ADN Programs in Georgia

Why Consider a Career in Nursing in Georgia?
One of the most chronic shortages in health care in Georgia is in the field of nursing. The segment of the population 65 and older is projected to grow by 79 percent by 2030, and most people in that age group have at least one chronic illness. The Affordable Care Act will aggravate that shortage by providing insurance coverage to millions of individuals who currently cannot afford to seek healthcare. If you are already interested in the field of health care in Georgia, nursing certainly deserves your consideration.

What Does an ADN Program in Georgia teach?

An ADN program in Georgia is a two to three year program usually offered at a Georgia community college designed to provide you with the foundation which you need in order to meet the Georgia Board of Nursing requirements for becoming an RN. These requirements include completing a Georgia approved ADN program, passing the licensing exam required by Georgia and having your Georgia nursing application approved. Georgia’s two year ADN programs will provide you with a solid background in the health sciences, biology and particularly nursing that you will need in order to be a successful RN in Georgia.

Where Can I Find an ADN Program Acceptable for Georgia?

If you live in Georgia, the odds are that a technical, community or other college offering an approved ADN is not far away. There are many ADN programs which are accredited by the Georgia Board of Nursing. If you live outside of Georgia, but are interested in being licensed initially in Georgia, the general rule is that the State of Georgia will permit you to apply for a license if you have gone to a school that is accredited by a nationally recognized accreditation agency. However, as a precaution, if you are out of state, it is a good idea to double check with the Georgia Board of Nursing to be sure that an ADN from the school which you are considering will be acceptable.

Associate Degree in Nursing (ADN) Training Schools: 2 Year Nursing Programs in Georgia

Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College

School of Nursing & Health Sciences

2802 Moore Hwy.

Tifton, Georgia 31794-2601

(229) 391-5020

ABAC offers both a traditional two year ADN as well as a one year bridge program. ABAC takes in two classes per year, one starting fall Semester and one starting spring semester. For the traditional two year program, the application deadline for the fall semester is May 1 and the application deadline for spring semester is September 15. For those interested in the one year Registered Nurse (RN) program, which requires an LPN license or education, the deadline to apply is February 15 for the summer term and August 15 for the spring semester.

Athens Technical College

Associate Degree Nursing Program

800 U. S. Highway 29, North

Athens, Georgia 30601-1500

(706) 355-5037

The first technical college in Georgia to have an ADN program approved by the Georgia Board of Nursing in 1991, ATC has a high-achieving program. In 2009, it was one of the few colleges state-wide whose nursing students achieved a 100% pass rate on the NCLEX-RN, with a graduating class of 39 students taking the test. Even more telling is the fact that in recent years, the school has maintained a 95% pass rate on the NCLEX. The national pass-rate per school normally hovers between 80 and 83%.

Augusta Technical College

3200 Augusta Tech Dr.

Augusta, GA 30906

(706) 771-4175

Augusta Technical College is a new program, which has received initial approval from the Georgia Board of Nursing and candidate status from the NLNAC. Students graduating from this new program are able to take the NCLEX-RN and to apply for the Georgia RN license. Full approval from the Georgia Board of Nursing is granted if a school continues to meet the Board’s requirements and if their first class has at least an 80% pass rate on the NCLEX-RN within one year of graduation.

Bainbridge College

Division of Nursing

2500 Shotwell Street

Bainbridge, Georgia 39818-0990

(229) 248-2850

Last year, 100% of the graduating nursing class passed the NCLEX-RN on the first try. The class had 18 students taking the test. A pass rate of 100% on the licensing exam is an exciting accomplishment for any school. Bainbridge offers a five semester program that allows the student to earn their ADN and qualify to take both the RN licensing exam and to apply for their Georgia RN’s license.

Chattahoochee Technical College

South Cobb Campus, Bldg. 200

1578 Veterans Memorial Highway

Austell, Georgia 30168

(770) 528-4433

ADN programs at technical colleges are relatively new in Georgia. In fact, the first ADN program at a technical college was not approved until 1991. Accordingly, programs at technical colleges may be more likely to have initial approval than some other programs. Chattahoochee Tech is one of the nursing schools in Georgia with initial approval. However, initial approval, from the graduate’s standpoint, is essentially the same as full approval – the graduate will be able to take the NCLEX-RN upon graduation and, once the test is passed, can apply for an RN license in Georgia. .

