SouthernTech

PROJECT PURPOSE

Nurses are in high demand due to the impact of COVID, early retirements, and the historically large population over 65. Nurses and their patients within our local long-term Care facilities, home health, outpatient clinics, and hospitals, are being negatively impacted by this shortage. Southern Tech currently offers a 4 semester?Practical Nursing option with capacity of 40-48 students. We graduate 20-24 students annually. Through this grant, SouthernTech would expand our current part-time program by 1 instructor and 12 students. We would also implement a new 10-month Practical Nursing option that involves adding 1 instructor and 12 more students. The additional student numbers will add up to 24 more graduates to our current number of practical graduates of 24 for a total of up to 48 practical nursing graduates per year. SouthernTech will also work with our partner high schools, to prepare the students to enter this program via our PN Select (pre-nursing) program as well as expand our recruitment initiatives for adult students. Expanding the Practical Nursing career pathway at SouthernTech will assist in meeting this increasing demand for nurses as well as prepare them to continue their education at a higher education institute of their choice.

EVIDENCE

According to the American Association of Colleges of Nursing, U.S. nursing schools turned away 80,407 qualified applicants from baccalaureate and graduate nursing programs in 2019 due to insufficient resources such as faculty numbers, clinical sites, classroom space and finances. Two-thirds of nursing schools responding to the AACN survey cited a shortage of faculty and/or clinical preceptors as the reason for not accepting qualified applicants.

POPULATION DESCRIPTION

The students who would benefit from this program will be adult students. Adults pay a low, affordable tuition rate and can apply for federal assistance such as Pell Grants, as well as VA Benefits. There are many opportunities for the students to apply for scholarships, sponsorships, as well as utilize SouthernTech payment plan option to better facilitate student payments. These options allow us to serve a population in which continuing education would be a barrier financially.

PERFORMANCE MEASURING

The PN Program monitors continuous improvement using a systematic plan of evaluation (SPE) process that begins with the implementation of the PN program/s. The systematic plan of evaluation (SPE) is conducted using the performance and compliance standards required all accrediting agencies: The Oklahoma Department of Career and Technical Education (ODCTE), the Oklahoma Board of Nursing (OBN), and the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN). Performance and Compliance indicators that will be used to measure and monitor the success of this program are Enrollment within program, successful completion of the program- achievement of end of student learning outcomes (ESLOs), retention of the students to the end of the program, student satisfaction of the program., credential earned ? Oklahoma Practical Nursing License, advisory committee satisfaction with the program, related placement of students or continuing education, graduate satisfaction of students after the program. Employer satisfaction for employers who hire our students.

ONGOING INVESTMENT AMOUNT

$

ONGOING INVESTMENT DESCRIPTION

None

ONGOING INVESTMENT REQUIRED

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