PROGRAM CHANGES

WEBER STATE UNIVERSITY

 

                                   

Submission Date: 9-6-2011
College: Health Professions
Department: Nursing

Program Title: Institutional Certificate- PN Nursing Program           

 PROGRAM DESCRIPTION:

 See Attached

Check all that apply: 

 

____New course(s) required for major, minor, emphasis, or concentration.

____Modified course(s) required for major, minor, emphasis, or concentration.

____Credit hour change(s) required for major, minor, emphasis, or concentration.

____Credit hour change(s) for a course which is required for the major, minor, emphasis, or concentration.

____Attribute change(s) for any course.

____Program name change.

____Deletion of required course(s).

__X__Other changes (specify) Deletion of Program

 

If multiple changes are being proposed, please provide a summary.   Use strikeout (strikeout) when deleting items in the program and highlight (highlight) when adding items.

 

Submit the original to the Faculty Senate Office, MC 1033, and an electronic copy to kbrown4 @weber.edu

 

JUSTIFICATION:

Discontinuance of LPN Program

September 2, 2011

 

Introduction

 

Weber State University - School of Nursing (WSU-SON) is seeking to employ a concentrated effort to address the immediate need to foster and implement the development of new and revised curricula to continue to promote and provide educational development that will address the needs of the community and the rapidly changing health care system. The goal for the educators and learners at WSU-SON has always been to foster the development of curricula that will provide excellent education to the nursing student and, in turn, provide quality health care to the local community and the rural populations of Utah. This proposal will identify an essential issue that WSU-SON is presently experiencing with the composition and distribution of educational opportunities that directly affect the health professions workforce. It is the objective of this proposal to address this concern and suggest a solution that can facilitate an infrastructure in the SON curriculum that will support and follow the guidelines of safe patient care skills and competencies to meet the diverse requirements in this unique educational system.

 

Needs Assessment

 

The most immediate need for WSU-SON is defined below with the suggested strategies for implementing solutions to follow. This needs assessment will address:

 

1.      Maintaining the ladder system within the SON with the Associate of Science in Nursing (ASN), the Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN), and the Masters of Science in Nursing (MSN) programs.

 

Desired Changes to the Present Ladder System

 

WSU-SON administrators and educators have determined it is imperative to maintain the ladder system. This system provides an extremely important product to the community.  Nurses at all levels of education and skill sets are graduated and highly sought after to fulfill a diverse number of healthcare roles.  The complexity of nursing education, the need to respond to a continuously changing health care environment, and the need to ensure safe and effective patient care (Institute of Medicine of the Academies, 2010) are considerations in making the following suggestions:

 

·         Discontinue the LPN Program on the WSU-SON campus without decreasing student numbers to ASN program.

·         Align with the local Applied Technology Colleges (ATC’s) to accept and advance the LPN’s from their programs through WSU-SON Registered Nurse (RN) Completion.

 

Advantages with this Change:

 

o   Student numbers at WSU-SON will not decrease due to this change. 

o   The interest for the university student to withdraw from education at the LPN level has greatly diminished over the past few years (Institute of Medicine of the Academies, 2010).

o   The application process for the LPN student was eliminated several years ago. The LPN student is now selected from the point system used to select the ASN student. A total of 100 students have been accepted in the Fall Semester and the point system, presently in place for admission to the SON, admits the students who rate placements of 90 to 100, into the LPN program. The National League of Nursing Accreditation Committee (NLNAC) questions this process as application to an LPN program. The present SON administration agrees with the NLNAC.

o   The WSU-SON LPN program educates only 10 students per year (See exhibit 1). With the elimination of the LPN program these 10 students will be admitted as ASN students. This confirms there will be no decrease in numbers.

o   All ASN students will still be able to take and pass the LPN exam after their first year of education. The State Board of Nursing presently accepts a letter of completion from WSU for all ASN students to take the LPN exam after year one.

o   WSU-SON will align with the Applied Technology Colleges (ATC) in the surrounding community to incorporate RN completion programs on ATC campuses.

o   This alignment will increase WSU-SON student numbers. The recent, 2011 alignment with OWATC has resulted in an additional cohort of 40 students. Future plans to align with Mountainland Applied Technology and Bridgerland Applied Technology will again increase enrollment numbers for the RN Completion Program.

o   These cooperative educational opportunities will help decrease the immediate concerns with classroom space, clinical lab space, and clinical rotation spots for WSU-SON and will place this (time and space) responsibility with the ATC’s.

o   Prior to admission to the WSU-SON ASN program ATC students will still be required to fulfill all of WSU-SON pre-admission requirements and credits.  This will help to increase student numbers to the support classes on the WSU campus that are required prior to admission into the SON.

 

Disadvantages with this Change:

 

o   The WSU-SON ASN student can apply to the State Board of Nursing to sit for the LPN NCLEX after the first year of the ASN program. On passing the exam the student will be licensed as an LPN but will not have graduated from an accredited LPN program. Discussion with local hospital administrators indicate this is not a factor that will detour this students hire while in the process of continuing their education.

 

                                                                INFORMATION PAGE

 

Attach a copy of the present program from the current catalog and a revised version (exactly as you wish it to appear in the catalog).  See Attached

 

 

Did this program change receive unanimous approval within the Department? __Yes__   If not, what are the major concerns raised by the opponents?

 

 

Explain any effects this program change will have on program requirements or enrollments in other departments including the Bachelor of Integrated Studies Program.  In the case of similar offerings or affected programs, you should include letters from the departments in question stating their support or opposition to the proposed program.

Deletion of this program will not have an impact on other campus departments

 

Indicate the number of credit hours for course work within the program.  (Do not include credit hours for General Education, SI, Diversity, or other courses unless those courses fulfill requirements within the proposed program.)            

N/A

Indicate the number of credit hours for course work within the current program. (Do not include credit hours for General Education, SI, Diversity, or other courses unless those courses fulfill requirements within the current program.) N/A

 

 

 

                                                                     APPROVAL PAGE

 

 

for:           Institutional Certificate – PN Nursing                                                        

                                                                                               

 

 

Approval Sequence:

 

 

_______________________________________                 

Department Chair/Date            (& BIS Director if applicable) 

 

 

_______________________________________                                         

College Curriculum Committee/Date              

 

 

_______________________________________                                         

Program Director or ATE Director (if applicable)/Date           

 

 

_______________________________________                                         

Dean of College/Date 

 

Courses required in programs leading to secondary undergraduate teacher certification must be approved by the University Council on Teacher Education  before being submitted to the Curriculum Committee.                                                                                                                                                                                             _______________________________________                              University Council on Teacher Education/Date

 

Master’s program changes must be reviewed by the University Graduate Council before being submitted to the Curriculum Committee.    I have read the proposal and discussed it with the program director.   __________________________________________ University Graduate Council  Representative/Date

 

                                               

_______________________________________

 

University Curriculum Committee/Date                                                                      

 

Passed by Faculty Senate __________________Date