Practical Nurse Certificate (LPN)

Your first step toward a nursing career

Start your journey to a successful and fulfilling career as a Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN). Maria College’s Practical Nurse Certificate Program prepares you for a career as an LPN – which may be completed in as little as 16 months*. In this program, you will acquire the knowledge and skills necessary to provide compassionate nursing care in a variety of settings.

Students in this program receive 46 college credits upon completing this course – 30 in Nursing and 16 in Liberal Arts and Sciences. As a result, PNC program graduates may be eligible to transfer these credits for advanced placement in the AAS in Nursing program offered at Maria College, giving you a head start toward a career as an RN.

Maria College LPN graduates who successfully complete the program, pass their licensure and work for six months are able to return to Maria College for the AAS Nursing Program and enter in the Senior Year of the program. Many students will continue to take their auxiliary classes while getting ready to complete the Nursing Program’s Senior Year coursework–potentially saving over $12,000 dollars toward their degree.

*Note: A transcript review will determine if you need required liberal arts and science courses in addition to the nursing classes. This could result in two additional terms of study (weekend options are not available for Liberal Arts courses).

If you are passionate about pursuing a career in Nursing and would like to get your foot in the door, contact our admissions office to schedule a tour of our Albany, NY campus or apply online.

Weekend Schedule

Nursing classes, including off-site clinical experiences, require student participation on the weekends*. Both lecture and lab classes are offered on Saturdays and Sundays, as well as clinical experiences at an off-site clinical facility.

*Note: Some activities such as open lab hours and advising may not be held exclusively on the weekend.

One of New York’s best
Students who complete the required coursework are eligible to sit for the National Council Licensure Examination for Practical Nurses (NCLEX-PN). Maria College PNC graduates consistently surpass the annual mean pass rate for the NCLEX-PN® in New York State. This strong performance has earned Maria a top 10 ranking in New York State from PracticalNursing.org. Maria is also the only LPN program in the Capital Region earning a ranking in the top 5 from NursingProcess.org.

The Practical Nurse Certificate (PNC) is a college credit-bearing program in the Nursing Department that prepares program graduates to sit for the New York State National Council Licensure Examination for Practical Nurses (NCLEX-PN). Please note, that completion of a nursing program does not guarantee a nursing license. Graduates must be granted a license in the individual state in which they wish to practice. If you plan to practice in another state, you should check that state’s licensure requirements.

Accreditation

Maria College’s Practical Nursing Certificate Program is accredited by the New York State Board of Regents, Office of the Professions. At the completion of the program, graduates are eligible to write the National Council Licensure Examination for practical nurse licensure. Maria College has made the following determinations regarding the program meeting specific state licensure or certification requirements:

Meets (state abbreviations)	Does Not Meet	A Determination has not been made
NY		AL,AK, AZ, AR, CO, CT, DC, DE, FL, GA,HI, ID, IL, IN, IA, KS, KY, LA, ME,MD, MA, MI, MN, MS, MO, MT, NE, NV, NH, NJ, NM, NC, ND, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, VT, VA, WA, WV, WI, WY

Student Location

Maria College will determine a student’s location at time of application, during which students provide their home or permanent address. Once a student is aware of a change to their address they must submit the online change of address form available on the College’s website within 45 days of the address change.

End of Program Student Learning Outcomes
After completion of the Practical Nurse Certificate program (LPN training) at Maria College, the graduate will be able to:
- Demonstrate clinical competency by applying principles to meet the basic physical and psychological needs of clients through the lifespan with primary focus on activities of daily living (ADL), caring interventions, technical skills, and safety needs of clients.
- Demonstrate knowledge of data gathering and Nursing Care Concepts of the human system, with consideration of how the environment, cultural and ethnic diversity affect client care in various environments to promote, maintain and manage health.
- Teach basic health promotion/maintenance and self-care to an individual using a designed teaching tool to promote teaching and learning.
- Communicate in a collaborative manner with the client, significant support persons, members of the health care team, and with community resources.
- Incorporate critical thinking into clinical decision making when advocating care for clients, families, significant support persons or groups in a variety of environments.
- Demonstrate professional behavior in an accountable, responsible manner within the legal scope of LPN practice, as a member of the profession of nursing.

Course Sequence

First Term
Course		Credits
BIO 103	Introduction to Human Biology*	4
ENG 111	Composition I	3
		7
Second Term
PSY 100	General Psychology	3
SOC 101	Introduction to Sociology	3
		6
Third Term
PNC 101	Fundamentals of Practical Nursing I	6
PSY 200	Developmental Psychology	3
		9
Fourth Term
PNC 102	Fundamentals of Practical Nursing II	8
		8
Fifth Term
PNC 103	Fundamentals of Practical Nursing III	8
		8
Sixth Term
PNC 104	Fundamentals of Practical Nursing IV	8
		8

* BIO 209 or BIO 210 may be substituted

Year	NCLEX-PN® First-time Pass Rate	Program 150% Completion Rate
2024	89.80%	52.88%
2023	87%	74.29%
2022	83.33%	33.33%
2021	94%	34.29%
2020	100%	44.44%
2019	100%	29.03%
2018	93.75%	60.00%
2017	91.7%	70%