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Eighth community college joins nursing partnership program

Cloud County Community College joined the Community College Nursing Partnership at the KU School of Nursing, the eighth community college in the state to sign on.

Student at CCCC adjusts oxygen mask on patient simulation
Cloud County Community College nursing students will be able to finish their degrees locally through an agreement with the University of Kansas School of Nursing. Photo courtesy CCCC

The University of Kansas School of Nursing recently welcomed Cloud County Community College to the Community College Nursing Partnership, the eighth community college in the state to sign on.

The Community College Nursing Partnership allows students to enroll in both community college and the KU School of Nursing to receive both an Associate Degree in Nursing (ADN) and a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN).

Face-to-face courses with this new partner will be completed on CCCC's main campus in Concordia, Kansas, a community 50 miles north of Salina.

Learning in local community

As with the other partners, classes from the University of Kansas School of Nursing will be offered online, allowing students to remain in their home communities for the extent of their enrollment and practice clinical skills in nearby medical centers.

Stefanie Perret, MSN, RN, nursing administrator for Cloud County Community College, said she appreciated the opportunity for students to learn locally.
"The nursing program at Cloud County Community College serves a rural region where people are in need of medical care. By training nurses in a non-metropolitan area, we are showing nursing students that they can practice in a stimulating environment outside the confines of the city," she said.

Perret said her department revamped curriculum and reconsidered degree pathways in order to join the Community College Nursing Partnership. "This partnership with the KU School of Nursing brings an additional opportunity to the rural students in our community, and that's excellent," she said.

Jill Weishaubt, undergraduate programs consultant and advisor for the KU School of Nursing, said, "While we always served Cloud County Community College's students through our RN-to-BSN program, I am thrilled to partner with Cloud to offer this new opportunity to their students."

Streamlined process

Weishaubt said that previously, students who first went to community college had to earn their associate (ADN) degree and gain their license before they could begin the bachelor's (BSN) degree. The two separate degrees created a delay that this partnership erases.

"We have streamlined the process so that these students can earn the BSN in four years, just as a ‘traditional' BSN student can," she said.

Weishaubt said she also sees the importance of nursing students gaining a BSN in a place that "feels like home."

"This partnership offers the opportunity for students to maintain their connection to their home communities, while experiencing the prestigious education offered by KU," she said. "They are choosing Cloud County Community College as their home school because it feels like home. They are adding the KU BSN because they recognize its worth."

The full list of Kansas community colleges participating in the Community College Nursing Partnership includes:

  • Butler Community College
  • Cloud County Community College
  • Fort Scott Community College
  • Hutchinson Community College
  • Johnson County Community College
  • Kansas City Kansas Community College
  • Labette Community College
  • Neosho County Community College

For more information, visit the Community College Nursing Partnership website.


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