Checked 15 Nov 2026 by the team. Sources are listed at the end of the page.
Wisconsin nursing prerequisites are set by each programme, not by the state. Under Wis. Stat. 441.01(4) the Board of Nursing keeps a list of approved schools; it does not rule on where you took Anatomy and Physiology. Technical college programmes usually ask for two A&P courses, Microbiology, English, Psychology and an entrance test. Ask your programme in writing before you take any course online.
Under Wis. Stat. 441.01(4) the Wisconsin Board of Nursing places qualifying schools on its approved list, and each programme sets its own prerequisites, such as the 7 general education courses with a C or better and HESI A2 scores of 75 that Chippewa Valley Technical College lists for its LPN advanced placement route.
The rule asks for Programme-set: typically General and Advanced A&P, Microbiology, English Composition, Psychology and Developmental Psychology, with a C or better; HESI A2 75 at CVTC. The legal source is Wis. Stat. 441.01(4).
| Requirement | What the rule says | Source |
|---|---|---|
| School approval | The Board of Nursing keeps a list of approved schools | [1] |
| Who sets prerequisites | Each programme, in its own admission requirements | [2] |
| CVTC example: courses | 7 general education courses, each with a C or better | [2] |
| CVTC example: entrance test | HESI A2 scores of 75 or higher in A&P, Math and English | [2] |
| WTCS cost | $157.45 per credit, resident, 2026-27 | [3] |
Wisconsin Board of Nursing (Department of Safety and Professional Services) approves schools under Wis. Stat. 441.01(4); each nursing programme in the Wisconsin Technical College System and UW System sets its own prerequisites decides how this rule applies to you. We read its published rule and the pages below; each was checked on 15 Nov 2026.
Each nursing programme sets its own prerequisite list, its own time limits for science courses and its own rule on which credits it takes. Read the programme's published list first and ask its admissions office in writing before you enrol in any course.
UPI Study does not yet offer Microbiology with lab, Nutrition or Lifespan Development. Our courses carry no clinical hours, and they do not clear a deficiency for a board of nursing.
Each course below is ACE-recommended or NCCRS-recommended for college credit. Whether it counts here is the decision of the college and of Wisconsin Board of Nursing (Department of Safety and Professional Services) approves schools under Wis. Stat. 441.01(4); each nursing programme in the Wisconsin Technical College System and UW System sets its own prerequisites.
Matches the General A&P slot most Wisconsin programmes list; ask whether an online version with a separate lab is acceptable.
Self-paced online Anatomy and Physiology I course (Biology 211). NCCRS recommends 3 semester credits; each college decides how it applies them.
See the course →
The lab for A&P I; some programmes refuse online labs, so ask first.
Self-paced online Anatomy and Physiology I Lab course (Biology 211L). NCCRS recommends 2 semester credits; each college decides how it applies them.
See the course →
Matches the Advanced A&P slot, usually required with its lab.
Self-paced online Anatomy and Physiology 2 course (Biology 212). NCCRS recommends 3 semester credits; each college decides how it applies them.
See the course →
The lab for A&P 2.
Self-paced online Anatomy and Physiology 2 Lab course (Biology 212L). NCCRS recommends 2 semester credits; each college decides how it applies them.
See the course →
Psychology appears on most Wisconsin nursing plans.
Self-paced online Introduction to Psychology course (Psychology 110). ACE and NCCRS recommend 3 semester credits; each college decides how it applies them.
See the course →
English Composition 1 is on most Wisconsin nursing plans, often with a C or better.
Self-paced online English Composition 1 course (ENG 101). NCCRS recommends 3 semester credits; each college decides how it applies them.
See the course →TESU and UoPeople are partner colleges that consider ACE-recommended or NCCRS-recommended credit; see their own transfer pages. Your nursing programme still decides what it counts toward admission.
