Begin your nursing career at Harper

Begin your career in nursing at Harper with the CNA Certificate program. The program consists of one 6-hour class: Nursing Assistant Training (CNA 101). This class will prepare you for employment as a certified nurse assistant (also known as a C.N.A. or nurse's aide).

The class is offered through day, evening and weekend options and takes one semester to complete (13 weeks). As part of the class, you will complete a 40-hour supervised clinical experience.

Upon completion of the Nursing Assistant Training class, you will be eligible to sit for the Illinois Department of Public Health Nurse Aide Competency examinations.

Convenient locations

You can complete the program at Harper's main campus in Palatine, or at the Learning & Career Center (LCC).

The LCC is located in Prospect Heights, Illinois, and is convenient to Mt. Prospect, Arlington Heights, Wheeling, and Northbrook. The LCC offers the convenience of on-site libraries, free Wi-Fi and access to other Harper College resources.

Build your career

When looking at different nursing programs, it's important to remember that not all nursing training programs offer credit that can be applied to a degree.

At Harper, the CNA, LPN and RN programs were all designed to provide you the training to start your career now, while giving you the option to build on your education later.

After completing Harper's CNA program, you can apply the 6-credit-hours to the Practical Nursing (LPN) Certificate or the Registered Nursing (RN) AAS Degree programs.

Harper advantages

Harper is an established, accredited college serving the community for more than 50 years.
Harper is affordable (see our tuition rates). Harper also offers financial assistance.
Harper students have access to a wide variety of resources, including job assistance, libraries, computer labs, and more.
Students at participating high schools may be eligible for dual-credit programs.

To apply to the Certified Nursing Assistant program at Harper College, please follow these steps:

Attend the Health Care Careers Information Meeting or the Online CNA Info Session
Review program and policy information
Apply to Harper if you have not previously done so
Attend mandatory Orientation Session (see CNA Admissions)

Please note: Information provided on this page is subject to change.