UA, Shelton Form Nursing Partnership

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The University of Alabama and Shelton State Community College are forming a partnership to provide a more convenient way for registered nurses to earn advanced degrees in nursing.

Shelton State Community College President Rick Rogers and UA President Andrew Sorensen will sign a formal agreement outlining the arrangement in a 2 p.m. ceremony on Wednesday, Aug. 22, in the presidential suite on the Shelton State campus.

“Quality health care is so very vital to a community’s progress, and nurses play a tremendous role in ensuring that care is professional and compassionate,” said Sorensen. “We’re pleased this collaborative effort will give nurses increased flexibility in earning advanced degrees.”

“This partnership is another wonderful example of educational institutions working together and using their resources for the benefit of our community. We are thrilled to once again work with The University of Alabama to better serve our students,” said Rogers.

Dr. Jeanette VanderMeer, assistant professor in the UA Capstone College of Nursing and coordinator of the Educational Opportunities for Registered Nurses curriculum track, said the arrangement’s strengths include its flexibility and improved communication.

“Everyone can’t attend classes during typical times – Monday through Friday, between eight and five,” VanderMeer said. The severe national nursing shortage can make it particularly challenging for nurses to arrange times away from their employment to attend class. “They need them out there working,” VanderMeer said.

Through the use of the Internet, e-mail and UA’s video-based program, QUEST, nurses can complete the nursing courses in one year, without facing the restrictions of being in class on a specific time and day. Instead, nursing students have the flexibility of choosing the best time for them to go on-line and attend class or watch a videotape of class.

Required clinical activities are designed on an individual basis and efforts are made to arrange times and locations convenient to students.

“The Shelton State nursing program has always educated quality registered nurses,” said Gladys Hill, director of nursing at Shelton State Community College. “This partnership with the Capstone College of Nursing will enable our students to continue to build their nursing careers. The nursing faculty at Shelton State is excited about this partnership and will continue to work hard to meet the needs of the students in West Alabama. Through this cooperative partnership with the Capstone College of Nursing, we believe our program can accomplish this goal.”

Prior to beginning the upper division aspect of the curriculum, students complete UA core curriculum requirements, all but two of which can be taken at Shelton. The RN student who has an associate degree will have already completed the majority of these lower division courses. The two core nursing courses not available at Shelton are also offered at UA via distance education, so students have the option of earning their entire degree without ever setting foot on campus.

“We want them to get the identical program they would have gotten if they had come to campus,” VanderMeer said.

UA has similar arrangements with the University of West Alabama, in Livingston; Bevill Community College, in Fayette and Jasper; and Alabama Southern Community College, in Monroeville. Plans call for finalizing an agreement with Wallace Community College in Dothan next month.

One emphasis of the partnership is reaching nurses living in rural areas, said VanderMeer, who, herself, grew up in rural Greene County. Some nurses who earned their associate degree in their hometown community colleges may feel a bit intimidated by a large university, she said. The coordination with the community colleges can help ease the transition and enables potential students to get their questions answered in a familiar environment. “This arrangement bridges the gap between us and the community colleges,” she said.

VanderMeer said she wants interested students who complete the program to participate in non-classroom activities as frequently and fully as they would like. “We want them to come to sporting events, Honors Day and commencement.”

Earning a bachelor’s degree in nursing can provide additional opportunities for registered nurses, VanderMeer said. “It opens doors,” she said. “They may have plans of obtaining leadership management positions.” After earning a bachelor’s degree, a nurse would then also have opportunity to seek a master’s or doctorate degree. For more information, contact the UA Office of Nursing Student Services at 205/348-6639 or 1-800/313-3591 or the nursing department at Shelton State at 205/391-2271.