The School of Nursing at Cedar Crest College has a great reputation for providing endless opportunities for you to make a positive impact on your world with a nursing degree.
There’s simply something special about a Cedar Crest nurse. We hear it from healthcare employers all the time. Competence. Care. Compassion. At Cedar Crest College, we see you becoming part of a long tradition of modern nursing.
The CCC nursing program is one of the most well-known and respected in the region. We offer a traditional full-time program beginning each fall, or you can choose to study part-time with winter or summer entry. Men are welcome in all undergraduate program options.
Our hands-on simulation center is one of the best around — and as a CCC nursing student, you’ll have free, unsupervised access to use it 20 hours a day. You’ll have a dedicated nursing coach who’ll make sure you get the support you need. You’ll gain global experience. And you’ll enjoy an abundance of clinical opportunities, from birth through end-of-life, and all the specialties in between.Â
Students have the ability to enter the prelicensure Nursing Program in one of five distinct tracks, which provides the opportunity to select the most appropriate track for their course of study. Program tracks include:
Full-Time Program Option: Fall Start
Full-Time 3-Year (3YBSN) Program Option: Fall Start
Part-Time Day Program Option: Summer Start
Part-Time Evening/Weekend Program Option: Spring Start
Accelerated BSN Program (ABSN) Program Option: Summer Start
After completion of the pre-requisite coursework, the Full-Time, and Part-Time Program Options take 2 years for completion while the ABSN Program Option allows students to complete the program in 15 months. Attendance in Summer semesters are required in the Part-Time Program Option.
Undergraduate Nursing Program Curriculum
The curriculum of the Undergraduate Program at Cedar Crest College is based on the professional standards, guidelines, and competencies of:
The American Association of Colleges of Nursing Essentials of Baccalaureate Education for Professional Nursing Practice,
Quality and Safety in Education for Nurses (QSEN), and
National Academy of Medicine Competencies for Nursing Education
The curriculum builds upon the foundational knowledge of the liberal arts, allowing students to obtain core nursing knowledge, core nursing competencies, and professional role development through their classroom and clinical work.
Undergraduate Nursing Program Clinical Experience
A total of 819 clinical/laboratory hours across a variety of patient care settings
105 clinical hours in Independent Practicum spent 1:1 with a nurse preceptor.
Students spend time in clinical experiences that include peer leadership, service-learning and mentoring.
Simulation experiences across a variety of patient care settings using state-of-the-art high-fidelity human patient simulators and standardized patients.
Program Outcomes
Cedar Crest College is a private, four-year women’s liberal arts college located in Allentown, Pennsylvania. Cedar Crest College is a liberal arts college primarily for women dedicated to the education of the next generation of leaders. Cedar Crest College prepares students for life in a global community by educating the whole student at all stages of life and experience.
The mission of the Cedar Crest College Bachelor of Science in Nursing major is to prepare professional nurses by building on a foundation firmly grounded in the liberal arts. A Cedar Crest College nursing education fosters development of the whole person while cultivating commitment to lifelong learning. Nursing graduates are empowered to assume leadership roles in a global society. It is approved by the Pennsylvania State Board of Nursing and accredited by the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN), 3390 Peachtree Road NE, Suite 1400, Atlanta, GA 30326, (404) 975-5000.
Performance on Licensure Examination – First time Test Takers
Disaggregated by Program Options
Year
Full-Time
ABSN
Part-Time Spring Start
Part-Time Summer Start
2022 – 2023
98% (39/40)
100% (18/18)
96% (22/23)
100% (25/25)
2021 – 2022
100% (30/30)
N/A
86% (12/14)
80% (4/5)
2020 – 2021
96% (24/25)
N/A
85% (23/27)
100% (14/14)
Program Completion Rate – Disaggregated by Program Options
Year  Â
CCC UG On-Time Completion Rates Â
Part-Time Summer Start
Part-Time Spring Start
ABSN  Â
Full-Time
RN-BSN
2023 – 2024
58% (44/76)
50% (5/10)
50% (6/12)
100% (9/9)
53% (23/43)
50% (1/2)
2022 – 2023
55% (71/130)
10% (1/10)
50% (13/26)
78% (18/23)
54% (36/67)
75% (3/4)
2021 – 2022
42% (34/81)
15% 2/13)
27% (4/15)
N/A
51% (26/51)
100% (2/2)
Bachelor of Science in Nursing Role-Specific Graduate Competencies
Defines the role of the graduate upon program completion.
