Education
Paying for HESI
Create your Evolve account
Online course enrollment steps
Computer requirements
Technology: HESI
The VCU School of Nursing is consistently looking for ways to improve its curriculum and the educational experience of the students. After a large amount of research, the Undergraduate Program Committee adopted a testing program designed for NCLEX success for prelicensure nursing students. The HESI system consisting of case studies and course examinations will be implemented in the fall of 2011 across all courses in the undergraduate program. This system provides students with multiple opportunities for practicing the types of questions they will encounter on the nursing licensure exam.
Paying for HESI
This system is an additional expense for students, but a valuable tool in preparing students as much as possible for a positive outcome on their licensure exam. Students enrolling in Traditional BS, Accelerated BS and Accelerated MS Programs will pay approximately $535 for HESI at the beginning of their program or upon acceptance of the admission offer. Current students can access the payment site at http://go.vcu.edu/hesi
Create your Evolve account
To create an Evolve account, go to evolve.elsevier.com and click on Student Site. (If you already have an Evolve student account, you do not have to create another account. You may have created one previously to access other student resources published by Elsevier.) Click on the blue highlighted rectangle in upper left hand corner that says Join Evolve Communities. Follow on-screen directions to sign up and create your account. Be sure to remember your userid and password. You will need it for both course access and HESI testing.
Online course enrollment steps
Please read the following before starting the self enrollment process: You will receive a thin course guide that contains your access code. Each student has their own access code. Your instructor will give you a course id for the HESI Case Study course your cohort is enrolled in. Each entering cohort of students is enrolled in a separate course and will remain in that course throughout the program. For example, if you are an entering sophomore in the traditional BS program, you are in the same course as your fellow sophomores. Accelerated students are in a cohort with the group they came in with during the summer.
Go to evolve.elsevier.com and click on student site. Under Quick Links, click on enroll into a new course. Complete the process by providing a course id, verifying the course information, and entering your access code. If you have an Evolve account, login. If you do not have an account, create one. New users will need to complete requested profile information to proceed. Accept the user agreement. You now have access to your online course. Click the Get Started link to go straight to the course. Otherwise, it will be available to you in your content list after you login to Evolve on the left side of the page. For additional assistance, click the Support link, or call Evolve Support at 1.800.401.9962.
Computer requirements
According to the student computer initiative promoted by the University, students are required to have a computer that has been purchased within the last two years. Additional information on how to configure your computer for HESI testing is provided below.
Windows
- Open Internet Explorer (the preferred browser for HESI testing on a Windows computer is Internet Explorer)
- Go to http://www.hesiinet.com
- Under Compatibility Check for Labs, click the "click here" link which will test your system to see if it is compatible with the HESI testing system. You will get a message to install the Reach browser plug in. Please do so. After installing the browser plug-in, you will receive a congratulations message that your computer is now ready for testing.
**Please note** It is possible for you to successfully complete the "HESI Compatibility Check for Labs" and still have problems taking the exam. This is most likely due to a previous or current virus or malware infection corrupting files on your system.
Mac
- We have tested HESI on Leopard, Snow Leopard and Lion. Please use Safari as the browser on the Mac computer.
- Please use these instructions to configure your Mac for HESI testing.
How to turn off your wireless connection
When taking a proctored HESI examination, you will be using your laptop or a VCU computer. If you are using your own laptop, you must turn off your wireless connection and connect to the network with an ethernet cable. (School of Nursing IT will have ethernet cables students can borrow during testing.) Please see picture to the right.
Many computers have a hardware switch somewhere on the outside of the machine. Flipping the switch toggles wireless on and off. Typically there is a light that indicates that the wireless is "on." Additionally, here is a page that shows how to turn off the wireless on 67 different laptops.
If you just can't find the switch or the button, here is a document that shows how to turn off your wireless connection through your operating system software on a Mac, Windows XP, Windows Vista or Windows 7 laptop.
