in the care of, individuals and families utilizing evidenced-based nursing principles, clinical competency, cultural sensitivity, critical thinking strategies, and effective communication skills to provide health care services to individuals, families, and groups. Nursing is practiced in a variety of healthcare settings to promote health and wellness, care for the acute and chronically ill, and provide rehabilitative care within the scope of practice as promulgated by the New Jersey Board of Nursing. Practical nursing is a practice discipline. Practical nurses provide care under the supervision of a registered professional nurse, licensed physician, or dentist, as an integral part of the healthcare team.

The faculty believes that humans are bio-psychosocial beings born with certain predictable behaviors. These behaviors are individuated by one’s biological, social, physical, and spiritual interactions throughout life, and shape the individual’s values and beliefs.

The faculty believes that the environment is dynamic and continuously changing. Humans and the environment are evolving continuously, mutually, and creatively.

The faculty believes that health is a state of being in which an individual strives to maintain a homeostatic relationship with both his/her internal and external environments. Optimal wellness represents the success of the individual’s endeavor to achieve homeostasis.

Families, groups, and communities of human beings, form societies that share a variety of common, dynamic goals that evolve as their needs and interest change. Collective interactions of political and social forces develop societal changes. These changes affect the rights and responsibilities of individuals and affect the values and expectations placed on the health care system.

We believe that the goal of nursing education is to provide exposure that facilitates the growth of the total person. Best Care College respects the diversity and dignity of the student body and recognizes the individual worth, dignity and potential of each student. We believe that nursing education is a learning process leading to improvement in knowledge, skills, behaviors and attitudes. This experience should be gratifying and enhance the life of the learner.

We believe that nursing education is an ongoing process built upon a foundation of basic knowledge that includes the individual experience interacting with a nursing body of knowledge. Nursing education is a process of lifelong learning which begins upon admission to the school of nursing. Practical Nursing education prepares the graduate to practice in a variety of health care settings, and to demonstrate entry-level competencies that include utilization of the nursing process and the implementation of direct client care. The faculty at Best Care College provides programs and courses that offer maximum flexibility and assistance for students with different backgrounds and educational goals.

The teaching-learning process incorporates systematic activities directed toward the achievement of specific educational objectives. Nursing faculty and students mutually assume an active role in the educational process and willingly commit to this endeavor. Teachers assist students by providing an environment conducive to the student’s development of critical thinking and communication skills, presentation of well-defined learning objectives, utilization of current teaching methods and appropriate evaluation of the student’s progress.

THE LICENSED PRACTICAL NURSE

Standards of Practice for New Jersey Licensed Practical Nurses: The Licensed Practical Nurse provides nursing care of patients within the scope of the legal definition contained in the Nurse Practice Act.

Nurse Practice Act of New Jersey: The practice of nursing as a licensed practical nurse is defined as performing tasks and responsibilities within the framework of case finding; re-enforcing the patient and family teaching program through health teaching, health counseling and provision of supportive and restorative care, under the direction of a registered professional nurse or otherwise legally authorized physician or dentist.

Practical Nursing Program Objectives: Upon completion of the program, graduates will:

1. Administer safe, caring, holistic nursing to individuals requiring assistance during their lifespan, in accordance with the nurse practice act;

2. Utilize critical thinking to prevent illness, restore health, and provide care for the dying;

3. Collaborate, communicate, and participate effectively as a member of the health care team;

 4. Recognize the importance of continuing education in promoting professional growth.

Program Outcomes:

The Practical Nursing program will:

• Graduate students who are capable of functioning at the entry level of proficiency as a practical nurse.
• Program data will indicate a retention rate of 75%.
• Enable enrolled students to meet the requirements to sit for, and successfully complete, the licensing examination, NCLEX-PN.
• Data on first time test takers of NCLEX-PN will indicate a passing rate above 85%.
• Prepare students for entry level employment.
• Ninety percent (90%) of completed Employer surveys will indicate a level of satisfaction of graduate work performance of 3 or higher on a (1 to 5) Likert scale, 1 being the lowest and 5 being the highest level of satisfaction.
• Cultivate an environment of personal and professional growth.
• Ninety percent (90%) of the completed Graduate surveys will indicate a level of satisfaction of the program of 3 or higher on a (1 to 5) Likert scale, 1 being the lowest and 5 being the highest level of satisfaction.

