Wisconsin nurses and Kent State's online RN-to-BSN
Kent State's approved-states page names Wisconsin only once, on the RN-to-BSN list, and even that approval is decided case by case. Every MSN concentration and certificate, and the post-master's DNP, leave Wisconsin off. Wisconsin's Board of Nursing, for its part, wants its own approval on file for schools based elsewhere, bachelor's completion programs for licensed nurses included.
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Wisconsin on Kent State's pages
Read September 24, 2026, the approved-states page gives Wisconsin an RN-to-BSN entry with a qualifier no other state carries: case by case. The licensure disclosure, a separate question from enrollment, lists every APRN program as MEETS for Wisconsin.
| Program | Online enrollment from Wisconsin | Licensure disclosure |
|---|---|---|
| RN-to-BSN | Approved, case by case | No row (no new license) |
| PMHNP, WHNP, AGCNS (MSN and certificates) | Not listed | MEETS |
| Nurse Educator, NAHSL, post-MSN DNP | Not listed | No row |
| FNP, AGPCNP, AGACNP | Not on the page (Kent Campus attendance) | MEETS |
Kent State's APRN program pages have not caught up with that table; they still say licensure outside Ohio is undetermined, so confirm a MEETS entry with Kent State before enrolling. Wisconsin residents drawn to the mostly online NP concentrations will find no published answer and should ask the Office of Student Services. Every state's lists are on approved states.
What case by case means for your application
Kent State publishes no criteria for deciding a Wisconsin case. Before you apply, write to the Office of Student Services, describe where you live and the kind of clinical setting you have in mind, and keep the reply with your admission records.
RN-to-BSN admission calls for an unrestricted, active RN license from the state where your practica happen, and for a Wisconsin resident that is Wisconsin. Multistate licensing arrived in Wisconsin on January 19, 2018, letting a Wisconsin-issued multistate license travel to Ohio and other compact members. Wisconsin has not adopted the APRN Compact. Kent State's proof timing rules are on RN license for practicum.
The clinical side of the online RN-to-BSN
The degree runs fully online with no campus visits. Its clinical piece lives in NURS 43001 Health Promotion, scheduled with three clinical-lab contact hours a week, and the program closes with the NURS 47099 capstone, a scholarly nursing project. Kent State publishes neither who arranges the RN-to-BSN setting nor a total hour count, so your course instructor is the person to ask about both.
A background check or immunization form comes up only when a site requests one; you carry your own health insurance and follow the agency's uniform rules. Classes open every six weeks, with Fall II 2026 starting November 11 and Spring I 2027 on January 19. The full program is on Kent State RN-to-BSN.
Wisconsin Board approval, post-licensure included
Out-of-state schools of nursing seeking Wisconsin approval use Form 3067-OEE from the Department of Safety and Professional Services. The April 2026 revision cites section N 1.06 of the nursing code and says the Board must approve such a school. Coverage runs from practical nursing through graduate study, and bachelor's completion degrees for nurses who already hold a license are named outright. To keep approval, a school files the self-evaluation known as Form 3069OEE.
Faculty and preceptors for clinicals inside the state need either Wisconsin licensure or a compact privilege to practice. These filings belong to Kent State, and SARA, which Kent State joined in 2015, leaves them in place; clinicals outside Ohio explains why.
A new APRN law, the big systems, and our help
Wisconsin's APRN law, Act 17 of 2025, has been in force since September 1, 2026. Under it the state issues APRN licenses for nurse practitioners, CRNAs, clinical nurse specialists and nurse-midwives, has converted APNP licenses to APRN, and grants practice without a collaborating physician only on a separate application approved by the Board. AANP's rating is reduced practice. Milwaukee-Waukesha holds about 1.6 million people, ahead of Madison, Green Bay and Appleton, and its large systems are UW Health, Froedtert ThedaCare Health, Aspirus Health, Advocate's Aurora Health Care and Ascension Wisconsin, named as a map rather than as Kent State sites.
Wisconsin RN-to-BSN students choose us because we take the setting search off a working nurse's plate. For NURS 43001 we locate a nearby Health Promotion setting, check the site's onboarding needs early, and give your instructor a complete picture. Graduate students who relocate here with Kent State's approval get the same in-person search for preceptors licensed in Wisconsin. Start with the form below.
Questions Kent State students ask
Are the WHNP and PMHNP open to Wisconsin residents?
Not under the current lists. Illinois is on both and Minnesota on the WHNP list, but Wisconsin appears on neither, and it is also missing from the AGCNS, Nurse Educator, NAHSL and DNP lists. The licensure page's MEETS entries speak to licensing after graduation, not to enrollment.
Does Wisconsin's APRN Modernization Act matter to a Kent State student?
It changes the credentials your future preceptors hold: Wisconsin nurse practitioners are now licensed as APRNs instead of APNPs, and some may win Board approval to practice without a collaborating physician. For an RN-to-BSN student it leaves the clinical course unchanged, and Kent State's graduate programs remain unlisted for Wisconsin.
Will I need a background check for RN-to-BSN clinical work in Wisconsin?
Only if your site asks. In the RN-to-BSN handbook, background checks and the immunization form are triggered by a site's request, so the agency's onboarding decides. Expect its uniform policy and any training it requires either way, and keep your own health insurance current.
What if I move to Wisconsin during a Kent State MSN?
Contact the Office of Student Services first; the handbook and the approved-states page both say a move must be reported at once. Wisconsin is on no graduate list, and its Board requires approval of out-of-state graduate programs, so get Kent State's answer on continuing before you sign a lease or line up preceptors.
Related pages
Last checked 2026-09-24
We check these pages against Kent State's own catalog, handbooks and program pages. Your MSN or DNP handbook, your syllabus, your practicum faculty and your concentration coordinator have the final word.
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