This spring, the Boise State School of Nursing’s RN-BS completion track graduated its largest class to date at 86 students. In total, the program has graduated 638 students from 23 different states, and the overall retention rate for the program sits at 85.25 percent with a 69.5 percent on time graduation rate.
According to the American Association of Colleges of Nursing, baccalaureate prepared nurses are well-prepared to meet the demands placed on today’s nurses. They are valued for their skills in critical thinking, leadership, case management, and health promotion, and for their ability to practice across a variety of inpatient and outpatient settings. In 2008, the Institute of Medicine and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation released a report that advocated for eighty percent of nurses to hold a bachelor’s degree by 2020. The RN-BS completion track is well on its way to helping make that report a reality.
The Boise State track continues to recognize the need for baccalaureate prepared nurses and the need for a program that supports nontraditional students. The track, in place for six and a half years, supports registered nurses who wish to complete a bachelor’s degree but have professional and personal commitments to consider when returning to school. Approximately 75 percent of the students are Idaho residents, and 40 percent of the students report learning about the program from a friend or colleague. The staff includes: chair, five professional staff, one administrative assistant, one technical records specialist, and 30 faculty from all over the United States.
Said Vivian Schrader, professor and chair of RN-BS Completion, AGNP and DNP Programs, “I suspect that our success is due to the student-centric approach and customer service delivered to busy professional students returning to school. Staff and faculty treat students like they matter and are not just a number in an online program.”
Cynthia Michalik-Collings, a student in the RN-BS Completion Track, said, Â “My program advisor, Maura Rasmussen, has provided me personalized and practical advice to support my educational goals, even as my goals have changed from a working nurse/part-time student to full-time student. I feel I have the support and guidance needed to be successful navigating the RN-BS program and that my success matters (to them).”
