The Nursing Program at Renton Technical College is currently conditionally approved by the Washington State Board of Nursing (WABON). The Nursing Program is not nationally accredited. The program’s NCLEX pass rates were 66.67% in 2021, 70% in 2022, and 80.95% in 2023.

In order to be admitted to the Associate Degree of Applied Science in Nursing, a prospective student must meet the following requirements:

• Minimum age: 18 years (at time of clinical placement)
• Communication involving patient care in the clinical setting is critical to patient safety. All students shall be fluent in the English language, including verbal and written.
• Nursing Assistant Certificate of Completion or NA-C license approved by Washington State Board of Nursing.

Screening and Tracking Requirements

Students must meet vaccination and program-specific health requirements per the Immunization Timeline Table:

• Annual tuberculosis skin testing (initial 2-step or QuantiFERON test followed by annual 1-step)
• Annual seasonal influenza vaccine
• American Heart Association Basic Life Support (BLS) for Health Care Providers
• Personal health insurance upon entry and for the duration of the nursing program
• Hepatitis B vaccine (series of 3 vaccines and immunity titer)
• Measles, mumps and rubella (2 vaccines or proof of immunity titer)
• Varicella (2 vaccines or proof of immunity titer)
• Tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis (Tdap) within the last 10 years
• Up-to-date COVID-19 vaccination booster
• Drug screen - occurs later in the program, do not order through CastleBranch.

• Applicants will establish an account and will maintain compliance with immunizations and pass a nationwide background check through CastleBranch.
  • Use package codeRr75nur. Note: do not order a drug test.
  • It takes approximately three to five business days to complete the Nationwide Background check.
  • Cost: $113.99.
• Nursing Assistant Certificate of Completion or NA-C license approved by Washington State Board of Nursing.
• TEAS SCORES
  • The minimum Version 6 or 7 TEAS score must be 75 overall and 70 in each of the subcategories (Math, Science, English and Reading).
    
• COMPLETION OF PREREQUISITE COURSES: (Courses required prior to admission into the nursing program)
  • BIOL& 160; General Biology – 5 Credits (prerequisite to Anatomy/Physiology BIOL& 241)
  • BIOL& 241; Anatomy and Physiology I – 5 Credits (prerequisite to Anatomy/Physiology BIOL& 242)
  • BIOL& 242; Anatomy and Physiology II – 5 Credits
  • BIOL& 260; Microbiology – 5 Credits
  • ENGL& 101; English Composition – 5 Credits
  • MATH& 146; Statistics – 5 Credits
  • PSYC& 200; Developmental Psychology – 5 Credits
  • CHEM& 121; Chemistry – 5 Credits

1. Applicants must earn a minimum grade of 2.7 in mathematics and psychology prerequisite courses. Additionally, for all other prerequisite courses, a minimum grade of “B” equal to 3.0 is required.
2. Applicants may retake the course to meet the minimum grade requirement. No more than three attempts to take the course will be accepted as meeting the minimum requirement. Withdrawn classes count as an attempt.
3. All prerequisites must have been completed within the last 10 years.
4. Applicants can contact the Renton Technical College Academic/Career Counselor Colleen Bassham at cbassham@rtc.edu with questions.

Background Check

Required prior to admission to the nursing program:

• Applicants must complete and pass a comprehensive background check. Renton Technical College has hired a third-party vendor (CastleBranch) to complete this service for the nursing program. Applicants will be able to complete the background check requirements through the CastleBranch website. Compliance is required for entry into the program and for the duration of the program.
• The background check will include the following: Social Security Administration (SSA) identity validation; criminal history for seven years; Fraud and Abuse Control Information Systems (FACIS); Office of Inspector General (OIG); General Services Administration (GSA); warrants, arrests; sex offender; child kidnapper registry; Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC); and State of Washington background verification.
• The Washington Board of Nursing Statutes and Regulations defines “passing a background check” to include “no criminal convictions.” If you have a history of criminal convictions, please speak to a counselor prior to application.

