Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing SealThe Associate Degree Nursing (ADN) Program provides students with specialized training to acquire a basic knowledge of nursing theory and practice. Nurses are employed in various settings, namely hospitals, outpatient clinics, physician offices, and long-term care facilities. Registered Nurses are often considered for charge nurse and team leader responsibilities and play an integral role within the health care team.

The Associate Degree Nursing program at South Suburban College, 15800 South State Street,  located in South Holland, IL is accredited by the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN), 3390 Peachtree Road NE, Suite 1400 Atlanta, GA 30326. (404) 975-5000.

The most recent accreditation decision made by the ACEN Board of Commissioners for the Associate Degree Nursing program is Initial Accreditation effective January 31, 2022.  View the public information disclosed by the ACEN regarding this program on the ACEN website.

Mission Statement

The Nursing Program’s mission is to offer nursing education to the diverse student body served by South Suburban College, prepare graduates for eligibility to take the NCLEX-RN® licensing examination, educate students to provide safe, quality, patient-centered nursing care in current healthcare settings, and provide a nursing knowledge base for lifelong learning, either through continuing nursing education or formal degree programs.

Program Student Learning Outcomes

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Upon completion of the ADN Program graduates will be able to:

  1. Provide safe, quality, evidence-based, patient-centered nursing care in a variety of healthcare settings to diverse patient populations across the lifespan.
  2. Engage in clinical reasoning/nursing judgment to make patient-centered care decisions and to function within the complex healthcare environment.
  3. Participate in quality improvement processes to improve patient care.
  4. Participate in collaboration and teamwork with members of the interprofessional team, the patient, and the patient’s support persons.
  5. Use information management principles, techniques, systems, and patient care technology to communicate, manage knowledge, mitigate error, and support decision-making.
  6. Assimilate management, legal, and ethical guidelines in practice as a professional nurse.
  7. Promote a culture of caring to provide holistic, compassionate patient care.

The ADN Program admits traditional students once a year, for the Fall Semester. LPN-RN bridge students are admitted once a year to begin classes in the Spring Semester. Students applying for admission to the ADN Nursing Program are required to submit all application materials and meet entrance requirements before an admission decision will be issued.

A standardized preadmission nursing entrance examination is also required during the application process into the ADN Program. The examination is at the expense of the student.

Selection for admission is determined by an admission committee after evaluation of the applicant’s information. Admission to the College, completion of prerequisites or application to the programs does not guarantee acceptance to the Nursing Program. Admission to the program is competitive.

All General Education courses must be completed with a grade of “C” or better. Biology courses except Biology 102 must be successfully completed within the last five years at the time of application to satisfy program requirements.

The Nursing Program is challenging. It is recommended that nursing students complete as many of the General Education (non-nursing) courses before starting the program to maximize success. All nursing courses must also be completed with a grade of a “C” or better to progress through the program. It is suggested that students carefully consider limiting the number of hours they work per week while enrolled. Students are required to provide their own transportation to classes and clinical sites. Clinical days and times are subject to change.

Students are encouraged to meet with a college academic advisor regularly as they complete preadmission requirements. Academic advising appointments are made at (708) 596-2000, ext. 5724 or in the QLess app.

Applications for traditional and LPN Bridge Students will be available beginning October 1st each year.

Prior to receiving an application to the ADN Program the student is required to:

  • Submit an SSC application to Admissions.
  • Forward official high school or HSE/GED® and all college transcripts to the Office of Admissions.
  • Complete the college placement test (see SSC catalog for details) prior to meeting with an academic advisor.
  • Meet with an academic advisor (ext. 5724 or in the QLess app) for assistance in academic planning.
  • Complete required college classes as indicated by the college placement test.

The applicant is required to:

  • ADN Applications will be available beginning October 1st for following fall admission. (See link below)
  • Submit the completed ADN application with attachments to the Nursing Department. You must provide evidence of Nursing Assistant Certification, your name must be listed on current state registry or an unencumbered IL Practical Nursing License.
  • Pre-requisite Course Completion
    • Complete the following admission pre-requisite requirements with a “C” or better:
      • ENG 101
      • PSY 101
      • BIO 102 or BIO 105
      • MTH 115 (General Education Math)
    • All prerequisite courses must be completed by the end of the spring semester.
    • Course substitution must be approved.
      • Statistics is not an acceptable substitution for MTH 115.
      • BIO 102 or BIO 105 must be completed prior to the HESI exam.
      • BIO 102 substitutions must be approved by the Biology department.
  • Have a cumulative GPA of 2.5.
  • The pre-admission nursing examination is at the students’ expense.
  • The application must be completed by the student and taken to their academic advisor before it is submitted to the nursing department.
    • The academic advisor will verify the completion of courses or if a course is in progress at the time of application.
    • The academic advisor will verify, sign and date the application and return it to the student.
    • The student is responsible for submitting the application and any attachments to the nursing department.

Register for the standardized pre-admission nursing entrance examination. The information on how to register for the examination will be provided once the application is submitted.

Applicants must test on one of the established testing dates. The student has two opportunities to achieve the minimum accepted score on the exam per admission cycle.

All information and test results must be on file by May 15th for Fall admission.