REFUNDS

Title IV Student Financial Aid Funds (when available) cannot be used to pay the initial fees of $3,000.00.

Cancellation and Refund Policy: Any refund due because of cancellation of this Enrollment Agreement or because of withdrawal from the college will be made according to the applicable category of the following criteria:

Any applicant or student seeking to cancel this enrollment Agreement must do so in writing. That written request must be submitted directly to the CEO/College Director or to the Practical Nursing (LPN) Program Director.

• An applicant requesting cancellation of this Enrollment Agreement within 3 business days after signing it is entitled to a full refund of all monies paid.

• A student requesting cancellation more than 72 hours after signing the enrollment agreement but before starting any courses in the program is entitled to a full refund less the $100.00 registration fee.

• A student seeking to cancel enrollment will not receive a refund for scrub suits, uniforms, shoes, books, and online resources if used.

Any other student who wishes to withdraw should notify either of the above college administrators in writing and include the effective date of the withdrawal. If a student fails to provide written notice of his or her intent to withdraw but stops attending classes, the calculation of any refund will be based on the student's last known day of attendance in class, in lab, or at a clinical session.

• If Withdrawal occurs within 72 hours after the official start date of the student's program but within the first week of studies, any amount paid will be refunded, less the $100 registration fee.

• If Withdrawal occurs more than 72 hours after the official start date of program but within the first week of studies, any amount in excess of 10% of the amount of tuition paid will be refunded.

• If Withdrawal occurs during the second week of any Trimester of the program, any amount in excess of

20% of tuition paid for that trimester will be refunded.

• If Withdrawal occurs during the third week of any Trimester of the program, any amount in excess of

40% of tuition paid for that trimester will be refunded.

• If Withdrawal occurs during the fourth week of any Trimester of the program, any amount in excess of

60% of tuition paid for that trimester will be refunded.

• If Withdrawal occurs during the fifth week of any Trimester of the program, any amount in excess of

80% of tuition paid for that trimester will be refunded.

• If Withdrawal occurs during the sixth week of any Trimester of the program, any amount in excess of

90% of tuition paid for that trimester will be refunded.

• If Withdrawal occurs during the seventh week of any Trimester of the program, no refund is due on payment done on that semester.

Any refund due will be made within 30 days of the effective date of the withdrawal or the student's last date of attendance.

Refunds shall be made to the student or to any state, local or federal agency that paid tuition or fees for the student.

Each refund shall be accompanied by a “Refund Calculation Form” which shall be signed by a school representative.

Title IV Financial Aid Return Policy:

Title IV financial aid eligibility must be re-calculated for any student who has been awarded or has received Title IV funding while enrolled at the institution and who withdraws or is withdrawn. The recalculation must be done using a pro-rata formula required by the U. S. Department of Education (ED); that formula is called the “Return to Title IV” or the “R2T4” formula.

A student must “earn” the full amount of financial aid originally approved for him or her by attending at least 60% of the academic term. When a student withdraws, or is withdrawn, the institution, using a form and guidelines provided by ED, must calculate how much Title IV aid the student has earned as of the effective date of the withdrawal. It calculates how much, if any, money the institution must return to ED and the amount of money, if any, a student must repay to ED.

The institution will multiply the total amount of Title IV aid that was disbursed to or could have been disbursed to the student for the academic term by the percent of time the student was actually enrolled and attending (the completion percentage).

For R2T4 purposes, Title IV financial aid is considered disbursed if the aid has been credited to the student’s account or paid directly to the student or parent on or before the date that the student withdrew.

The completion percentage is determined by the formula “Clock Hours Scheduled to Complete as of the Date of Withdrawal / Total Clock Hours in Academic Term.” If the calculated completion percentage is greater than 60%, the student has earned all the Title IV aid for the academic term.