1. Transfer in credits – if you took any prerequisites at an institution other than Renton Technical College (RTC), you must have official transcripts sent to RTC and you must have a student account through RTC. You must be registered with RTC to receive transfer credits. This process typically takes 3-4 weeks when ordering from another institution for transcripts to be sent and another 3-4 weeks for evaluation once transcripts arrive at RTC. You may apply to the college through online student services web admissions.
   • For credits to be evaluated, you must submit a “transcript Evaluation Request Form” found in Student Forms Library. This form must be submitted to our credit evaluator, Neclisa Floyd.

Though not required, additional points toward admission may be granted with documentation:

1. Military Service
   
   • Honorable discharge
   • Current service
2. Previous degrees (e.g. Associate's degree, Bachelor’s degree)
3. Renton Technical College alumni
4. First Generation college student

Applications will be accepted from June 24 to August 2. Completed application packets can be dropped off in Building B-117 or Building I in Student Services. Drop-offs will be accepted from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Friday.

All applicants must enroll in RTC and provide official transcripts for all required pre-requisite courses. Applications that are missing any requirements will not be accepted.

1. Applicants will apply to the program no later than the published date.
   • Download the application form
   • Include the application form in your application packet. Use the checklist on the application form to ensure you are submitting a complete packet.
     • Note: the following are not required but you will receive additional points towards your application for prior military service, RTC alumni (unofficial transcript), and/or proof of first-generation student).

Screening and Tracking Requirements

Students must meet vaccination and program-specific health requirements per the Immunization Timeline Table:

• Annual tuberculosis skin testing (initial 2-step or QuantiFERON test followed by annual 1-step)
• Annual seasonal influenza vaccine
• American Heart Association Basic Life Support (BLS) for Health Care Providers
• Personal health insurance upon entry and for the duration of the nursing program
• Hepatitis B vaccine (series of 3 vaccines and immunity titer)
• Measles, mumps and rubella (2 vaccines or proof of immunity titer)
• Varicella (2 vaccines or proof of immunity titer)
• Tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis (Tdap) within the last 10 years
• Up-to-date COVID-19 vaccination booster
• Drug screen - occurs later in the program, do not order through CastleBranch.

• Applicants will establish an account and will maintain compliance with immunizations and pass a nationwide background check through CastleBranch.
  • Use package codeRr75nur. Note: do not order a drug test.
  • It takes approximately three to five business days to complete the Nationwide Background check.
  • Cost: $113.99.
  • Important Update: Due to the short application period, applicants do not need to complete all required documents prior to applying to the program. However, you must pass the background check, print a copy of the results, and include it in your application packet.
• Nursing Assistant Certificate of Completion or NA-C license approved by Washington State Board of Nursing.
• TEAS SCORES
  • The minimum Version 6 or 7 TEAS score must be 75 overall and 70 in each of the subcategories (Math, Science, English and Reading).
    
• COMPLETION OF PREREQUISITE COURSES: (Courses required prior to admission into the nursing program)
  • BIOL& 160; General Biology – 5 Credits (prerequisite to Anatomy/Physiology BIOL& 241)
  • BIOL& 241; Anatomy and Physiology I – 5 Credits (prerequisite to Anatomy/Physiology BIOL& 242)
  • BIOL& 242; Anatomy and Physiology II – 5 Credits
  • BIOL& 260; Microbiology – 5 Credits
  • ENGL& 101; English Composition – 5 Credits
  • MATH& 146; Statistics – 5 Credits
  • PSYC& 200; Developmental Psychology – 5 Credits
  • CHEM& 121; Chemistry – 5 Credits

1. Applicants must earn a minimum grade of 2.7 in mathematics and psychology prerequisite courses. Additionally, for all other prerequisite courses, a minimum grade of “B” equal to 3.0 is required.
2. Applicants may retake the course to meet the minimum grade requirement. No more than three attempts to take the course will be accepted as meeting the minimum requirement. Withdrawn classes count as an attempt.
3. All prerequisites must have been completed within the last 10 years.
4. Applicants can contact the Renton Technical College Academic/Career Counselor Colleen Bassham at cbassham@rtc.edu with questions.