College to Launch Online Bacherlor’s Program
Subscriber Benefit
As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowSaint Mary-of-the-Woods College near Terre Haute plans to launch a program allowing people with an associate's degree and nursing license to complete a bachelor's degree. The online program, which begins next month, is designed to prepare students for leadership positions.
December 26, 2013
News Release
Saint Mary of the Woods, Ind. — For Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College, a new year will mean a new major program. When students enroll in Woods Online to begin in January 2014, an online option will be available – RN to BSN degree completion program. This program seeks to help women and men who hold an associate's degree and nursing license complete a bachelor's degree.
Leadership and advancement opportunities often require BSN degrees. Nationally, several states are preparing an initiative that will require associate degree RNs to obtain their BSN. SMWC’s online program affords nurses the flexibility to further their education while maintaining their current job responsibilities.
Specifically, the RN to BSN program at SMWC will prepare students to lead people or projects in the health care field by encouraging them to explore leadership and management theories and principles and their application to the nursing practice in the provision of health care.
The Woods continues to build upon its reputation of offering distinctive health-related programs to prepare students for careers in high demand. A health care administration major was added in Fall 2013. Additionally, its art therapy, music therapy and equine assisted therapy programs, used within a therapeutic relationship, provide avenues for communication to those who find it difficult to express themselves in words.
“SMWC is poised to enter this market with distinction and experience in distance education to offer a completion program that can be completed online and with nursing practice experiences in their current work setting,” said Janet Clark, Ph.D., vice president for academic affairs at SMWC.
Students will enter the program with an associate degree, a nursing license and a minimum 2.75 GPA. Through the RN to BSN completion program, graduates will enhance their knowledge, skills, and abilities; and ultimately it will have a positive impact in their current nursing setting. The major is designed to complement the student who is a registered nurse. SMWC's program incorporates management and leadership courses along with upper level psychology and nursing courses and experiences.
The courses are designed to be fully online and do not require any residency periods. A capstone practicum will involve clinical hours that will be set up at the student’s current employment setting or a setting of their choice.
Students will help them develop critical thinking skills, hone writing skills, and gain leadership, teamwork and management skills, which will lead to improved problem solving and critical reasoning. All these aspects will be beneficial in preparation for unlimited career opportunities in nursing.
Deadline for January 2014 enrollment in the RN to BSN completion program is Jan. 10, 2014. For more information about Woods Online, visit www.smwc.edu/online.
Source: Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College