Central Community College (CCC), in Columbus, Nebraska, teamed with UNMC last week to announce a new education partnership that will allow CCC nursing graduates to complete a bachelor of nursing (BSN) degree through UNMC.
The RN to BSN program is an online advancement program for registered nurses with an associate degree of nursing. Curriculum is presented through distance education, with courses available on-demand, anytime, to best fit the student’s schedule. All courses are offered in 16-week sessions and eight-week sessions.
“The ability of our nursing students to be able to not only stay in the community, but to keep working in our hospitals and nursing homes is so critical,” said CCC President Matt Gotschall, PhD. “We’ve had some successful students transfer to UNMC over years, but it’s very exciting to have something more streamlined. This is a great route that our students can take and continue to work in the central Nebraska region while they are getting a great bachelor’s degree in nursing.”
All clinical requirements may be satisfied in the student’s local community or one nearby. UNMC has relationships with more than 100 health care institutions across Nebraska and in select other states to provide students a convenient, diverse range of clinical learning.
“I am very excited because we see one of our major tasks to help with workforce development across the state,” said UNMC Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Dele Davies, MD. “When we can take a student, who has just completed an associate of nursing degree and bring them into our BSN program, it means that we are adding value and increasing opportunities for future expanded roles and career advancement for the student. We want to add value to the communities we are in.”
Under the agreement, UNMC will recruit and admit students to the program in collaboration with University of Nebraska Online and offer advising and send instructors to CCC for on-site facilitation. Instructors also will connect with students on a daily or weekly basis via remote technology to respond to questions or provide advisement.
“As I look at health care and nursing in the future, one of the things that is most important is partnering with communities to find ways to make nursing education more accessible and streamlined for students,” said UNMC College of Nursing Dean Juliann Sebastian, PhD. “This partnership exemplifies that. We appreciate CCC very much and look forward to working closely with their students, faculty, staff and leaders.”