To whom it may concern,

This is a call to reevaluate and revise Boise State Nursing program and its admissions policies and requirements. As the admission requirements stand now, they do not allow the most qualified, passionate, experienced individuals into the program.

Currently, the only requirement for admission to the RN BSN program is "a grade of C (2.00) in all pre-nursing courses and a cumulative gpa of 3.0 or above in order for their nursing application to be considered by the School of Nursing." (Nursing, Boise State.. "Nursing Application for Bachelor of Science Nursing Program." BSNP, 1 Jan. 2018, hs.boisestate.edu/bsnp/application/.).

This admission requirement may not allow the best and most qualified candidates to be chosen for the program. What it does, however, is force a competitive program to favor those who do not have to work while in school. It favors those with less real world patient care experience. It favors the young, full time, "traditional" college student with financial help from the government or their parents. It pushes those who have many years of healthcare experience as CNAs, Techs, Medical Assistants, etc., who may not have the bandwidth to achieve a higher GPA to the bottom of the list. It pushes non-traditional students with so much life experience, who may be juggling a family at the same time, to the bottom of the list.

Boise State Nursing would be better served by nursing students who are chosen based on more than a GPA.

Boise State Nursing could be better served by considering students who were admitted based on their passion for healthcare, for the drive and compassion they have for their patients. By those who are motivated to succeed, not just in school but in their career as a nurse. By those who were interviewed face to face so the admissions board could see how they may interact with patients and represent the program. By those who were admitted with letters of recommendation from nursing directors, supervisors, and administrators at the hospitals in our valley. By these standards, many of the students currently admitted to the program would be admitted anyway, however, some would not, giving other, more qualified candidates well deserved spots.

I have included signatures from like-minded individuals who believe that admissions to a Nursing School should be more than a GPA. Please consider the points that have been brought to your attention and consider the future of the bright, compassionate, smart, genuine students that you are currently missing out on due to the outdated admissions requirements Boise State Nursing has now.

Best regards-

A concerned community