College of Coastal Georgia

School of Nursing & Health Sciences

3700 Altama Ave.

Brunswick, Georgia 31520-3644

(912) 279-5860

Located in one of the towns along Georgia’s Atlantic coastline, the college of Coastal Georgia offers both BSN and ASN degrees. The ASN program is a 70-72 semester credit hour program which the student can expect to complete in approximately 2 years. As with many ASN programs, admission is a competitive process, so completion of the necessary prerequisites for the course may not guarantee admission into the program. The college accepts one class every fall semester. Applications for entry to the fall semester are due on April 15 of the spring before. Late applications are not accepted.

Columbus Technical College

928 Manchester Expressway

Columbus, GA 31904-6572

(706) 649-1112

This school’s nursing program has a narrow window for accepting applications. That window is basically the two weeks preceding March 1 for fall semester admission. The admission process is competitive, since normally more students apply for admission than there are spaces available to accommodate them. In order to minimally qualify for the nursing program, the student must be at least 16, must have a certain score on the Reading and Writing COMPASS tests within the last 5 years, have completed the prerequisite courses by the spring semester preceding entry into the nursing program and must have a minimum GPA of 2.5 on a 4 point system. The student must submit their application program within the two week window of time, and the packet must include a letter of intent, a personal data form as well as a score on the pre-NLN nursing examination, which is designed to measure the likelihood of a candidate’s success in a nursing program. Finally, if the student is accepted into the nursing program, he or she also must provide a record of a current physical exam and immunizations as well as an active CPR card before fall classes begin.

Dalton State College

School of Nursing

650 College Drive

Dalton, Georgia 30720

(706) 272-4463

Just like many other ASN programs, admission to Dalton’s ASN program is very competitive. The factors evaluated for admission to the next fall nursing class include a student’s SAT, ACT or Compass scores and the completion of all pre-requisite courses with a GPA of 2.75 on a 4 point scale or better. Timely submission of the application is also critical: the time for taking applications is between December 1 and February 1 for the class next fall. The number of credit hours already earned towards a degree in nursing also can help a student’s admission standing – the more courses earned, the more likely admission. In addition, a minimum score in the 60th percentile overall on the PAX-RN examination is a minimum requirement; again, the higher the score, the higher the standing for admission. The PAX-RN is a test that measures the probability of a student’s success in the nursing program, and must be taken in time for the scores to be released no later than the December 31 before the fall semester class in which the student wishes to enroll.

Darton College

Division of Nursing

2400 Gillionville Road

Albany, Georgia 31707

(229) 317-6557

This college offers both the traditional two year ASN-RN program as well as LPN-RN and Healthcare Professional to RN bridge programs, but it offers the programs at a number of locations as well is in several formats. Locations for the RN program include Albany, Cordele, Swainsboro and Thomasville. Darton also offers an evening track specifically designed for students who work during the day. Classes are held with starting times somewhere between 5 and 6 and ending times somewhere between 9 and 10 p.m. For the evening program, most clinical experiences occur on the night or during weekends, but the school cannot guarantee that all clinical experiences will be scheduled that way. The school does say that the nursing school does everything it can to make those clinical experiences as few as possible for the night program. Finally, Darton also offers a hybrid program, which offers classes online along with some required visits to the Albany campus. To enter the hybrid program, there are requirements above and beyond the admission requirements for the normal nursing program, including proof that the student has successfully completed classes in an online format before.

Georgia Highlands College

Division of Nursing Education

3175 Cedartown Hwy., SE

Rome, Georgia 30161

(706) 295-6321

Nursing faculty at this college are present both at the main campus in Rome, Georgia as well as on one of the satellite campuses in Marietta, Georgia. The nursing program began in 1971, and the first class graduated in 1973. Since then, Georgia Highlands has graduate more than 1050 nurses. In 1993, the Nursing Department and the Dental Hygiene Program were placed under one administration unit, The Division of Health Sciences.

Georgia Northwestern Technical College

AD Nursing Program

P.O. Box 569

265 Bicentennial Trail

Rock Spring, GA 30739

(706) 764-3854

This Associate’s Nursing program requires the student to complete 33 hours of pre-requisite courses, along with 42 hours of nursing courses, and is designed to be completed in 2 years. There also is an LP-RN bridge program which is placed on an accelerated track. Both programs are located on GNTC’s Walker County Campus in Rock Spring, Georgia.

