Excelsior College and the GBON

The Georgia Board of Nursing ruled that as of July 1, 2008 they would no longer accept endorsements for Excelsior College Nursing school graduates. We were officially notified August 5, 2008 by the Dean of Excelsior College. We were given no warning or explanation for this decision. We were not given the opportunity to satisfy any additional classes or clinicals the GBON may have been requiring, nor were we made aware of any problems between Excelsior College and the GBON.

The decision will affect 1100+ recent graduates and current nursing students in the state of Georgia. Yet, there is currently a bill awaiting approval from Congress that Georgia and other states have requested additional work Visa's to be approved so nurses can be brought from other countries to work in our state, Congressional bill-HR5924. Now Georgia is telling 1100 potential RN's that live in Georgia that we can not practice in Georgia.

We are not unwilling to fulfill any additional clinical hours or classes that the GBON may require us to complete in order to meet their standards of education. The students that attend EC are trained paramedics, experienced LPN/LVN's, qualified respiratory therapist, and nursing students that transferred from traditional programs.

A number of students are from rural areas in Georgia that do not have the luxury of living near a college that offers a RN program. We are simply asking to be treated with fairness and respect for our years of experience and hard work. Excelsior graduates are very capable of providing safe patient care and there is no data to show otherwise.

The NCLEX pass rate for EC graduates is currently higher than the National and State average. Excelsior College is accredited by the NLN and has received a number of accommodations and awards for it's RN program.