Practical Nursing HESI Testing

Notification Effective March 11, 2024:  

Reynolds School of Health Professions is temporarily pausing new admission to the practical nursing certificate program for Fall 2024. We will not be accepting any applications for this coming year. During this period we will be conducting a comprehensive review of the curriculum and faculty staffing needed to ensure student success. Please reach out to SHP@reynolds.edu to explore alternative programs. 

An update will be posted in January 2025 to provide further notifications regarding the program’s status.

HESI Exam Availability for Practical Nursing Applicants Only (temporarily paused for 2024)

Fall 2024 application HESI timelines- The onsite HESI test will be available for purchase starting in January 2024 and the test may be taken between January 16, 2024 - July 22, 2024. Detailed instructions are at the bottom of this page.

Reynolds uses the HESI exam for both Registered Nursing and Practical Nursing admission testing. Students must register online and pay for the correct exam for their program of interest prior to coming to the testing location. Please see detailed instructions further down on this page.

HESI Exam Details and FAQs

HESI will cover the following topics

Students may only take the HESI exam twice in a two year period. There is a fee and payment required for each attempt.

A payment ID will be published for students to use for the 1st time they take the test and a different payment ID for the second time they take the test. Students MUST take the 1^st time tester first, before they can take the 2^nd time tester.

Reynolds is not responsible for any purchases of the wrong exam type

Refund Process: Please send an email to shp@reynolds.edu to request a refund. Please include the Type of credit card used (MC or VISA), Name on the card, phone number, and email used to purchase the HESI. The Nursing Coordinator will complete the form and send to HESI for processing. A confirmation email reply will be sent to notify that the refund request was submitted. It can take 4-6 weeks to process refunds and there is no guarantee of a refund. Refunds CANNOT be processed if the test was purchased over 90 days. Anyone that has started a test session will not be eligible for a refund. Refunds will not be processed for purchasing the wrong test version. Once the refund form has been sent to HESI, please follow up with HESI regarding the processing of the refund.

Students should call Elsevier with questions regarding refunds or credits at 1-800-222-9570

Study Materials:Many study materials are available online from different vendors and students may use whatever study materials they choose; just search "HESI Admission Assessment (A2) Exam" in your internet browser to find resources to assist you.

*HESI Test scores are valid up to two years after the test date

HESI Testing Instructions (PN test ONLY)

Please be sure to read ALL INSTRUCTIONS and follow explicitly. If active, only VCCS Reynolds school email accounts should be used to register and request instructions. Personal email account should only be used in the event your Reynolds email account is not active

Step One (contains 3 parts-A, B, C)

A. Create your Evolve account first. (If you already have an Evolve account, skip to Step #2 or use the forgot username & password reset under the Sign In link)

• Evolve account instructions

B. Login into your Evolve account and follow these steps to add HESI Student Access to your Evolve account:

• Go to the Students Welcome page (Sign In is at the top Right Corner of the screen)
• Click "Register for results and remediation" in the section "HESI Secured Exams" on the bottom right side of the screen.
• Click "Register".
• Click "Checkout/Redeem" to continue.
• The last page shows a confirmation of your request. Click "My Evolve" in the top right corner of the page to go to your courses and resources.
• Click "HESI Assessment Student Access" to access the HESI Assessment center
• After completing these steps you will have added HESI Student Access to your new or existing Evolve Account.

C. Follow these steps to pay for your HESI Admission Assessment (A2) exam

• Log in to your Evolve Account.
• Go to your "My Evolve" and click "HESI Assessment Student Access".
• Click "Payments", place in the Payment ID provided above and click "Search". A payment ID is a unique identifier for your exam and varies by program type and test version
• Fill out the necessary information and review all details before proceeding to "Checkout".
• After successfully processing the payment, your receipt can already be viewed on "Payment History"

Step Two

Print a copy of your receipt for the payment of the test and contact the Reynolds Testing Centers to schedule an appointment to take the exam. Important facts to know:

• The Testing Center staff will schedule appointments on a first come first serve basis.
• Space is limited and you may have to look at multiple dates to confirm a testing appointment.
• Please schedule early so that you have the needed flexibility in peak times.
• Please note that testing will only occur Monday - Thursday at the Downtown or Parham Road Campus.
• HESI test appointments will not be allowed during Midterm or Final exam peak periods of the semester.
• The exam requires a minimum of 4 hours so test appointments must be made between 8:30am and 11:30am. No afternoon appointments will be accepted.

Please go to the Reynolds Testing Centers webpage to see current service hours, phone numbers and email contact information for the Downtown and Parham Road testing center locations.

Step Three

Once you have completed the exam you can view the results from your Evolve account. You will then save a copy of the results to your computer and included them with your program application.