The dollar result of the R2T4 calculation is the pro-rated portion of Title IV aid that the student earned: “Total Aid Disbursed x Completion Percentage = Earned Aid”

Amount of Title IV Aid to be Disbursed or Returned

• If the Title IV aid already disbursed equals the aid earned, no further action is required.

• If the Title IV aid already disbursed is more than the aid earned, the difference must be returned to the appropriate Title IV student financial aid program.

• If the aid already disbursed is less than the earned aid, the Financial Aid Office must calculate and issue a post-withdrawal disbursement.

Any student who is due a post-withdrawal disbursement will be notified within 30 days of the effective date of withdrawal or, if applicable, 30 days from the date the school learned that the student would not be returning to the school. In that notification, the student will be advised, if applicable, of how much of the disbursement must be applied to outstanding institutional charges. The post-withdrawal disbursement will be made within 45 days of either of the referenced dates.

Return Order of Title IV Funds:

The institution returns unearned Title IV funds to the appropriate program in the order required by the U. S. Department of Education. These funds will be returned as follows:

• Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loans

• Federal Direct Subsidized Loans

• Federal Direct PLUS Loans (Parent)

• Federal Pell Grant

• SEOG

• Perkins

Institution’s Responsibilities Regarding the Return of Title IV Funds Policy:

Best Care College is responsible for the following:

• Providing each of its students with the information contained in this policy;

• Identifying those students affected by the policy and completing the Return of Title IV Funds calculations;

• Advising the affected student of the result of the calculation for him or her and of any balance he or she owes to the school as a result of the required return of Title IV funds;

• Returning any unearned Title IV aid that is due back to the Title IV programs and, if applicable, informing the borrower’s holder of Federal loan funds of the student’s withdrawal date; and,

• If applicable, notifying the student and/or the PLUS parent borrower of student’s eligibility for a post-withdrawal disbursement.

Students’ Responsibilities Regarding the Return of Title IV Funds Policy

Each student of Best Care College is responsible for the following:

• Being familiar with the Return of Title IV Funds policy and how withdrawal from all courses may affect eligibility for Title IV aid; and,

• Settling any outstanding balance owed to the school resulting from the required return of unearned Title IV aid.

SATISFACTORY ACADEMIC PROGRESS (Promotion)

The student must achieve a grade of 80% in the lecture component of every course and pass the practical nursing laboratory and clinical components for each course. The student must also achieve a cumulative grade point average (CGPA) of 80% for the program and complete the program in the maximum time frame. Students are required to satisfactorily complete required courses in each trimester prior to promotion to the next trimester.

Transfer Students: Best Care College will consider accepting transfer courses completed at other institutions, provided that all of the following conditions are met:

• The credits must be from an institution accredited by an accrediting agency recognized by the U. S. Department of Education;

• The course(s) for which transfer credit is being sought must be determined by the program director to be sufficiently comparable in content and measurement to a course currently offered by Best Care College;

• The student must have earned a grade of "B'" or higher in the course(s) and each course must have been completed within 12 months of application for admission to Best Care College;

• An original, official transcript from the former institution must be mailed directly to Best Care College, to the attention of the program director;

• The number of transfer credits or hours cannot exceed 15% of the total number of clock hours needed to complete the academic program. In all cases, the decision of the program director to accept transfer credits is final.

College Level Examination Program (CLEP)

The CLEP Program provides a method of earning 40 clock-hour credit by taking examination in Growth & Development. Students who want to apply for CLEP may contact the LPN program director. Best Care College recognizes CLEP scores and will apply clock hour credit in subject of Growth & Development if the CLEP scores meet the requirements for passing the course for Growth and Development.

Transferability of Best College Courses

The decision to accept transfer courses rests entirely with the institution to which the student is applying for acceptance. Although Best Care College’s Licensed Practical Nurse program is authorized by the New Jersey Office of the Secretary of Higher Education and approved by the New Jersey Board of Nursing, and although the college is accredited by the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools, there is no guarantee that Best Care courses and clock hours will transfer to other postsecondary institutions.