October 8, 2002

To: Thompson Faller, Chair of the Academic Senate

Anita Wynne, Secretary of the Academic Senate

From: Mark Kennedy, Chair of the Curriculum and Academic Regulations Committee

Subject: Curriculum proposals for the February Academic Senate meeting

The Committee on Curriculum and Academic Regulations met on September 24, 2002 and considered two curriculum proposals from the School of Nursing. The proposals which involve the addition of two new graduate programs are:

1) Alternative Entry Nursing Master’s at the University of Portland (AEM UP)

2) Medical-Surgical Nurse Specialist Graduate Track (CNS)

Both proposals were approved unanimously by the committee.

_____________________________________________________________________

University of Portland School of Nursing

Proposal to Add Two New Programs:

Alternative Entry Nursing Master’s at the University of Portland (AEM-UP)

AND

Medical-Surgical Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS) Graduate Track

SUMMARY

The University of Portland School of Nursing requests approval from the Committee on

Curriculum and Academics Regulations (CAR) for the implementation of two new programs in

nursing:

(1) Alternative Entry Nursing Master’s at the University of Portland (AEM-UP)

and

(2) Medical-Surgical Clinical Nurse Specialist Graduate Track (CNS).

The Alternative Entry Nursing Master’s at the University of Portland (AEM-UP) is an

intense accelerated graduate program designed for students who possess a non-nursing bachelor’s

degree. It prepares them for entry into nursing as a registered nurse (RN), while at the same time

earning a master’s degree in nursing. Program efficiency is enhanced since several courses and

content traditionally taught in the graduate program are required during the prelicensure portion

of the curriculum. The proposed graduate program consists of a full-time pre-licensure

component (4 semesters; 55 credit hours) and a part-time advanced practice specialty component

(5 semesters; 25 - 33 credit hours). The variable credit hours are dependent upon the graduate

clinical specialty the student selects. Students will be admitted into the AEM-UP curriculum as a

cohort of not less than 16 students.

Students will be required to successfully pass the registered nurse licensure examination and be

working as an RN before moving into the specialty clinical component. AEM-UP students will

have the opportunity to enroll in any of the following of the School of Nursing’s graduate

specialty tracks: Family Nurse Practitioner, Leadership in Health Care Systems Administration,

and the proposed Medical-Surgical Clinical Nurse Specialist.

The Medical-Surgical Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS) program is a new graduate track that

prepares nurses for advanced practice as clinical specialists in care of adult clients. CNS

graduates will be prepared to sit for certification examinations available from the American

Nurses Credentialing Center and be recognized as Clinical Nurse Specialists by the Oregon State

Board of Nursing (OSBN).

The essential drive that supports the development of both these programs is the recognition that

the University of Portland, as a premier teaching institution, must have graduate programs. With

the acute shortage of nurses and the increasingly complex needs of patients, our mission requires

that we meet the challenge and provide leadership to meet these needs.

This proposal for new program review by the CAR Committee is presented in two parts. First,

information and program descriptions for the Alternative Entry Nursing Master’s at the

University of Portland (AEM-UP) are presented. This is followed by the Medical-Surgical

Clinical Nurse Specialist Graduate (CNS) program proposal.

________________________________________________________________________

To:Terry Misener

From:Caroline Mann

Re:Library Support for Proposed Additions to Master’s Program: Alternative Entry Master’s for Second Degree Students (AEM UP); Medical-Surgical CNS Track

The two new proposed changes to the School of Nursing Master’s program build, in large part, on courses and programs already in place within the curriculum with library collection support existing at an acceptable level.

We generally have a good representation of authors and viewpoints in our nursing monograph collection. Since journal literature is often emphasized in the field of nursing because of its currency, it is likely that our current journal holdings will be heavily relied upon. The library has a solid core of approximately 184 nursing and medical journals representing both the general and the specific specialties in the nursing profession.Additionally our students and faculty have access to over 576 full text medical and nursing journals through Health Source:Nursing/Academic database as well as access to CINAHL and MEDLINE, the two primary databases for Nursing.

With a net addition of 3 new courses in the proposed programs, library resources should be mostly adequate to support student and faculty needs in this area. A concerted effort was made several years ago to strengthen the library’s holdings in the area of leadership and management in nursing and that focus has continued so the collection is strong in these areas as well as in the foundational areas of nursing.

We may want to focus more heavily in the coming year on adding resources in spirituality in nursing since our current resources are limited as well as examining the possibility of adding a few specialized journal titles. Both of these things can be accomplished within the existing budget allocated to the School of Nursing.

Though we don’t foresee any difficulties from a library resource standpoint, it would be helpful in the implementation of this new program for faculty teaching the new course to share the syllabus and proposed assignments with the library liaison to insure that the focus of our collection in this area is on target.

______________________________________________________________________

September 11, 2002

Mark S. Kennedy, Ph.D., Chair

Committee on Curriculum and Academic Regulations

University of Portland

Campus

Dear Dr. Kennedy:

I am writing in support of the two new programs presented to the Committee on Curriculum and Academic Regulations by the School of Nursing for review at the September meeting.

The Alternative Entry to the Nursing Master’s Program is an innovative educational approach for non-nursing graduates entering the discipline. Our program will join other accelerated nursing programs nationwide to address schools of nursing needs to increase student capacity and to reach new student populations. The School of Nursing has designed a program that will maintain the integrity and quality of

Education provided the University of Portland nursing students for nearly 70 years.

The Medical-Surgical Clinical Specialists Program is a new graduate track to prepare nurses for advanced practice in the care of adult clients. The present graduate core curriculum will support the teaching of students enrolled in the program. This new track will require only a few new courses to be developed and the present graduate faculty members will teach in this program. It is another opportunity for this School of Nursing to prepare nurses for advanced acute nursing practice in a very complex health care system.

As you know, Mark there is a critical nursing shortage in this country. Dean Misener and the faculty of nursing are to be commended for their leadership to the Oregonnursing community in addressing this issue.

I wish the School of Nursing faculty every success in their challenge to implement these innovative programs at the University of Portland.

Very truly yours,

Patricia L. Chadwick, Ed.D.

Assistant to the Provost and

Dean , Graduate School

_____________________________________________________________________

September 9, 2002

Mark Kennedy, Chair

Committee on Curriculum and Academics Regulations

University of Portland

Dear Mark,

I have reviewed the School of Nursing proposal to add two new graduate programs, the Alternative Entry to the Nursing Master’s Program (AEM-UP) and the Medical-Surgical Clinical Nurse Specialist Program (CNS).Both programs will add departmental costs to the School of Nursing, primarily from salaries necessary to hire additional full-time and adjunct faculty.Yet, both programs should generate sufficient new net tuition revenues to more than offset these costs as long as minimum enrollment goals are met for each program.It is my understanding from the Dean of the School of Nursing that in both programs the initial enrollments will exceed the minimum necessary to offset the additional costs necessary to run the programs.If the Committee has any additional questions related to the budgetary implications of these two new programs, please let know.

Sincerely,

Roy F. Heynderickx, Ph.D.

Vice President for Financial Affairs

Cc:Provost

Dean of the School of Nursing