Many options are available to help you reduce the already low ACC tuition cost.
Two clear background checks are required as a condition of full acceptance after initial acceptance into an ACC nursing program and before you may enroll in any nursing course that has a clinical component: (1) a DPS/FBI background check conducted by the Texas Board of Nursing (BON); and (2) a background check by Viewpoint which is required by clinical affiliates.
A Petition for Declaratory Order (DO) is a formal disclosure to the Board of Nursing of an eligibility issue that may prevent an applicant from taking the NCLEX and receiving initial licensure. The DO permits the Board to make a decision regarding a petitioner’s eligibility for licensure prior to entering or completing a nursing program.
A Petition for DO should only be submitted after receiving an outcome letter requesting it, or if you received a Blue Card, BUT have to disclose a non-CBC related eligibility issue (i.e. answering “yes” to any questions other than Question 4).
You should submit the DO & $150 if:
You should submit the DO ONLY if:
You will need to contact the Board for specific instructions on submitting the DO without the $150 payment. Please send an email with your name, DOB, and last 4 of your SSN to webmaster@bon.texas.gov. The subject line should be DO – Payment Bypass.
The Petition for DO must be submitted electronically via the Nurse Portal (https://www.bon.texas.gov/texasnurseportal/).
If you submit a Petition, the BON will investigate your case and then send you a letter stating whether you are eligible to sit for the NCLEX licensure exam. If the BON letter says you are eligible to sit for the licensure exam, you must submit the letter to the nursing department no later than 30 days before first day of class. If you do not have the BON letter by 30 days before first day of class, you will not be eligible to enroll in the nursing program, and you will have to re-apply to the next nursing program after you do receive the BON letter.
You are eligible for admission into an ACC nursing program only after you: (1) Submit the Petition for Declaratory Order form to the BON; (2) Receive the BON outcome letter verifying your eligibility for future licensure; (3) Submit the BON outcome letter to the nursing department no later than 30 days before first day of class; and (4) meet the minimum standards set by clinical affiliates.
If you know you have an issue that will require disclosure, you may begin gathering necessary documentation and writing a letter of explanation. However, you should wait for the outcome letter requesting the Petition for DO, or a Blue Card, IF you have to disclose a non-CBC related eligibility issue (i.e. answering “yes” to any question other than Question 4 on the following license eligibility questions).
Satisfactory criminal background check findings are determined by the licensure eligibility criteria established by the BON and standards mandated by clinical affiliates and ADN program policy.
Applicants who are convicted of a felony, appealing a felony conviction, have a deferred adjudication felony, or are on parole for a felony, are not eligible for admission to Alvin Community College nursing programs. "Conviction” is defined in Texas Administrative Code Chapter 213, RULE §213.1, #12
This policy is applicable even if a prospective student has filed a “Petition for Declaratory Order” with the BON and received BON consent to sit for the NCLEX-RN after graduation from an approved ADN program.
Texas Board of Nursing (BON) Licensure Eligibility Questions
NOTE: Expunged and Sealed Offenses: While expunged or sealed offense, arrests, tickets, or citations need not be disclosed, it is your responsibility to ensure the offense, arrest, ticket or citation has, in fact, been expunged or sealed. It is recommended that you submit a copy of the Court Order expunging or sealing the record in question to our office with your application. Non-disclosure of relevant offenses raises questions related to truthfulness and character. (See 22 TAC §213.27)
NOTE: Orders of Non-Disclosure: Pursuant to Tex. Gov’t Code § 552.142(b), if you have criminal matters that are the subject of an order of non-disclosure you are not required to reveal those criminal matters. However, a criminal matter that is the subject of an order of non-disclosure may become a character and fitness issue. Pursuant to Gov’t Code chapter 411, the Texas Nursing Board is entitled to access criminal history record information that is the subject of an order of non-disclosure. If the Board discovers a criminal matter that is the subject of an order of non-disclosure, even if you properly did not reveal that matter, the Board may require you to provide information about any conduct that raises issues of character and fitness.
NOTE: This does not apply to any nursing license(s) issued by another US state or territory, excluding Puerto Rico. If you were licensed in Puerto Rico, you should be answering yes.
*Pursuant to the Texas Occupations Code §301.207, information, including diagnosis and treatment, regarding an individual’s physical or mental condition, intemperate use of drugs or alcohol, or chemical dependency and information regarding an individual’s criminal history is confidential to the same extent that information collected as part of an investigation is confidential under the Texas Occupations Code §301.466.
You are eligible for admission into an ACC nursing program only after you: (1) Submit the Petition for Declaratory Order form to the BON; (2) Receive the BON outcome letter verifying your eligibility for future licensure; (3) Submit the BON outcome letter to the nursing department no later than 30 days before first day of class; and (4) meet the minimum standards set by clinical affiliates.
Health Education Systems, Inc. (HESI) is a company that produces tests which evaluate whether nursing applicants have the knowledge and skills to be successful in nursing school.
Alvin Community College nursing programs require applicants to make a high enough score on the HESI Admission Assessment Exam (HESI-A2 test) in order to be considered for admission. An acceptable HESI-A2 test score is mandatory for all nursing applicants regardless of educational background, no exceptions. You may not substitute any other test scores for HESI test scores.
HESI-A2 DATES & REGISTRATION
HESI-A2 DEADLINE
HESI-A2 TEST SCORE CRITERIA
RE-TAKING THE HESI-A2
COST OF THE HESI-A2 TEST
GETTING YOUR HESI SCORES TO THE ACC NURSING DEPARTMENT
PREPARING FOR THE HESI-A2 TEST
OTHER HESI INFORMATION
Note - if the HESI you take at the other college does not include some of the sections we require, you will have to take those sections either at ACC or another school that offers those sections.
To enter and continue in an Alvin Community College nursing program, the following immunizations and tests are required by clinical affiliates and recommended by the Center for Disease Control (CDC). Do not submit any immunizations except for Hepatitis B (vaccines/titer) until after acceptance into the ACC ADN program.
HEPATITIS-B
VARICELLA (chicken pox): (Documentation not required until after acceptance into the ACC ADN program.)
MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) (Documentation not required until after acceptance into the ACC ADN program.)
TDAP (tetanus, diphtheria, acellular pertussis) (Documentation not required until after acceptance into the ACC ADN program.)
FLU (Documentation not required until after acceptance into the ACC ADN program.)
TUBERCULOSIS SCREEN: (Documentation not required until after acceptance into the ACC ADN program.)
MENINGITIS
KEEP THE ORIGINALS OF YOUR IMMUNIZATIONS & TESTS!
You can either turn in photocopies to the nursing office, or email them to nursing@alvincollege.edu or fax them to 281-756-5606 attention: ADN.
Associate Degree Nursing is part of our Health Career Pathway. Click the box below to see other Health programs that may interest you.
Elizabeth Saucedo, MSN, RN
Director, Nursing Program
Building S, Room 108B
Phone: 281-756-5630
Email: nursing@alvincollege.edu
For further information on available resources, please contact the Department directly.