Licensed Vocational Nurse to Registered Nurse (LVN to RN)
Collin College’s LVN to RN Bridge program prepares students for a career as a professional registered nurse with state-of-the-art facilities and educators who have years of practical experience working in health care.
Collin College has been recognized as a Center of Excellence in Nursing Education by the National League for Nursing (NLN) since 2011, one of only a handful of community colleges in the nation to earn that honor.
Nursing Program Courses are offered at the McKinney Campus located at 2200 W. University Drive, McKinney, TX 75071
NOTICE TO POTENTIAL STUDENTS
- Each of our clinical facilities have requirements that must be met in order to be allowed to gain entry to the facility and to participate in clinical experiences. Most of the requirements are standardized between healthcare organizations. However, some have specific requirements related to patient population. In order to meet program outcomes and complete your clinical experience you must comply with the clinical agency requirements. If you choose to not comply with the agency's requirements, we cannot guarantee completion of the nursing program.
- According to the Special Requirements listed under the Texas Health and Human Services website. Texas Education Code 51.933 - Students in the health care field must have certain vaccines due to their coursework, which may expose them to viruses and bacteria at a higher risk.
- As summarized in Title 25, Texas Administrative Code 97.64: Students must have all the following vaccinations before they may engage in the course activities which will involve direct patient contact with potential exposure to blood or bodily fluids in educational and medical facilities. The vaccinations are: Measles, Mumps, Rubella, Hepatitis B, Varicella and Tetanus-Diphtheria.
- All of the Nursing Programs at Collin College are approved by the Texas Board of Nursing (TBON), and the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB).
To learn about accreditation status and more, visit Collin College.
Nursing Program Student Handbook for LVN-RN Students
Program Information
This is an accelerated program that assists in advancing your career from LVN-to-RN. LVNs completing this program will be prepared to perform the following duties:
• Assess patients’ conditions
• Record patients’ medical histories and symptoms
• Observe patients and record their observations
• Administer patients’ medicines and treatments
• Set up plans for patients’ care or contribute information to existing plans
• Consult and collaborate with doctors and other healthcare professionals
• Operate and monitor medical equipment
• Help perform diagnostic tests and analyze the results
• Teach patients and their families how to manage illnesses or injuries
• Explain what to do at home after treatment
Most registered nurses work as part of a team with physicians and other healthcare specialists. Some registered nurses oversee licensed practical nurses, nursing assistants, and home health aides.
The LVN-RN student can expect to be on the McKinney Campus a minimum of 2 to 3 days per week (Monday through Thursday) between the hours of 8:00am to 5:00pm. Occasionally, attendance on a Friday may be required. Students will attend Clinical at an assigned Health Care Facility in and around the Dallas area. Clinical hours can be between 8 to 12 hours a day, 1 day a week. There are no summer, night or weekend hours.
ATTENTION to all prospective LVN-RN Applicants: Effective March 2023, the LVN to RN Bridge Program curriculum was updated to meet the needs of our students and the expanding Nursing Program. The admission cycles will be in Spring and Fall Semesters. The program no longer has summer courses.
LVN-to-RN Accelerated Program is only for current Licensed Vocational Nurses.
The LVN-RN Program meets in the Spring and Fall over 3 semesters.
For the next admission start, see the application tab below.
Notice to Potential Students: At this time, the LVN-RN Program is unable to accept
students who have been unsuccessful in other nursing programs.
Nursing Students requesting to transfer and are in good standing with their current
Nursing Program and have not failed any nursing courses, will only be considered if
they meet the application requirements and understand they must start at the beginning
of the LVN-RN Program.
The following steps are to be followed for application to the LVN-RN Bridge Program.
1. Application to Collin College:
• The applicant must apply and be accepted as a student at Collin College before applying to the LVN-RN Program.
• Applicants must have a CWID Student Number and a Collin College email.
• Official transcripts from all schools attended must be submitted to Admissions
at Collin College. To determine if any of your courses will transfer to Collin College,
contact Academic Advising at AcademicAdvising@collin.edu.
• Complete the steps listed above.
• Applicants must have an active, unencumbered LVN License from the Texas Board of
Nursing. Applicants with an out-of-state LVN license will contact the Texas Board
of Nursing to transfer the license before applying.
