Spartanburg Community College Nursing Program Review

Spartanburg Community College (SCC) was founded in 1963, as part of the South Carolina Legislature’s decision to actively support and encourage technical education in the state. While the enrollment at Spartanburg Community College was small at first, the school rapidly expanded, opening up satellite campuses and adding new programs in a wide variety of fields.

Now, the college operates out of four locations (Spartanburg, Gaffney, Duncan, and Union), serves over 5000 students, and offers over 100 different associate-degree, certificate, and diploma programs. Among those programs is one program for prospective nurses and one program for prospective certified nurse assistants. Here is a review of the available programs:

Associate Degree Nursing

The Associate Degree Nursing (ADN) program at Spartanburg Community College is accredited by the National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission (NLNAC) and approved by the South Carolina Department of Labor, Licensing, and Regulation Board of Nursing. Over the course of five semesters, the ADN program prepares students for careers as Registered Nurses (RN). An ADN student must earn at least sixty-seven credits in order to graduate, and this includes both general education classes and nursing classes. While there are no prerequisites for the program, Spartanburg Community College highly recommends that students complete anatomy and physiology I and II and microbiology before beginning.

The ADN program is only available on a full-time basis during the day; there is no evening or weekend option. Students may begin in either the fall or the spring. Spartanburg Community College welcomes Licensed Practical Nurses (LPN) into the ADN program but, unlike most other colleges, does not award advanced placement credits. LPNs must begin at the beginning of the ADN program. Likewise, Spartanburg Community College does not accept transfer credits for any of the nursing classes; a transfer student must retake all nursing classes. Spartanburg Community College awards graduates with an Associate in Applied Science (AAS) degree with a major in nursing. This makes a student eligible to take the National Council Licensing Exam for Registered Nurses (NCLEX-RN).

Certified Nursing Assistant

The quickest way into the nursing field is through a Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) program, such as the one at Spartanburg Community College. Through the eight-credit CNA-Basic training program, students learn the fundamentals of nursing care, including helping patients with their personal care, controlling infections, and feeding and transporting patients. The program takes one semester to complete, and is offered in the fall, spring, and summer. There are no prerequisites.

The curriculum includes both classroom instruction and a clinical rotation in a long-term care facility. Students in the CNA program focus solely on nursing skills; they do not need to complete any general education classes. A graduate of the program will receive a certificate, and is eligible to take the Nurse Assistant Certification exam. If he successfully passes this exam, he will be listed as a CNA on the CNA registry maintained by the South Carolina Department of Labor, Licensing, and Regulation Board of Nursing. He is then eligible to seek entry-level employment in the nursing field. 

Contact:
Spartanburg Community College
800 Brisack Road,
Spartanburg, SC 29303