Scholarship for Evidence-Based Practice
Graduates will ground their profession in the translation of evidence-based practice.
Interprofessional Communication and Collaboration for Improving Patient Health
Outcomes
Graduates will communicate and collaborate among healthcare professionals to deliver high quality patient care.
Clinical Prevention and Population Health
Graduates will engage in health promotion and disease prevention strategies at the individual, family, community, and systems level to improve population health.
Professionalism and Professional Value Graduates will demonstrate professionalism and incorporate the inherent values of altruism, human dignity, integrity, and social justice to their profession.
Baccalaureate Generalist Nursing Practice
Graduates will be prepared to provide wholistic care to patients, including individuals, families, groups, communities, and populations across the lifespan and across the continuum of healthcare environments. (as adapted by the AACN Essentials)
Bachelor of Science in Nursing Student Learning Outcomes
Synthesize knowledge from the physical and social sciences, humanities, and nursing in making nursing practice decisions involving culturally diverse individuals, families, and communities.
Practice effective communication with individuals, families, and communities.
Integrate all components of the nursing process in promoting optimal health of individuals, families, and communities.
Collaborate with other members of the health care team in affecting the delivery of health care.
Synthesize research findings into the practice of nursing and the delivery of care.
Demonstrate competency to assume a beginning professional nurse role.
Cedar Crest College offers direct admission into its exceptional nursing program for select students that meet the following criteria:
Unweighted GPA > or equal to 3.5 at the end of the junior year
1 year Biology (grades will be evaluated)
1 year Chemistry (grades will be evaluated)
1 year of advanced science (Physics, AP Biology, dual enrolled science, etc.) (grades will be evaluated)
Completion of interview with Cedar Crest Select Nursing representative
About the Cedar Crest College Nursing Program
Cedar Crest College has a long tradition of excellence in nursing education and boasts an impressive NCLEX pass rate. Undergraduate nursing students hone their skills in our state-of-the-art nursing simulation facilities and in clinical instruction sites at nearby nationally recognized healthcare networks. The Cedar Crest experience also offers Select nursing students options like:
4YG – Our four-year guarantee program offers a clear path to graduation
A First Year Experience course led by dedicated faculty
The Sophomore Expedition – travel abroad and study in diverse global settings
Leadership opportunities in our active Student Nurses Association
Cedar Crest Select Nursing is open to first-time first-year students in the traditional undergraduate women’s college.
Nursing Courses required for the Bachelor of Science in Nursing Full-Time and Part-Time Program Tracks
NUR 309 Health Promotion I 5 credits NUR 311 Health Assessment 3 credits (didactic offered online; lab offered in a face-to-face format) NUR 313 Mental Health Promotion 4 credits NUR 314 Pharmacology 3 credits NUR 321 Health Promotion II 5 credits NUR 325 Essentials of Evidence-based Practice for Nursing 3 credits NUR 326 Concepts in Professional Nursing 3 credits (online) NUR 329 Family Health Promotion 5 credits NUR 331 Health Promotion III 5 credits NUR 335 Leadership in Nursing* 5 credits NUR 336 Population Focused Health 4 credits NUR 341 Complex Health Problems 5 credits NUR 342 Independent Practicum 4 credits *Capstone Experience
Tuition for the Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) programs have been reduced beginning in the Fall 2024 semester, making them comparable to similar nursing programs in the Lehigh Valley. (Note: ABSN and CRNA programs not included)
“The labs are AMAZING. And to be able to use them pretty much whenever I wanted to practice my skills really helped me build competence — and confidence — in my abilities.”
-Sydney Frish ’19, BSN
Cooperative Agreements
Cedar Crest College collaborates with several academic institutions to provide our students with innovative pathways that help them succeed in their chosen fields.
The master’s degree program in nursing, Doctor of Nursing Practice program and post-graduate APRN certificate program at Cedar Crest College are accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education, 655 K Street NW, Suite 750, Washington, DC 20001, 202-887-6791. https://www.aacnnursing.org/ccne-accreditation
The baccalaureate, master’s, post master’s certificate nursing programs at Cedar Crest College located in Allentown, PA are accredited by the: Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN). 3390 Peachtree Road NE, Suite 1400 Atlanta, GA 30326 (404) 975-5000 acenursing.org
The most recent accreditation decision made by the ACEN Board of Commissioners for the baccalaureate, master’s and post master’s certificate nursing programs is continuing accreditation.
