Tulsa Community College

PROJECT PURPOSE

Oklahoma City Community College, Rose State College, and Tulsa Community College (?the Colleges?) propose to utilize Oklahoma?s funding to expand and enhance their nursing programs to educate more nursing students, create and fill more jobs, and alleviate the nursing shortage in Oklahoma. Each of the Colleges will submit separate proposals with the same overall goal, but different financial needs for each institution. Tulsa Community College (?TCC?) aims to create an additional 72 nurses per year in the State of Oklahoma (?the Proposal?) over five years. TCC?s nursing program capacity is limited by the number of nursing program faculty and staff and the ability to retain quality faculty. TCC shall use funding to add key personnel and maintain competitive salaries. After the Proposal Term, these positions and salaries will need to be supported by increased tuition, unless state funding and other revenue sources offset these costs. To expand, TCC?s nursing program will require targeted investment into retaining students and expanding graduate numbers with proven Student Success Strategies and attracting students through outreach. It will also require renovation to move the program on one campus and updated equipment. The College, like all other public Colleges and Universities in the country, received HEERF relief funds, unfortunately the unique federal rules associated with those specific funds were so restrictive that nothing in this proposal could be funded with those relief dollars.

EVIDENCE

Since 65% of new nursing students choose the ADN as their entry point (NEPIN, 2021), this same research shows that community college nursing graduates are more likely to live and work in their communities after graduation. TCC is well positioned to increase the number of graduates to help provide additional support to our community. Funding to expand our program would allow us to increase our number of graduates, and address current extreme difficulty attracting and retain qualified nursing faculty in this highly competitive environment.

POPULATION DESCRIPTION

Tulsa Community College provides education and services across Tulsa County and Northeast Oklahoma. Economically disadvantaged communities in Tulsa will have increased access to healthcare by increasing the number of nurses serving the area. ?The ADN pathway continues to be the most accessible option for many aspiring nurses seeking a career as a professional registered nurse, particularly for those students who may be socio-economically disadvantaged, first-generation college students, geographically isolated or second careerists.? (NEPIN, 2021) Additionally, this same research tells us that community colleges, like TCC, Rose State, and OCCC, educate a nursing student population that is reflective of the communities they serve, with nursing programs that graduate more African American, Latino, and Native American registered nurses than other types of prelicensure nursing programs. (NEPIN, 2021). By expanding our nursing programs, students can earn a family sustaining wage.

PERFORMANCE MEASURING

The Colleges will maintain records on Nursing graduates and placement during the Proposal Term.

ONGOING INVESTMENT AMOUNT

$

ONGOING INVESTMENT DESCRIPTION

None

ONGOING INVESTMENT REQUIRED

Able to continue operation without additional funding from the State of Oklahoma