The Graduate School Nurse Certification program at NJCU is a robust, fully online stepwise graduate-level certificate program designed to prepare bachelor鈥檚-prepared registered nurses for the specialty practice of school nursing.
Students who apply for the Graduate school nurse certificate program can select either the non-instructional or instructional certificate option. The total number of courses for the first step, which qualifies students to become eligible to apply for the non-instructional certificate, is 5 classes (15 credits).
Students who opt to complete the coursework to become eligible to apply for the Standard Instructional Certificate will "step" upward through the course track and complete two additional classes (6 credits). All coursework taken in the certificate program applies to 鈥渟tep鈥 into the Master of Science (MS) in Nursing with a Specialization in School Nursing.
Admission Criteria for the School Nurse Certificate Program
Pre-Requisites
All courses within the Graduate School Nurse program are completely online. Courses are taught using the educational platform Blackboard.
Through this platform, students will have access to assignments, discussion boards, messaging (other students, faculty, and staff), syllabi, and the graduate nursing community which will include all necessary resources, important information, updates, and announcements for their time as a student within the program.
The Graduate School Nurse program follows the NJCU Graduate Academic Calendar linked below:
Graduate Academic Calendar | 快猫破解版 (njcu.edu).
Fall and Spring semesters follow 13 鈥 15 Week schedules while Summer courses are 10-week sessions.
While the courses are completely online, lesson modules and assignments are posted weekly through Blackboard and will have assigned due dates.
Following the start of each semester, if a student has not yet submitted assignments, communicated within the course discussion boards, or contacted their instructor to make them aware of personal circumstances, a wellness check email will be sent with a reminder to complete any missing coursework and to communicate with the course instructor.
The program does not follow a set schedule, but there are specific classes that are offered during certain semesters. Below is a table showing current course offerings per semester. Please note that there are no winter session course offerings.
*Pre-requisite Courses: Please be aware of the following:
NURS 616: Pre-requisite course 鈥 NURS 614
NURS 672: Pre-requisite courses 鈥 NURS 600, 614, 616, 642
NURS 673: Pre-requisite courses 鈥 NURS 600, 614, 616, 622, 642
NURS 679: Pre-requisite courses 鈥 NURS 600, 601, 609, 610, 614, 616, 622, 630, 642, 672, and 673
Non-Instructional Certification allows you to serve as a school nurse within a New Jersey school district.
Standard Instructional Certification allows you to serve as a school nurse as well as teach health education.
The School Nurse and Health Education Practicum courses (NURS 672 & NURS 673) allow for full-time nurses to complete their Practicum hours at the schools where they are currently employed.
At the time of applying to the Practicum courses, students submit signed workplace request forms and, if accepted for enrollment, have placement contracts completed by their district-level administrators. Full details and instructions are provided weeks in advance of Practicum admission cycles.
The School Nurse and Health Education Practicum courses (NURS 672 & NURS 673) allow for full-time nurses to complete their Practicum hours at the schools where they are currently employed.
At the time of applying to the Practicum courses, students submit signed workplace request forms and, if accepted for enrollment, have placement contracts completed by their district-level administrators. Full details and instructions are provided weeks in advance of Practicum admission cycles.
The Graduate School Nurse program has rolling admission, and you can apply at any time to begin classes at the start of an upcoming semester/session.
For example, if you apply during the Spring, you could begin your classes as early as Summer, or if you apply during the Summer, you could begin in the Fall, etc.
Please be mindful that while we do have rolling admission, course registration becomes available by the university months in advance to the start of an upcoming semester.
Certain courses and semester start terms are more popular than others which means you may find yourself added to course registration waitlists the later you wait to apply for admission to the program.
When applying for the program, it鈥檚 possible to select a future semester as your start-date. For example, if you submit an application in Spring, it is possible to choose to apply for a Fall start and be registered for your first class much earlier.
While the NJDOE reviews transcripts for emergency certification and provides recommendations for coursework, the NJCU school nurse program is at the graduate level and the NJDOE evaluation does not always align with our official transcript evaluation process.
Transcripts would need to be evaluated via the NJCU graduate transcript evaluation process upon admission to the Graduate School Nurse program. Unofficial transcripts cannot be evaluated by the Nursing department or program coordinator. Only official transcripts submitted with a completed application to Graduate Admissions can be reviewed. Some BSN programs are bridge to MSN programs and include 500 and/or 600-level courses.
If you have 500/600-level courses on your Master鈥檚 transcript from an ACEN or CCNE accredited program (institution must be regionally accredited) with an earned grade of 鈥淏鈥 or above, those courses may be evaluated for course equivalent/transfer credit.
Undergraduate courses will not be reviewed for course equivalent or transfer credit as the School Nurse program at NJCU is a Graduate-level program.
Emily Alequin, M.S., M.B.A.
Graduate School Nurse Program Assistant
SchoolNurse@njcu.edu
(201) 200-2453
Nelda Ephraim, Ph.D., MSN Ed. RN, CCRN, NJ-CSN
Department Chairperson, Graduate School Nurse Program Coordinator
E-mail: nephraim@njcu.edu
Phone: 201-200-3272