ASSOCIATE DEGREE NURSING APPLICATION

HESI A2 Testing

  • Information will be provided when a student requests an application. Please complete and print to the nursing program.
  • Registration will be via the HESI/Elsevier website at least 7 days before the test date.
  • Students will present a Valid ID and copy of the receipt to the testing center in order to sign up for the chosen day of the exam.
  • Testing dates will be posted at the testing center and on the nursing department website.
  • The test will be set up 3 days in advance of the test dates.
  • The test will be proctored by the testing center staff.
  • Testing will be ongoing until May 5.
  • Students can test up to two times in each admission cycle.
  • Unencumbered active IL LPN license.
  • One year experience employed as an LPN within the past 5 years.
  • Pass the ATI Fundamentals exam with a Level 2 or higher.
  • Completion of the pre-requisite courses prior to acceptance.
  • Completion of co-requisite courses required in semester one of the ADN program.
  • LPN Bridge Applicants must complete all program pre-requisites, semester one co-requisites to be considered admitted to the nursing program.
  • Accepted LPN to RN bridge students will enroll in ADN 152 during the Spring semester.

Program Track ECEP Credit

  1. Application to the LPN to RN bridge track Application period year-round.
  2. Copy of IL LPN license.
  3. Recommendation/verification letter from employer.
  4. After acceptance into the program:
    • Courses to complete ADN 152.
    • Must pass and complete ATI fundamental exam at the end of the course with Level 2 or greater.
    • Must complete and ECEP application process.
  5. Student will get credit for ADN 150 after completion of these requirements.
  6. Complete all other nursing co-requisite courses as defined in the ADN Curriculum.

All students will be notified in writing of their admission status by June 1st for fall admissions. LPN Bridge Students will be notified by August 1st for Spring Admission. Students accepted into the program are required to attend an orientation prior to the first day of scheduled class. The orientation dates will be announced in the acceptance letter. Failure to attend the orientation shall result in the student being dropped from the program.

The Admissions Committee reviews all applications to the ADN Program. Acceptance to the program is based on:

  • completion of placement test and required college preparatory classes.
  • cumulative college GPA of 2.5 or better.
  • a minimum grade of “C” for pre-requisite courses.
  • satisfactory performance on standardized pre-admission nursing examination-at the expense of the student. Cumulative minimum score on the exam is 70%.

All students accepted to the South Suburban College Nursing Program are required to complete a criminal background investigation and urine drug screen. For acceptance to the South Suburban College Nursing Program the criminal background check must pass the requirements for clinical placement and the urine drug screen must be negative. Students who have a positive urine drug screen will not be eligible to reapply to the South Suburban College Nursing Program for at least one (1) academic year. Once accepted into the Nursing Program, students shall be required to submit background investigations and drug screens at least annually. If an admitted student has positive drug screen result, the student will be required to withdraw from the program. Additionally, students will be required to submit background and urine exams again as deemed necessary by the clinical agencies. All expenses related to criminal background investigations and drug screening requirements are at the student’s expense.

Students must order their background checks and drug screens through Castle Branch. The results are posted to their website in a secure, tamper-proof environment where the student as well as the Dean can view the results. Information on ordering background checks and drug screening will be provided once the acceptance process is initiated.

Nursing Exam Pass Rate
Year First-Time Exam Pass Rate Ultimate Pass Rate (Includes Repeat Testers)
2019 100% (5/5) 100% (5/5)
2020 100% (7/7) 100% (7/7)
2021 60% (9/15) 66.7% (10/15)
2022 73% (16/22) 95.5% (21/22)
2023 93% (13/14) 93% (13/14)

 

Program Enrollment/Completion Rate
Year Program Options #Of Admits On-Time Graduates Rate
2021 Traditional 30 12 40%
LPN-RN 2 0
2022 Traditional 28 12 42.8%
LPN-RN 4 2 50%
2023 Traditional  39
LPN-RN 2

 

Job Placement Rate
Year # of Graduates # of Graduates Responding Placement Rate Response Rate
2021 16 9 100% 56%
2022 22 12 100% 55%
2023 12 6 100% 50%

Associate Degree Nursing (ADN)(NUR.AAS.ADN)

Overview for College Success CREDITS
OCS 121 Overview for College Success 1

Admission Requirement Prerequisite Courses

Repetition of Courses – prerequisites and/or general education coursework may be repeated twice for a total of (3) three enrollments in a course without exception.

CNA Certificate, or IL LPN License unencumbered.
ENG 101 Composition and Rhetoric (minimum grade of “C”) 3
BIO 102 Introductory Biology (minimum grade of “C”) 4
PSY 101 Introduction to Psychology (minimum grade of “C”) 3
MTH 115 General Education Mathematics (minimum grade of “C”) 3

Program Requirement

ALL program-required courses must be completed with a “C” or better.

General Education Courses in bold must be taken before or during the semester indicated.

Students will be required to complete a standardized summative assessment (examination) each semester.

Semester One – Fall
ADN 150 Fundamentals of Nursing 7
PSY 211 Human Growth and Development 3
BIO 185 Human Anatomy and Physiology I 4
Semester Two – Spring
ADN 152 Introduction to Medical/Surgical Nursing 7
BIO 186 Human Anatomy and Physiology II 4
SOC 101 Introduction to Sociology 3
Semester Three – Fall
ADN 252 Intermediate Medical Surgical Nursing 4
ADN 254 Childbearing Family and Children 4
BIO 224 Microbiology 4
GROUP II Select from Humanities Electives
Students earning an Associate degree must meet the requirement for coursework on improving human relations as defined in Public Act 87-581.
3
Semester Four – Spring
ADN 256 Advanced Medical Surgical Nursing 3
ADN 257 Behavioral Health Nursing 3
ADN 258 Transition into Nursing Practice 2
SPE 108 Oral Communication 3
Total Program 69

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