The Kramer School of Nursing recently began a program partnership with Mid-America Christian University.
The program will allow students at Mid-America Christian University to complete degree requirements for the first two years of the nursing program at Kramer, preparing them for application and admission into Kramer as junior nursing students pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree.
David Rose, assistant vice president of enrollment at MACU, said officials, including the presidents of both institutions, have been working on the plans for the partnership for the last five months. OCU President Martha Burger and MACU President John Fozard have signed the agreement, which is now active.
“Quite honestly, it came out of student interest and student demand. There are students with the College of Arts and Sciences as well as the College of Adult and Graduate studies who reach out and express interest in attending Mid-America Christian University, are interested in making a profession in healthcare, and Mid-America has not offered a nursing program,” Rose said. “So, instead of looking at trying to develop a new nursing program when there are already quality BSN programs in the Oklahoma City area, specifically Oklahoma City University, it seems a far better use of serving a student that we would work collaboratively with another institution to help them achieve that desire of working in healthcare, and more specifically, becoming a licensed, registered nurse.”
Rose said the program was fast-tracked over the summer due to the collaborative efforts of the schools. He said the nursing profession is in high-demand, especially due to the requirements of treating cases of COVID-19, so the program will help create more well-qualified nurses by funneling qualified students into the Kramer program and letting them obtain a BSN and proper licensure.
Lois Salmeron, dean of the Kramer School of Nursing, said officials from Kramer provided their course requirements to faculty at MACU, who are now using that information to put interested MACU students into relevant classes.
“They just have to make sure that their science courses and our science courses are equal,” Salmeron said. “We think this to be a wonderful pipeline for us. Because, these students are usually apparently very focused and very good students, and so we’re looking forward to bringing them on in.”
Salmeron said no students from MACU are currently enrolled in the Kramer BSN program, but students can enroll in fall, spring or summer semesters in order to work toward their degree. Four semesters of nursing experience are required.
Some decisions are still being set, Rose said, in order to make the transition process as smooth as possible for students in the program.
Blake Bulger, nursing junior at OCU, said he saw the partnership announced on OCU Instagram and Facebook pages. He said the new program may help nursing students save money.
“I think it really will be beneficial. I know that it’ll probably increase our enrollment in terms of nursing. I think it will allow more people access to nursing education and things like that,” he said. “If you can’t afford OCU for four years, you can only afford it for two years, that’s definitely a much cheaper option, is to go to Mid-America Christian and do your pre-reqs there and then transfer in with the intention of going into this nursing program.”
The Mid-America Christian University website states a traditional undergraduate semester cost at MACU is $8,784. Undergraduate tuition at OCU per semester is $14,074.
Rose said the new program would be efficient for students pursuing a nursing degree.
“When a student transfers from one university to another, it’s not unusual that they would end up losing some credit because it doesn’t fit into the new major as cleanly as they had hoped,” Rose said. “But in this transfer pathway that was jointly developed between MACU and OCU, it really ensures that the student takes advantage and does not lose any credit in transfer because the pathway has been clearly articulated, and they’ll be able to smoothly move into the BSN program without being put on a waitlist, without the loss of credit, without any loss of time in the pursuit of their BSN as they move through this pathway. So, it’s a very efficient model for the student and is very economical in its design.”
Students transferring into the Kramer School of Nursing will be required to meet all admission requirements, but the program will allow those requirements to be met before applying, Rose said. Deadlines to apply for spring semester courses will be in November, so the amount of potential transfers from MACU is not currently known, due to the program’s recent origins and the specific course requirements of the program.
“MACU is very excited to be working with OCU in this manner and thinks that it serves the students at both of our institutions very well, and so the students will be coming out of this program very uniquely academically prepared,” Rose said.
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