Georgia Perimeter College

AD Nursing Department

555 North Indian Creek Drive

Clarkston, GA 30021-2396

(678) 891-3845

This program is an outstanding program, based upon its NCLEX-RN pass average. In the most years, the average pass rate for GPC students taking the NCLEX-RN was 97%. That means that, on average, 97% of the graduating nurses at GPC passed the NCLEX-RN on their first try. 97% is well above the national rate of first time passage. GPC offers both a two year program as well as providing advanced standing to LPN’s that essential place them in the second year of nursing courses.

Gordon College

Division of Nursing & Health Sciences

419 College Drive

Barnesville, Georgia 30204

(678) 359-5197

The ASN nursing program at this college has been approved by the Georgia Board of Nursing since 1972, and been continually accredited by the NLNAC since 1976. The program has both the two year ASN program and the one year LPN-RN bridge program. A student may apply to both the two year and the one year programs, if he or she meets the necessary qualifications for both of them, but may only accept a seat in one of the two classes. The other seat in the other class must be relinquished, and the school will give that seat to someone else.

Gwinnett Technical College

AD Program

5150 Sugarloaf Pkwy

Lawrenceville, Georgia 30043

(678) 226-6787

This nursing program has initial approval from the Georgia Board of Nursing. Its first class of 40 students began taking classes in September 2009.

Macon State College

Division of Nursing

100 College Station Drive

Macon, Georgia 31206-5145

(478) 471-2761 Fax (478) 471-2983

This four year college offers both a two year ASN as well as an RN-BSN completion program. The ASN can be completed in two years, but the school web site notes that students often choose instead to complete their non-nursing courses first, then use their final two years for nursing courses and clinicals only. Macon State College is currently preparing a plan for consolidation with Middle Georgia College.

Middle Georgia College

Department of Nursing

1100 Second Street, S.E.

Cochran, Georgia 31014-1599

(478) 934-3057 Fax (478) 934-3148

Middle Georgia College and Macon State University are currently working on a consolidation plan to join the two colleges which they hope to have implemented by the fall next year. Once the consolidation is accomplished, the combined schools will have a total of 10,000 students spread out over five campuses. However, the ASN degree in nursing will continue to be offered, although whether at both schools, or just one, remains to be determined.

North Georgia College & State University

Department of Nursing

82 College Circle

Dahlonega, Georgia 30597

(706) 864-1935 Fax (706) 864-1845

North Georgia offers a career hierarchy of courses for student nurses, starting with the ASN, continuing forward through the BSN and then offering students a choice of two nursing master’s degree, one as a family nurse practitioner and one in nursing education. This career mobility is an advantage to the ASN student admitted to North Georgia, since it provides him or her with a wide range of options once the ASN degree is obtained. North Georgia’s nursing department also has the honor of being designated as a Partner in Nursing Education with the U.S. Army, meaning that some of the nursing students are also Army cadets.

South Georgia College

Division of Nursing

100 W. College Park Drive

Douglas, Georgia 31533-5098

(912) 389-4503

The curriculum difference between the ASN-RN program and the LPN to RN program at this college is 8 credit hours. The ASN-RN program requires a student to take 39 credit hours during freshman year and 33 hours during sophomore year, which are achieved through a combination of science, humanities and nursing courses. The LPN to RN program requires 31 hours during the freshman year and 33 hours during the sophomore year, with the courses again representing a blend of science, humanities and nursing courses. The LPN-RN students are basically allowed to take two fewer nursing courses then the traditional students.

Southwest Georgia Technical College

Associate Degree Nursing Program

15689 US Highway 19 North

Thomasville, GA 31792

(229) 227-2570

As many nursing programs do, SGTC offers both a generic (traditional) ASN program along with an LPN-RN bridge. The ASN is offered at both of SGTC’s campuses, the main campus and the Valdosta campus, although the Valdosta Campus’s program is offered through a partnership between SGTC and Wiregrass Georgia Technical College. The ASN program is a six semester (three year) course of study, with three semesters of prerequisite courses and three semesters of general education and nursing courses.

West Georgia Technical College

Associate Degree Nursing Program

176 Murphy Campus Blvd.

Waco, GA 30182

(770) 537-6032

This college’s nursing program was placed on conditional approval by the Georgia Board of Nursing during its mid-March meeting. The decision was based upon the fact that passing percentage of first time NCLEX-RN test takers from WGTC was less than 80% for each of the prior four years.