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.