• All nursing applicants are required to take the TEAS exam. There are no exemptions.
• The TEAS exam is available on the McKinney Campus. The Testing Center can accommodate 34 applicants on each test date.
• All Collin College TEAS test dates are through ATI. The TEAS exam will be taken at the Testing Center (W206) on the McKinney Campus OR, as a online, proctored exam on any date that ATI Testing offers the TEAS. See available TEAS dates for the McKinney Testing Center below on the TEAS tab.
• Visit ATITesting or call 800-667-7531 to register and schedule the TEAS.
• The application will be considered with a minimum total composite score of 65%. The Reading and Science components of the TEAS score needs to be 50% or higher.
• The TEAS score is accepted if it is within one year of the application deadline date.
• The TEAS can be taken 2 times per application period.
• The Applicant will receive 10% of the total composite TEAS Score towards the application point process.
• A TEAS score must be on file with ATI and available to Collin College on or before the application deadline date. If the TEAS exam is taken as an online, proctored exam, contact ATI and authorize ATI to release the TEAS score to Collin College. It is the applicant's responsibility to assure that ATI sends the TEAS score to Collin College.
• The updated TEAS Version 7 is the only exam accepted.
4. Prerequisites:
• The following courses are required to apply to the LVN-RN Program:
BIOL 2401 (Anatomy and Physiology I),
BIOL 2402 (Anatomy and Physiology II),
BIOL 2420 (Microbiology), and
PSYC 2301 (General Psychology).
• Must have a satisfactory completion (grade of "C" or better) for the Biology courses.
• A point is awarded for the completion of all prerequisites.
• The Biology courses do not expire after 5 years for the LVN-RN Program.
• Cumulative GPA on the three Biology courses must be 2.5 or above.
5. Application
The LVN-RN Application is online. Go to the APPLICATION tab and click on the link.
Complete and submit the application. An email will be sent with a link to upload
required documents. Follow the directions to upload unofficial transcripts from ALL
colleges/universities attended (including Collin College), TEAS score, LVN License/Certification
and military documents, if applicable. The application will not be considered if
the required documents are not submitted.
6. COVID-19
NOTICE TO POTENTIAL STUDENTS - Each of our clinical facilities have requirements that must be met in order to
be allowed to gain entry to the facility and to participate in clinical experiences.
Most of the requirements are standardized between healthcare organizations. However,
some have specific requirements related to patient population. In order to meet program
outcomes and complete your clinical experience you must comply with the clinical agency
requirements. If you choose to not comply with the agency's requirements, we cannot
guarantee completion of the nursing program.
7. Immunizations
Immunization records are NOT to be submitted at the time of application. Accepted students will be provided instructions on how to submit immunization records. Since some immunization are given over time, you are strongly encouraged to carefully review immunization requirements before applying (See Immunization Checklist for Clinical).
Upon acceptance into the LVN-to-RN program, students are required to:
• Purchase Liability insurance - provided through the school (included in your tuition).
• Purchase school-approved uniforms for clinical experiences.
• Obtain current CPR certification BLS (Basic Life Support) - must be from the American Heart Association.
• Have a Physical Exam form completed by your physician.
• Complete all required immunizations and provide copies of immunization records.
• Complete a TB (Tuberculosis) skin test and provide a copy of the results annually.
• Agree to a criminal background check.
• Complete drug screening at the student’s expense on a date specified by the Director of Nursing prior to the start of school.
• Health Insurance documentation. All nursing students must provide documentation of having a health insurance policy.
• Purchase required supplies, uniforms, and textbook to include mandatory instructional resources from ATI.
The nursing student should anticipate other costs in addition to books, tuition and fees paid to the college for courses taken.
A few general additional fees include:
• Uniforms and/or lab coat (as applicable to the specific program).
• ATI learning materials
• Collin College Nursing Student ID
• CPR Certification
• Skills packet or medical equipment (as applicable to the specific program).
• Drug testing
• NCLEX-PN or NCLEX-RN Registration (as applicable to the specific program), State Board of Nursing fee (as applicable to the specific program)
• FBI fingerprints and background check
• Health insurance
• Physical exams
• Immunizations
• Online instructional resources
This list is not necessarily all inclusive and is subject to change. Special fees and charges may be added as necessary and as approved by the Board of Trustees of Collin College.
