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Continued from Page 2
When Tina DeLapp, Ed.D., RN, director of the University
of Alaska Anchorage School of Nursing, proposed doubling
the baccalaureate program's enrollment in 1997, the
state Legislature approved additional funds-with a catch:
Facilities would have to agree to foot half the bill.
"If we were going to increase enrollment to meet
the needs of industry, then industry should help us
do that," DeLapp said. "The hospitals were
spending a small fortune on hiring and training traveling
nurses. They thought of it as a win-win to direct money
in state to people who are committed to living in state."
At first, hospitals offered to provide scholarship
money for students. "It won't do any good,"
DeLapp said she told administrators. "It won't
let me buy the faculty I need to teach students."
So they agreed to let DeLapp put money toward faculty.
Now, with $1.6 million in partnership funds annually
from the university and eight hospitals, DeLapp has
40 faculty, up from 22 in 1997. She also has 120 students
in the program, up from 64 six years ago.
The next step is to develop a nurse educator track
in the master's program "so we can grow our own
faculty," DeLapp said.
DeLapp conceded that getting funding may be easier
for her because the university's school of nursing is
the only publicly funded nursing education program in
the state. "We're the only game in town,"
she said. "But it's a never-ending job to get money.
"It took me a long while to learn that if I don't
ask for money, then I'm not going to get any,"
she added. "It's well worth developing ideas of
how I would use a specific pot of money, then ask[ing]
for it. Because sometimes you get it. And the Legislature
is impressed by industry matching money."
Contact Janet Wells at janetawells@hotmail.com
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Growth Spurt
Nearly every state in the nation
is grappling with record budget shortfalls, which
have meant significant cuts for many nursing programs.
However, according to the American Association
of Colleges of Nursing, which recently released
its "23rd Annual Survey of Institutions with
Baccalaureate and Higher Degree Nursing Programs,"
enrollment in nursing programs has increased by
16.6 percent since last year. The AACN has identified
nursing schools that-through partnerships and
other innovative solutions-have managed to expand
both their pools of faculty and students.
Drexel University in Philadelphia enrolled
a record number of students in its accelerated
career-entry BSN program this fall and saw its
full-time undergraduate nursing student population
grow to about 400 students. And 170 of them are
enrolled in the university's BSN co-op program,
in which half the students take clinical and didactic
courses while the other half engage in cooperative
work experience. The College of Nursing and Health
Professions has also added 15 new faculty members
by establishing both tenured and nontenured enrollment
tracks and by creating an adjunct faculty clinical
manager position to screen, hire and monitor adjunct
faculty instructors.
Boise State University has expanded capacity
with financial assistance from community health
care facilities, as well as through marketing
efforts aimed at students and faculty. The university
also is scheduling its courses at various times
and making them available through educational
media.
The Hampton University School of Nursing
in Virginia has increased its enrollment by 25
percent by involving all faculty, staff members
and students in recruitment activities. The school
also has received grants from the U.S. Department
of Health and Human Services.
The Regis University Department of Nursing
in Colorado filled both its accelerated and traditional
BSN programs after university administrators added
five new faculty positions and funded new lab
space. The department also has added a second
admissions date to its accelerated baccalaureate
program and formed partnerships with HealthONE
and the University of Colorado Hospital. Through
the partnerships, the department has offered on-site
BSN programs for HealthONE and hospital employees.
The University of San Francisco School of
Nursing has hired graduate teaching assistants
and learning resource center personnel as a result
of a partnership with Kaiser Permanente, California
Division.
Adelphi University School of Nursing in
New York has decided to extend its faculty pool
by collaborating with one of the hospitals at
which the school has a clinical site.
The University of Connecticut School of Nursing
experienced enrollment growth this year due to
a statewide marketing initiative, a strong articulation
agreement with Three Rivers Community College
and a partnership with Eastern Connecticut Health
Network, which provides enhanced clinical study
for nursing students. To add faculty, the school
has created the Endowment for Excellence in Nursing
to provide support for doctoral students. Academic
leaders also are developing a partnership with
the University of Hartford to support nurses who
are moving into doctoral programs.
-Rebecca Ray
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