Tusculum enrolling students for new psychology program, moving ahead in adding nursing program

Tusculum College continues to add new programs to meet the needs of its students and the surrounding community.

 

Students are being enrolled in a new psychology degree with a concentration in behavioral health in the Graduate and Professional Studies program for working adults, and the College is moving ahead in the process of adding a new degree program in nursing.

 

New psychology program

The new program is designed to address the needs of the region’s adult learner, as well as those of the region’s employers. The program, which will be offered during evenings and an occasional weekend, will offer students the opportunity to earn a bachelor’s degree in psychology with a behavioral health focus.

“Most students choose to major in psychology because they want to be involved in directly helping others. This program is designed to give them the background and skills to do just that,” explained Dr. Jennifer Harper, assistant professor of psychology at Tusculum.

According to Harper, the unique behavioral health focus will enable adults to acquire the practical skill-set required in human services work.

Dr. Bill Garris, assistant professor of psychology, added, “Students will learn about and practice diagnosis and case management, work through issues of professional ethics, address substance abuse and role play with basic counseling techniques,” she said. “It will be a very practical education designed to meet needs of area providers and won’t bog students down with multiple courses in research.”

Classes will be scheduled conveniently in the evening, and students will take just one course at a time. Additionally, students will learn from faculty who have been both educated at the nation’s leading universities and have real-world counseling experience.

“We are excited to be able to offer this curriculum to East Tennessee,” said Dr. Brian Pope, professor of psychology and chair of the psychology department.

“A program in behavioral health, with this level of rigor, a schedule that is convenient for working adults and a civic arts curriculum designed to help adults be agents of change in their communities is unique to this region,” said Pope.

According to Pope, the new psychology program will work well for the adult who is involved in, or would like to transition into, human services work. Human services is a broad category of support professionals who work with youth in afterschool programs, adults with disabilities, adult daycares and group homes, the judicial system and serve as case managers for the department of social services and our local mental health providers.

According to the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics, the demand for human service workers is expected to increase 23 percent between 2008 and 2018, which is greater than the average growth for all occupations. This growth will occur because of the aging population, but there will also be increasing needs for mental health treatment and drug abuse prevention and treatment. Demand will be greater in rural areas, such as regions in East Tennessee.

Students will progress through the curriculum as a cohort, with the first Knoxville group already underway. The Morristown cohort is currently enrolling. The group will meet on Mondays beginning November 7.

The same curriculum will be offered in Greeneville beginning in January with an additional group beginning in the Tri-Cities region in April.

Anyone interested in earning their Bachelor of Arts in psychology with a behavioral health concentration should contact Graduate and Professional Studies at 888-488-7285 for more information or to register or visit www.tusculum.edu/adult.

Addition of nursing program

Tusculum College President Nancy B. Moody and other key leaders from the college appeared before the Tennessee Board of Nursing in Nashville, Tenn., on Wednesday, October 5, to present a letter of intent, on behalf of Tusculum College, to establish a Bachelor of Science in nursing degree program.

The letter of intent received approval from the Board of Nursing.

The presentation included elements such as the school’s accreditation through the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) since 1927 and degree granting approval through the Tennessee Higher Education Commission. The group also presented information on program approval and support from the faculty and board, plans to seek programmatic accreditation and funding allocated by action of the Board of Trustees for the program.

Also attending the presentation were Dr. Melinda Dukes, interim vice president of academic affairs, Steve Gehret, vice president and chief financial officer, and Dr. Greg Hawkins, assistant vice president of academic affairs.

The presentation to the Board of Nursing also included information from the feasibility study conducted by the college for the nursing program, which showed a number of local and national factors supportive of Tusculum College providing undergraduate students the opportunity to complete an undergraduate nursing degree either as first-time freshmen or as registered nurses seeking to complete a bachelor’s degree. Prospective student data collected via Tusculum College’s Office of Enrollment Management documented that the number of students considering Tusculum who are also seeking a nursing degree have tripled since 2009.

According to Moody, the next step in the process is the submission of an application for initial approval to the Tennessee Board of Nursing in February. Advertisement of the program and recruitment of students will not occur until that time.

The college anticipates offering the nursing program to students effective August 2012; however, the proposed degree program is contingent upon the approval of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges and the Tennessee Board of Nursing.