Trustees approve plans for first Henderson doctoral program
ARKADELPHIA — Henderson State University’s board of trustees approved plans on Friday to offer the school’s first doctoral program in an extension of the new partnership with CHI St. Vincent.
The university’s first doctoral program is slated to be a Doctor of Nursing Practice degree. Trustees also approved a Master of Science in Nursing degree program during their regular meeting Friday in the board room of Womack Hall on campus in Arkadelphia.
“These programs are an extension of our newly added online RN to BSN program and the success our cooperation with CHI St. Vincent Hot Springs has had,” said Steve Adkison, provost. “We’re extending the ladder of opportunity for area nurses and helping our region respond to a nationwide nursing shortage.”
Adkison said plans for the doctoral and master’s programs were included in the original discussions when CHI planned to invest $1.6 million into nursing programs at Henderson and National Park College. The $1.6 million will be split evenly between the two schools over the next three years.
CHI St. Vincent Hot Springs President Tony Houston, Henderson President Glen Jones and NPC President John Hogan announced the partnership in September as an effort to fill the region’s needs of immediate and impending health care worker shortages. The investment includes $600,000 for financial aid packages and $1 million toward the growth and development of the respective nursing programs.
Jones said Henderson will be able to
hire additional faculty and double the size of each cohort in the Bachelor of Science in Nursing program from 25 to 50 students. Henderson’s BSN graduates received 100 percent first-time pass rates the past two years on the National Council Licensure Examination for new nurses.
The MSN program is designed to produce nursing administrators or practitioners and flow naturally into the DNP program. The first students should be able to enroll in January 2019.
“We can see the response to our online RN to BSN and the demand for advanced degrees in the nursing field,” Adkison added.
The program plan will next go before the Arkansas Department of Higher Education Coordinating Board for approval. The Higher Learning Commission must also approve a role and scope change for the university.