The new offerings, expected to begin in Fall 2012, will involve distance education coursework at CSUSB as well as clinical placements locally. CSUSB will reserve five to eight slots in the distance program for North Coast students, which exceeds current demand.
HSU will help facilitate outreach with area health care providers, and will also offer prerequisite courses as needed. Local health care providers will be asked to participate by providing tuition and other educational support to their employees, in addition to the clinical placements.
The “bridge program” is designed primarily for working nurses and others who already hold a two-year nursing degree (RN). It allows them to upgrade their skills and become eligible for new job opportunities by completing the RN-to-BSN degree.
In addition, the program offers those with a BSN a master’s degree in nursing. This will represent a significant expansion of nursing education opportunities on the North Coast.
“We’re so pleased that CSUSB will be offering their RN-to-BSN and RN-to-MSN programs on the North Coast,” said John Y. Lee, Dean of HSU’s College of Professional Studies. “This will truly serve the needs of our local health care and the larger community, and we’re committed to doing our part to make it a success.”
“We are pleased to make available our online Nursing programs to the North Coast health care employers to meet the area’s demand for advancing their education and professional goals,” said Dwight Sweeney, Chair of CSUSB’s Nursing Department.
Humboldt State University announced last spring that it was discontinuing its nursing program due to substantial challenges including high-cost and difficulty attracting faculty. At the time, University officials pledged to work with health care providers to determine their needs, and to seek a partnership like the one now established with CSUSB.
HSU is currently not accepting new students into its nursing program. Students already in the program are being offered the opportunity to complete it, and the program itself is expected to be completely phased out by the end of 2012.
For more information about the CSUSB nursing program, visit http://nursing.csusb.edu.