Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) & Post-Master’s Certificates Programs Student Handbook 

The departmental organization chart allows students to see how the department is structured and who they should reach out to for any issues.

Students will receive a WSU student email account, also called Wildcat Mail. Program information, including updates or policy and handbook changes, will be sent to students’ WSU email accounts. It is the student’s responsibility to monitor this account regularly for program communication. Students will be held responsible for the information distributed through their WSU email.

Any changes to student contact information should be sent to the MSN Program Administrative Specialist by email within two weeks of the change.

Graduate students must purchase and use Verified Credentials® for required materials and documents as described in the Annie Taylor Dee School of Nursing (SON) student handbook. Documents must be kept current in Verified Credentials® throughout the program. This includes flu shots, CPR, immunizations, background checks, drug tests, etc. Failure to keep ALL required student documentation, including overdue and rejected items, up-to-date in Verified Credentials®, will result in a 2% grade deduction weekly in designated nursing courses until all Verified Credentials® requirements are met.

• BLS CPR: The MSN program accepts American Heart Association (AHA) and American Red Cross (ARC) BLS certifications. AHA certification is recommended, as currently, all clinical partners accept AHA. If a student completes ARC certification and attends a facility requiring AHA, or vice versa, the student will be required to complete AHA training before residency placement. Certification MUST include both written and hands-on components. There will be no exceptions, and it must be current throughout the entire program.

Scholarly academic writing skills are a focus of the graduate program. All graduate students must utilize the writing assistance technology Grammarly® throughout the entire program. Grammarly®’s online writing assistance and plagiarism tools encourage polished grammar, better overall word usage, and a professional writing style. It is included in the student's course fees, and information on how to join will be emailed to the student before the program starts. 

SPSS is a statistical software platform utilized by MSN students to input and interpret complex data sets quickly to ensure high accuracy and quality decision-making. More information on this program will be provided to students in the course where it is utilized.

Every student must have and wear a photo ID nursing badge during their residency. The badge must be visible whenever a student is on site at the location of their residency. Students will receive information on obtaining a badge in the new student welcome letter. Students must wear professional attire in their badge photos.

Students are assigned an MSN faculty advisor after admission to the MSN program. Students are required to contact advisors within the first three weeks of each semester in which the student is enrolled. Students are emailed the name and contact information of their faculty advisor. If you have any concerns or issues, contact your advisor immediately to promptly resolve any problems (i.e., class schedule additions or deletions, transcript issues, etc.). The MSN Program Director is also available for additional student support.

CatTracks is a web-based tool that allows the student and advisor to monitor progress toward degree completion and graduation. Check your degree evaluation in CatTracks and make sure your major is updated to reflect Nursing. If your major is not listed as Nursing, contact the MSN Program Administrative Specialist. Contact the Nursing Graduate Studies Advisor & Enrollment Specialist if any discrepancies or concerns arise regarding your CatTracks report.

The MSN EPSLOs and RSCs are derived from the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN®), American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN), the American Organization for Nurse Leadership (AONL), National League for Nursing (NLN), and other national guidelines. MSN program sequencing is designed with increasing complexity as students progress from core courses to emphasis-specific specialty courses later in the program.

MSN students will meet their EPSLOs and RSCs throughout the program through coursework and signature assignments. See the following table for a full list of the MSN Program’s EPSLOs and RSCs.

Annie Taylor Dee SON Outcomes, MSN EPSLOs, MSN RSCs:

