General Education and Cognate Courses

Once enrolled in the Baccalaureate degree program, students must seek prior approval from the Department Chair and the Senior Vice President for Academic Administration (see the Transfer of Credit Policy) before taking any general education or cognate course off campus. Failure to have prior approval may result in earned credit not being accepted for transfer to FHCHS.

Associate Degree Graduates

Graduates of regionally accredited Associate degree programs will be considered to have met the Associate degree general education and cognate requirements. If a general computer course, and ENGL 101 or 102 (or equivalent) were not included in the Associate degree, they must be completed as part of the Baccalaureate degree. Students who complete the entire online program, will receive credit by validation for the required computer course.

Diploma Graduates

Prior to consideration for admission to the Baccalaureate Degree Program, graduates of diploma programs who do not have college credit for Associate degree cognate courses must complete each required cognate course with a minimum grade of “C” (2.00) and earn a minimum cumulative cognate GPA of 2.50.

General education and cognate courses will be accepted according to the Transfer of Credit Policy. Additional cognate credit may also be earned according to the College Credit by Examination Policy.

Nursing Courses

Graduates of regionally accredited Associate degree programs may have a maximum of 28 trimester hours of nursing credit transferred as Associate degree credit and applied toward the Baccalaureate degree.

Graduates of diploma programs may validate their nursing coursework by holding current licensure in their state of practice. They may have a maximum of 28 trimester hours of nursing credit transferred as Associate degree credits and applied toward the Baccalaureate degree (see the Credit by Validation Policy).

Graduates of international nursing programs will be evaluated on an individual basis. International transcripts must be accompanied by official copies of translations and a course-by-course evaluation by a reputable international evaluation service (see the Credit by Validation Policy).

For all students, an additional eight trimester hours of advanced Associate degree nursing credit (equivalent to Adult Health Nursing IV and Practicum) will be held in escrow as Baccalaureate degree credit. Upon successful completion of ten Baccalaureate Degree Nursing Program credits, these eight credits held in escrow will be applied toward the Baccalaureate degree as credit by validation.