Frequently Asked Questions

FAQs

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• What is Career Learning Centers?

  Career Learning Centers (CLC) is an educational tutoring facility that specializes in helping its ASN students pass equivalency examinations to earn college credit. CLC is unlike traditional programs in that they help nursing students achieve their career goals without interfering with work or family obligations. CLC truly accommodates the needs of nursing students by providing highly effective tutoring within a flexible format.

• What degree will I be earning?

   You will earn an Associate's of Science in Nursing Degree from Excelsior College.

• Who can participate in this program?

  Because this is a bridge program and traditional clinical rotations are not required, you must be a Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN). There are select others who, because of their vast clinical experience, can also participate in the program. These individuals include, but are not limited to, foreign physicians, certified nurse mid wives and military corpsmen.

• What is the Flexible Learning Process (FLP)?

  Career Learning Centers provides the Flexible Learning Process which helps busy working adults earn their ASN degree by offering tutoring sessions in the morning, afternoon or evening for four hours only one day a week, even on Saturdays. The FLP provides high quality tutoring and test preparation in an accelerated time frame so ASN students can achieve their goal of receiving a degree much sooner than they would in a traditional program.

• Are sessions by semester or quarter?

  Neither. At Career Learning Centers sessions are offered on a rolling schedule. This means that sessions are continually being added to the roster when necessary. There is no need to wait several months to begin a new subject as you would at a university.

• Will my past college credits transfer into this program?

  Yes. You can transfer most credits from an accredited college as long as it was a one hundred level course or higher and you earned a “C” or above. Unlike most colleges and universities however, your general education courses generally don’t expire in this program. Most, if not all, of your previously earned general education credits will transfer.

• How will I earn the remaining credits I need to receive my ASN degree?

  By attending Career Learning Centers once a week for 4 hours, you should be successfully prepared to take and pass the equivalency examinations to earn college credit. Each examination that you take and pass (‘C’ or above), will result in 3, 4 or 6 semester hours of credit toward meeting the curriculum requirements to graduate.

• Is Career Learning Centers accredited?

  The degree granting institution is Excelsior College and they are fully accredited (see below). Career Learning Centers is a tutoring facility that specializes in helping its ASN students pass equivalency examinations to earn college credit to be utilized toward an ASN degree from Excelsior College.

• Is Excelsior College accredited?

  Absolutely. Excelsior College is accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools of the Commission on Higher Education (MSA-CHE) and by the National League for Nursing Accreditation Commission (NLNAC).

• Are the courses self-paced?

  Yes and no. Each course has a definitive start and end date, however, if you study ahead and feel ready to take your exam for college credit before the course end date you can do so and accelerate the program even further.

• How many subjects can a ASN student study at one time?

  We advise that you start with one, but you are not limited. We ask that you speak to the CLC Director so she can advise you on overlapping courses and/or taking multiple courses simultaneously. Please remember, each course is only 4 to 12 weeks in duration and you will be covering a lot of material in a relatively short period of time. ASN students are most successful when they don’t overload themselves. Keep in mind, that the program is already accelerated even when you study one subject at a time.

• Where do I take the equivalency examinations to earn college credit?

  Most of the examinations you will take are Excelsior College Examinations (ECE) and they will be administered at Pearson Vue Professional Testing Centers (www.vue.com/excelsior ). Additionally, there may be a couple of CLEP or DANTES examinations required within your curriculum and those will be administered at local colleges or universities.

• Are there clinical requirements for this program?

  ASN candidates are admitted into the program based upon clinical experience.  Therefore, it is not a requirement to complete a clinical rotation.  However, in lieu of the traditional clinical rotation, all ASN candidates are required to successfully complete the weekend Clinical Performance in Nursing Examination.  Excelsior College administers the Clinical Performance in Nursing Examination at one of three Regional Performance Assessment Centers (Albany, NY; Atlanta, GA; or Madison, WI)

   

• How can I prepare for this clinical evaluation?

  Career Learning Centers offers a clinical lab that thoroughly reviews the 17 areas of proficiencies that you may be tested on during the clinical evaluation weekend. CLC provides a very comprehensive training lab to ensure its nursing students are properly prepared to be successful on the clinical evaluation.

• What are the qualifications of Career Learning Centers' tutors?

  CLC requires at least a Bachelor’s degree but the majority of the tutors have either their Master’s or Doctorate, along with several years of teaching experience. Additionally, all nursing tutors at CLC are licensed RNs themselves which further enhances the learning process.

• Do I have to purchase tutorials or learning modules?

  No. There are no required tutorials or modules to purchase. Your fees at CLC are determined by tutoring contact hours, which are based upon your curriculum requirements of the ASN degree.   You will also receive a workbook and Quick Reference Guide for the nursing subject matter.

• What are Career Learning Centers' Online Supplements?

  Career Learning Centers' Online Supplements help to enhance the learning and retention of course information. The Online Supplements are added to the curriculum and are available to all ASN students. They include, but are not limited to, pre-tests, reading and lectures, interactive learning activities, and a large bank of quizzes and practice exams ASN students can utilize any time to ensure knowledge retention.

• How much does it cost?

  Typically the cost is a fraction of a traditional nursing program. The cost will vary depending on how many subjects you will need to meet the curriculum requirements of the ASN degree program. Once we’ve had the opportunity to evaluate your unofficial transcripts and determine which courses you’ll need, we’ll then be able to specify the overall cost of your ASN degree. We provide free academic assessments at all informational seminars.

• Is there a guarantee?

  Absolutely. Career Learning Centers guarantees that all of its ASN students will pass the end of course equivalency examinations. We have an over 90% pass rate* on the first try with the remaining ASN students passing on the second try.

  *Based on reported scores.

• How do I sign up?

  We recommend that you attend one of our upcoming free informational seminars at Career Learning Centers. By attending an informational seminar at CLC you’ll accomplish many things: hear and learn all of the details about the program, have all of your questions answered, see our beautiful, state-of-the-art facility and meet our staff and other ASN students, all in about an hour.

   

  If you’re ready to get started and don’t want to wait for the next scheduled seminar, you’re welcome to call and schedule an appointment by calling 1-866-353-5240. We’ll need an unofficial copy of your transcripts, if you’ve already taken some college level courses, so feel free to fax us a copy at 888.329.2673.