Annie Taylor Dee SON Outcomes	MSN EPSLOs	MSN Nurse Educator RSCs	MSN Leadership & Management RSCs
Person-Centered Care
Provide person-centered, holistic care with respect for differences, preferences, values, and needs unique to the individual.	Integrate person-centered care into programs and processes that promote individuals’ unique needs and values across the lifespan.	Design contemporary program outcomes and curricula that prepare nurses to function effectively in person-centered healthcare environments.	Foster a professional practice environment that supports person-centered care with respect for differences, preferences, values, and needs unique to the individual.
Quality and Safety
Prioritize quality and safety to minimize the risk of harm using established and emerging principles at the individual and systems levels.	Support quality and safety standards using current evidence to minimize the risk of harm to individuals and healthcare teams.	Develop educational programs and curricula incorporating quality improvement, safety standards, and resources to improve patient safety and healthcare environments.	Develop efficient care models and policies that ensure high-quality care, compliance with regulatory requirements, and safety for patients, providers, and work environments.
Evidence-Based Practice
Operationalize nursing knowledge and evidence to direct clinical practice, influence policy, and shape best practices.	Translate evidence into practice to transform healthcare and improve individual, family, and community outcomes.	Employ education principles, scholarship, and teaching modalities to lead the translation of evidence into nursing practice.	Advocate for healthcare policies and regulations based on current evidence.
Social Determinants of Health
Integrate strategies to address social determinants of health to improve individual and societal health outcomes.	Employ strategies that address social determinants of health for optimal patient care and community outcomes.	Develop educational interventions to address social determinants of health.	Develop leadership interventions to address social determinants of health in nursing policy and practice.
Person-Centered Care
Provide person-centered, holistic care with respect for differences, preferences, values, and needs unique to the individual	Integrate person-centered care into programs and processes that promote individuals’ unique needs and values across the lifespan.	Design contemporary program outcomes and curricula that prepare nurses to function effectively in person-centered healthcare environments.	Foster a professional practice environment that supports person-centered care with respect for differences, preferences, values, and needs unique to the individual.
Information Literacy
Utilize appropriate information sources and technologies to ensure effective communication and the delivery of safe, high-quality healthcare.	Manage systems-based processes and technologies that leverage information to improve the delivery of safe, high-quality healthcare in accordance with ethical, legal, and regulatory standards.	Utilize information technology to enhance educational practices, innovative teaching strategies, and assessment methods to ensure learners deliver safe, high-quality healthcare.	Manage system data alignment and established patient safety standards to mitigate patient, provider, and workplace risks.
Teamwork and Collaboration
Engage in intentional collaboration within teams to optimize health outcomes across the continuum of care for diverse populations.	Integrate evidence-based strategies to promote effective collaboration with interprofessional team members, communities, and other stakeholders to improve patient care and outcomes.	Design curriculum that supports interprofessional collaboration and fosters a climate of mutual learning, respect, and shared values.	Collaborate with high-functioning interprofessional teams to lead healthcare initiatives that enhance the healthcare experience and strengthen outcomes.
Professionalism
Demonstrate a professional identity that reflects the nursing characteristics and values, including accountability, civility, ethical comportment, and integrity.	Demonstrate professional behaviors that align with nursing professional practice expectations and core values.	Exemplify a professional identity inherent to the nurse educator role, reflecting accountability, civility, ethical comportment, and integrity.	Exemplify a professional identity integral to leadership & management roles, reflecting accountability, civility, ethical comportment, and integrity.

The Master’s project is the culminating demonstration of scholarship acquired during the MSN program. The MSN project allows students to create an evidence-based quality improvement project during their second and third semesters of study. More information on the MSN project can be found in the MSN Project Handbook, which will be given to students in their project courses and is available in the MSN Student Orientation Canvas course.

The MSN residency provides students with the opportunity to build competence and confidence while strengthening skills and transitioning into the role of the professional nurse educator or nurse leader. Students work with dedicated and experienced preceptors in various educational and leadership settings. The practicum experience includes 90 hours of professional experience and offers students an opportunity to apply the knowledge and skills obtained in didactic courses. More information on the MSN residency can be found in the MSN Residency Handbook, which will be given to students during their residency courses and is available in the MSN Student Orientation Canvas course.

Students will use an ePortfolio throughout the MSN program where they can showcase their achievements to faculty, peers, and employers on their very own webpage. Each student will create an ePortfolio upon entry into the program, add to it during their courses, and finish it in their final project course.

The student ePortfolio serves as a professional repository that students can use when seeking future employment or career opportunities. Students will be instructed in their courses regarding the assignments and other artifacts to be added to their ePortfolios.

Graduate students are expected to make continuous progress in the MSN program through full-time registration. Exceptions may be made in the event of a significant life event. The student must notify the MSN Program Director before withdrawing from coursework. The student must officially withdraw from the course. or the letter grade remains on the transcript and is calculated into the cumulative GPA. A total of one readmission is allowed in the MSN or Post-MSN Certificate programs (including course failures or withdrawals). 
All credits counted toward the MSN degree, including transfer credits and the MSN project, must be earned within 200% of the initial semester start, regardless of the reason for withdrawal/leave of absence.