ACE and NCCRS have over 2,100 cooperating colleges that will consider accepting credits; the final decision is with the universities.
| Option | Price | For this rule | Price checked |
|---|---|---|---|
| UPI Study PRO | $99 a month, every course | $99 for each month you are subscribed; take as many courses as you finish in that time | 15 Nov 2026 |
| Wisconsin Technical College System, resident | $157.45 per credit plus material and other fees (2026-27) | About $630 for a 4-credit A&P course, before fees | 15 Nov 2026 |
| Sophia Learning | $99 a month | General education such as Psychology or Statistics, self-paced | 15 Nov 2026 |
| StraighterLine | $99 a month plus a one-time course fee (for example $79) | One course at a time; lab kits not included | 15 Nov 2026 |
A technical college course sits on that college's own transcript, which some programmes require for sciences. Lower-cost online options only save money if your programme confirms in writing that it will count the credit.
UPI Study is not a college and is not accredited. ACE and NCCRS review our courses and recommend credit; a college decides whether to give that credit and records it on its own transcript.
Ask your nursing programme in writing whether it will count each course and its online lab before you enrol.
Chippewa Valley Technical College publishes its admission requirements for LPNs entering the third semester of its associate degree nursing programme. Applicants need a current Wisconsin or Minnesota LPN licence and transcripts showing a C or better in General Anatomy and Physiology, Advanced Anatomy and Physiology, Microbiology, Developmental Psychology, English Composition 1, a speech or communication course, and Introduction to Psychology or Psychology of Human Relations.
They also need HESI A2 scores of 75 or higher in Anatomy and Physiology, Math and English, or completion of a set of preparatory courses instead. The page recommends taking the HESI A2 after General Anatomy and Physiology. Other Wisconsin programmes, at technical colleges and UW campuses, publish their own lists, and they differ, so use the list from the programme you will apply to.
The Board of Nursing's role under Wis. Stat. 441.01(4) is to approve schools and keep the list. It does not tell a programme where your A&P lab must come from. That is why answers vary: one programme may consider an online lab recorded via a college transcript, another may want every science from a regionally accredited college with an in-person lab.
UPI Study's Anatomy and Physiology courses carry an NCCRS recommendation of 3 credits for each lecture and 2 credits for each lab. Before you enrol, ask the programme whether it considers NCCRS-recommended science credit at all, and whether it counts a lab completed online. Wisconsin technical colleges number A&P as 806-177 and 806-179, so ask whether your course would be counted as equal to those.
Nurses moving from an ADN to a BSN at a UW campus or private college usually need general education and electives on top of their nursing credit: statistics, composition, social science and humanities. These are the courses where ACE-recommended and NCCRS-recommended credit is most often considered. Ask the BSN programme which of its general education slots can be filled by credit recorded via a college transcript from another college.
Each programme sets its own. Wisconsin technical colleges usually ask for General and Advanced Anatomy and Physiology, Microbiology, English Composition and Psychology, often with Developmental Psychology and an entrance test. Chippewa Valley Technical College, for example, wants a C or better in each and HESI A2 scores of 75.
No. Under Wis. Stat. 441.01(4) the board approves schools and keeps the approved list. Each programme then decides its own admission rules, including whether it counts online science courses or ACE-recommended and NCCRS-recommended credit.
Some programmes consider online A&P and some do not, especially for the lab. Email the programme with the course name, the credit recommendation and the fact that the credit comes via a college transcript, and ask whether it would count. Enrol only after a written yes.
It depends on the programme. Chippewa Valley Technical College's LPN admission page does not state a limit, but many programmes elsewhere use 5 to 7 years for A&P and Microbiology. Ask your programme for its own rule before you plan retakes.
It depends on the programme. Chippewa Valley Technical College asks for 75 or higher in each of Anatomy and Physiology, Math and English for its LPN route, and suggests taking the test after General A&P. Check the minimums for the programme you will apply to.
The WTCS resident program fee for 2026-27 is $157.45 per credit for associate degree courses, plus material and other fees. A 4-credit A&P course is about $630 before fees, books and lab costs.
Take only the courses your programme confirms in writing.