Drexel RN-to-BSN clinical practice hours

The RN-to-BSN catalog sets the requirement at 36 hours of what it calls planned clinical practice experiences. They sit in three of the ten Tier III nursing courses, each worth 4.5 quarter credits. Together the ten Tier III courses total 45 quarter credits, and the three with hours account for 13.5 of them.

The other Tier III courses, NURS 333, NURS 334, NURS 341, NURS 343, NURS 344, NURS 349 and NURS 351, carry no clinical hours. The graduate tracks are compared on Drexel clinical hours by track.

Drexel Online frames the hours as professional development, tailored to what you need and what interests you. That points to experiences shaped around you rather than a fixed rotation, and the course titles hint at the activity each one expects.

NURS 342 pairs its 24 hours with health assessment, health promotion and diversity, so a setting where you can assess patients from varied backgrounds suits it. NURS 347 is about teaching patients, professionals and the public, which fits an eight-hour education project. NURS 348 deals with global and population-based health, so its four hours could sit in community or public health work.

Treat those as starting points, not rules. The assignment instructions in each course site decide what counts, so read them before you approach a setting.

For the graduate NP tracks, Drexel spells out who may precept and how sites are contracted. For the RN-to-BSN, the public pages do not say who arranges the 36 hours, who supervises them, or whether a setting needs an agreement with Drexel. Put these questions to your course faculty or academic advisor at the start of each course:

• Do I find the setting myself, or does the course offer options?
• Who can supervise or verify my hours, and how are they documented?
• Can the hours take place at my own workplace, and does anything change if they do?
• Does the setting need a clinical affiliation agreement or CastleBranch clearance?

Keep the answers in writing, since they decide how much lead time you need. If an agreement turns out to be required, the CNHP Clinical Compliance team handles contracts and compliance; its steps are on Drexel clinical compliance.

Drexel's RN-to-BSN courses run in 10-week quarters that mix asynchronous and synchronous work. In the accelerated plan, NURS 342 falls in Winter, and NURS 347 and NURS 348 share Spring, so two of the three courses with hours land in the same quarter.

Twenty-four hours over ten weeks averages under three hours a week, yet a setting may offer time in blocks rather than evenly. Line up the setting before the quarter opens so onboarding or scheduling delays do not push the hours into the final weeks.

Upcoming start terms include Winter 2027, with classes beginning January 4, 2027, plus Spring 2027 and Fall 2027. The accelerated plan finishes in four terms; Drexel Online describes the program as taking one year.

Drexel moves to semesters in Fall 2027. In the 2027–28 catalog, the three courses keep their titles but are renumbered NURS 3103, NURS 4011 and NURS 4012; each is worth 3.0 semester credits. The program still totals 36 clinical practice hours, but the split between courses is not stated, so check each syllabus.

The degree becomes 120 semester credits in place of 180.0 quarter credits, of which up to 135.0 can transfer in under the current catalog. Drexel's accelerated RN/BSN/MSN pathway also includes NURS 347 and NURS 348, and Drexel Online lists an August 23, 2027 start for it, so students on that route meet the same hours. Drexel's advisors are drawing up individual transition plans for students already enrolled; the calendar is covered on Drexel's semester conversion.

The RN-to-BSN is fully online with no on-campus requirements. Drexel cannot admit RN-to-BSN students living in Alabama, Minnesota, Nebraska, Washington or Wyoming, a different list from the NP programs, while residents of New York and Maryland face no restriction. Residents outside the United States cannot take part in CNHP's online nursing programs. Applicants need an RN license, and Drexel can accept you provisionally while you await the NCLEX.

Relocating mid-program can limit where your clinical practice hours may happen, so talk with your advisor before any move. Classes also use Shadow Health and Practice virtual-patient software, which is coursework, not a substitute for the clinical practice hours. If your setting is in a different state from your home, check the rules first on Drexel state authorization, which lists each program's exclusions.

Thirty-six hours can still hold up a graduation if a setting falls through late. We find a setting and a supervisor that fit the course you are in, whether that is an assessment-focused clinic for NURS 342 or a community or education project for NURS 347 and NURS 348, and we have it lined up before the quarter starts.

When Drexel needs something from the setting, we collect it complete and in the form your faculty ask for. Drexel decides what counts; we make sure what reaches your course fits it the first time, and if a setting cancels mid-quarter we step in to source a replacement for the same course. More on the RN-to-BSN page, or send your course and term through the request form.