All graduate nursing courses require a grade of 80% or better. If 80% is not obtained in a course, the student cannot progress in the MSN program until they successfully repeat the course with an 80% or higher. The course must be repeated in the next available semester, and a satisfactory grade must be achieved. Students may continue to register for additional coursework as approved by the MSN Program Director.

Changes in WSU policies are communicated to students through their Wildcat email and the WSU Student Announcements. Changes to Annie Taylor Dee SON and MSN program policies will be communicated through Wildcat email.

Students will have the opportunity to provide input regarding courses, faculty, and overall experience at the end of each semester and upon the program’s conclusion. At the program’s conclusion, students can evaluate how they have met the EPSLOs and RSCs. The evaluations that students complete are confidential and are not available to faculty until after grades have been submitted. Students are also invited to serve as a Student Representative for the MSN program to attend MSN faculty meetings. Student feedback is valued and used to strengthen the program.

A minimum of 30 credit hours beyond the bachelor’s degree is required for any Weber State University master’s degree. Additional coursework or projects may be required due to graduate program accreditation standards or specialized professional master’s degrees. At least two-thirds of the credits in any master’s degree program (including thesis or project) must be received from Weber State University. The student’s catalog will be the catalog in effect during the summer semester of the academic year when the student enrolls in the MSN program following formal admission into that program.

A minimum cumulative grade point average of 3.0 (80% in coursework) is required to complete a graduate degree. Annie Taylor Dee SON determines individual course grade requirements.

It is the student’s responsibility to ensure that all necessary WSU graduation requirements are completed and submitted to the graduation office before the graduation deadline. Students must complete the WSU online application for graduation by the deadline according to the online instructions. Students must check in with their MSN faculty advisor or the Nursing Graduate Studies Advisor & Enrollment Specialist at least a semester before their intended graduation.

The block-schedule format utilized in the MSN program allows students to focus their learning while completing two to three classes per block, with 2 blocks per semester. The MSN Nurse Educator and Nurse Leadership & Management emphases are based upon program availability. If students want to change pathways, they must receive written approval from the MSN Program Director.

The MSN project and student residency are taught in a 14-week semester format, allowing students to have additional time to develop student projects and complete a 90-hour student residency reflecting pedagogies appropriate for meeting the EPSLOs and RSCs aligned within these courses.

WSU uses the Canvas Learning Management System (LMS) to support student learning and program outcomes. All MSN students will receive communication through their Wildcat email accounts and Canvas. WSU offers a Canvas Student Demo Course for first-time Canvas users available to all students. It is recommended that students complete the online demo course before beginning their first semester of learning.

Students will have access to their courses in Canvas on the first day of each semester. For additional help, contact the IT Service Desk at (801) 626-7777 or csupport@weber.edu. Students can also visit the help desk in person on the Ogden campus, which is located in Lampros Hall in room 110. Visit the IT Service Desk website for hours or to access a live chat for help.

The MSN Nurse Educator and Leadership & Management courses are online and asynchronous. Attendance is documented by completing all assignments and participating in discussions as outlined in each course. Students must complete a 90-hour community-engaged residency in nursing education or nursing leadership & management.

Late coursework submission will result in a loss of 10% of the assignment grade per day. If an emergency or life event will take a student away from the course for an extended period or prevent a student from completing more than one course assignment by the deadline, the student will need to notify the course instructor as soon as possible by email in Canvas.

The Annie Taylor Dee SON does recognize that life circumstances occur, which may get in the way of school. Therefore, each student will have one “no-questions-asked” week-long assignment extension per course. Students who use their “no-questions-asked” late assignment do not need to provide the instructor with why their assignment was late. However, students need to communicate with their instructor by email in Canvas to let the instructor know they are using their one late exception before the assignment deadline when planning to use this option.

Academic writing and professional communication are essential competencies for students to develop further in the MSN program. MSN students are expected to write at a high degree of precision, but enter graduate school with varying scholarly writing abilities. The WSU Graduate Writing Center is staffed with tutors who work specifically with graduate students to assist with graduate-level writing. They are available to meet in person or online. See the Writing Center website for more information or to schedule an appointment. The MSN program has developed structured approaches to integrate writing and communication skills across the curriculum and promote the development of students’ scholarly writing abilities. The American Psychological Association (APA) format is used for all academic writing.