The next admission will be for Fall 2025 with an application deadline date of April 15, 2025 by 12:00 PM.
The next admission AFTER the Fall 2025 entry will be SPRING 2026 with an application deadline date of September 12, 2025.
Notice to Potential Students: At this time, the LVN-to-RN Bridge program is not able to accept any students that have been unsuccessful in other nursing programs.
Nursing Students requesting to transfer and are in good standing with their current Nursing Program and have not failed any nursing courses, will only be considered if they meet the application requirements and understand they will start at the beginning of the LVN-RN Program.
• All nursing applicants are required to take the TEAS exam. There are no exemptions.
• The TEAS exam is available on the McKinney Campus. The Testing Center can accommodate 34 applicants on each test date.
• All Collin College TEAS test dates are through ATI. The TEAS exam will be taken at the Testing Center (W206) on the McKinney Campus OR, as a online, proctored exam on any date that ATI Testing offers the TEAS. See available TEAS dates for the McKinney Testing Center below.
2025 - Available Dates
April 8, 15, 23, 29
May 1, 7, 13, 16, 20, 22, 27, 29
• Go to www.ATITesting.com or call 800-667-7531 to register and schedule the TEAS.
• The application will be considered with a minimum total composite score of 65%. The Reading and Science components of the TEAS score needs to be 50% or higher.
• The TEAS score is accepted if it is within one year of the application deadline date.
• The TEAS can be taken 2 times per application period.
• The Applicant will receive 10% of the total composite TEAS Score towards the application point process.
• A TEAS score must be on file with ATI and available to Collin College on or before the application deadline date. If the TEAS exam is taken as an online, proctored exam, contact ATI and authorize ATI to release the TEAS score to Collin College. It is the applicant's responsibility to assure that ATI sends the TEAS score to Collin College.
• The updated TEAS Version 7 is the only exam accepted.
View Immunization Checklist for Clinical
NOTICE TO POTENTIAL STUDENTS - Each of our clinical facilities have requirements that must be met in order to be allowed to gain entry to the facility and to participate in clinical experiences. Most of the requirements are standardized between healthcare organizations. However, some have specific requirements related to patient population. In order to meet program outcomes and complete your clinical experience you must comply with the clinical agency requirements. If you choose to not comply with the agency's requirements, we cannot guarantee completion of the nursing program.
In response to the Americans with Disabilities Act, a national survey of administrators of health care facilities, which employ nurses, validated a list of essential competencies a nurse must possess in order to function safely and effectively in a variety of clinical settings. Results indicate that relatively high numbers of activities were identified in each essential competency category by the health care agencies as being necessary for nursing practice.
These competencies include:
• extended walking and standing daily
• ability to grasp, push, and/or pull
• ability to bend and stoop
• moving quickly in response to an emergency
• using upper body movements
• ability to reach carrying and moving equipment
• reaching and/or lifting
Other essential competencies identified for nursing care include:
• vision that allows detecting physical changes
• hearing that allows responding to physical and verbal cues
• a sense of touch that allows for assessment and palpation
Adaptations most frequently reported as being used by nursing staff were hearing aids, adaptive phones, and calculators.
The LVN-RN Bridge Nursing Program at Collin College has also accepted these physical
competencies as expectations for success in the program. Applicants will complete
a Functional Abilities/Core Performance Standards Form upon conditional acceptance
to the nursing program.
End of Program Student Learning Outcomes (EPSLO):
EPSLO #1: The students will demonstrate the knowledge to serve as a member of the profession.
EPSLO #2: The students will demonstrate the ability to serve as a member of the profession.
EPSLO #3: The students will demonstrate the knowledge to serve as a provider of patient-centered care.
EPSLO #4: The students will demonstrate the ability to serve as a provider of patient-centered care using clinical judgment.
EPSLO #5: The students will demonstrate the knowledge to serve as a patient safety advocate by reducing patient risks of harm, including safe medication administration.
EPSLO #6: The students will demonstrate the ability to serve as a patient safety advocate by reducing patient risks of harm,
including safe medication administration.
EPSLO #7: The students will demonstrate the knowledge to serve as a member of the health care team through teamwork and collaboration.
EPSLO #8: The students will demonstrate the ability to serve as a member of the health care team through communication.