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Concordia, Resurrection offer joint degree nursing program
Updated: October 16, 2012 3:04PM
Concordia University Chicago, a private, four-year, liberal arts-based Christian institution in River Forest, and Resurrection University, a Catholic, upper division health sciences institution in Oak Park, formerly known as the West Suburban College of Nursing, have entered into a partnership agreement to offer a joint degree nursing program beginning in 2012.
Upon completion of the program graduates will receive a joint degree from Concordia University Chicago and Resurrection University and will be awarded one diploma with both institutions listed.
This is not the first time the two universities have collaborated. For nearly two decades, from 1985 to 2003, Concordia College and the West Suburban Hospital School of Nursing maintained a long-term agreement to offer a joint nursing degree program. Concordia University Chicago and Resurrection University have been in discussions for the past two years exploring the prospect of re-establishing the joint degree program.
The way the program is designed, Concordia University Chicago’s undergraduate students will spend their first two years taking pre-professional general education and rigorous science courses in preparation for applying to the nursing program at Resurrection University.
“Our program will provide a rigorous science curriculum for students who choose to pursue a career in nursing,” says Kathleen Craft, chair of the department of natural sciences at Concordia University Chicago. “Our coursework will provide the foundation for our student’s success in the nursing program at Resurrection University.”
“Our bachelor of science in nursing program is very intense,” said Beth A. Brooks, president of Resurrection University. “The students who are admitted must focus on their studies, learn critical thinking and how to compassionately care for families and patients. These are competent, quality, mission-driven students who are pushed to their limits.”
And while the program is academically rigorous, Resurrection University has demonstrated that those who graduate from the BSN program are well prepared for the challenges ahead. In fact, the NCLEX exam pass rate for 2011 was 96 percent, ranking Resurrection University fourth in the State of Illinois.
“Our student-centered model of teaching and learning embraces active partnerships between the student and teacher,” says Sandie Soldwisch, dean of the nursing program at Resurrection University. “The students who graduate from our program are definitely well prepared.”
In December 2012, Resurrection University will relocate to new, state-of-the-art facilities at Saint Elizabeth Medical Center in the Wicker Park neighborhood of Chicago. Learn more at www.resu.edu.
