Colorado Nursing Articulation Model: History
When
The Colorado Nursing Articulation Model was designed in 1990, distributed in 1991 and implemented in all nursing programs in state.
What is Articulation?
Articulation is a process through which nursing programs cooperate to facilitate educational progress of students with minimum repetition.
Why
This is the first voluntary statewide model for articulation of nursing education in Colorado. Through it, all thirty public and private nursing programs in the state are enabling nurses to advance their education more efficiently and without testing.
Evaluation
CCNE is responsible for overseeing the implementation and ongoing model evaluation.
Who
Under the model, initiated by the Colorado Council on Nursing Education (CCNE), nurses educated in Colorado are able to progress in the following ways:
- Licensed practical nurse to the registered nurse, associate degree, and
- Associate degree or diploma registered nurse to the baccalaureate nurse level.
This advancement can now be accomplished for many nurses without testing in nursing content areas. Historically, testing has been required to validate prior learning. The Colorado Model is necessary because students who graduate from associate degree programs earn nursing credits at a lower division (100-200 level courses): the baccalaureate nursing programs in Colorado offer most course work at the upper division (300-400 level courses). Educators do not assume that lower-division course work is comparable to upper-division work and have commonly used challenge testing to verify that specified learning has occurred. Such testing is expensive and time -consuming and had the effect of discouraging many nurses from seeking advanced educational degrees.
Articulation without testing is made possible for two reasons:
- The first is that faculty members from all nursing programs in the state validated the content of all curricula.
- The second is that individual validation of prior nursing knowledge occurs by placing nursing credits in escrow at the higher level institution until the nurse successfully completes one semester of full-time nursing course work at the receiving institution.
Nurses articulating from either the practical nurse to associate degree level or the diploma/associate degree to the baccalaureate level receives approximately one year of nursing credit for previous nursing course work.
All articulating students must meet program admission requirements and non-nursing course requirements.
If a practical or registered nurse graduated more than three years previously, work experience or an approved refresher course is required. Licensed practical nurses and registered nurses have a 10 year time limit from graduation to articulation without testing. Nurses now residing in Colorado, who were educated in an NLN accredited program in another state can also articulate without testing.