FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

INNOVATIVE HEALTH SCIENCE DEGREE

PROGRAM APPROVED FOR DCC

            RICHMOND, VA, March 17, 2004 -- Practical nurses will have a more well-rounded education in the Danville region when they graduate from a new degree program to be offered by Danville Community College this fall. 

Approved recently by the State Council for Higher Education, the associate degree in health sciences, with a specialization in licensed practical nursing, will be the first of its kind in the Virginia Community College System. The State Board for Community Colleges approved the degree program in January.

            After conducting a survey of employers, Danville Community College found a strong need for health care workers, particularly nurses, in its region. “We will offer two excellent programs and students will now have a choice of taking more courses,” says Danville’s Vice President of Academic and Student Services Betty Jo Foster. The certificate level program for LPNs will continue to be a strong offering, but the associate’s degree in health sciences plus the LPN certification will provide prospective nurses with an edge in qualifications and education, and will serve the health care employers’ needs well, she says.

According to the Advisory Committee to the Governor on the Future of Nursing Workforce, “The inadequate number of licensed nurses remains a persistent and escalating condition within the Commonwealth of Virginia.”

The State Council of Higher Education this week approved a strategic plan to increase the number of nursing faculty and expand the capacity for preparing students in both licensed practical nursing and registered nursing programs.

The new program is an expansion of the already existing 54-credit hour certificate program at Danville Community College. The associate’s degree program will operate side-by-side with the certificate program, as well as offer students already in the certificate program on opportunity to obtain additional coursework in health care and an added credential, making them better prepared for the workforce. The program promotes a greater awareness of positive health practices and provides more instruction in general anatomy and physiology than most LPN certificates, Dr. Foster says.

Currently, Danville has more than 120 applicants for the 40-50 slots in its certificate program. The college will be able to admit 40 students between the certificate program and the new associate’s program.  The college anticipates expanding these numbers when resources for full time faculty become available.

The college already has an exceptional pass rate for its licensed practical nurses: 100 percent of students taking their LPN certification exam passed in 2003. 

The 67-credit associate degree program is divided into three areas by design: general education, major field and related courses, and the practical nursing specialization courses.

This degree program exists in other states but is new to the Virginia Community College System. DCC hopes to admit up to 20 students into the new associate’s degree program, which is expected to begin in the fall of 2004. 

Also approved by SCHEV this week were a new program in registered nursing for Paul D. Camp Community College in Franklin and Suffolk, which had previously operated a joint program with Tidewater Community College; and a new emergency medical services degree program for J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College in Richmond designed to prepare paramedics.

“Virginia’s community colleges are stepping up their efforts to respond to the workforce needs of the health services industry,” says Glenn DuBois, chancellor of the Virginia Community College System. “We will continue to see additional program proposals like these.”