Anyone with a Registered Nursing (RN) degree will have the opportunity to earn a bachelor of science in nursing (BSN) degree this fall at the Southwestern Community College campus, through a new William Penn University program.
The RN to BSN program will be a hybrid, which means it includes a mixture of face-to-face and online instruction. The program is four semesters in length and will meet at SWCC every Thursday during the semester. Enrollment is open to anyone who has completed a two-year RN degree, SWCC student or not.
“It’s for our current students, our graduates and any nurse in the area,” SWCC president Barb Crittenden said. “We think that it’s something really that the communities in our area have wanted to have. And we think that we have a great partner.”
William Penn is a private college in Oskaloosa. The RN to BSN program has approval from the Iowa Board of Nursing and national accreditation from by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education. Last year, William Penn established its first community college RN to BSN cohort at Indian Hills Community College. SWCC’s will be the second.
The program
All nursing courses will be taught face-to-face at SWCC, with other course requirements offered online.
Brenda Duree, William Penn’s director of nursing, has spearheaded William Penn’s partnerships with community colleges in recent years. Duree, who used to work at SWCC herself, said the program has advantages over other touted one-year programs because it offers students breaks during the summers and doesn’t load them down with prerequisites, fitting into the schedules of working nurses.
“They can just jump right in and just start taking classes,” she said. “I think our age range so far (has been) anywhere from like 21 to someone in their 60s.”
Duree will teach the opening class in the program to get to know the students. After that, she said classes will be taught by William Penn or SWCC instructors, depending on scheduling.
Susan White, SWCC’s nursing director, said this is a great opportunity for her students, who are all encouraged to pursue their bachelor’s degree after graduating from the program.
“To have it right on campus and to have that face-to-face opportunity is just outstanding for them,” White said. “They’re comfortable here, they’re happy and they know the way we do things. I think it will feel comfortable.”
Cost and financial aid
Tuition and fees at William Penn is nearly $24,000 a year. However, William Penn president John Ottosson said while the “sticker price” of enrolling in a private college program might seem offputting at first, federal, state and institutional financial aid helps make it workable for most students.
“By the time you put our institutional aid in, state aid and federal aid, it’s often more affordable than people realize,” Ottosson said. “We’ll get them all the information. Our admissions team and financial aid is very good about explaining it down to the penny.”
Ottosson said since students entering will already have an associate’s degree, they will right away be eligible for a $9,000 to $17,000 institutional scholarship per year. He also mentioned the Iowa Tuition Grant, which awards up to $5,000 to Iowans attending Iowa private colleges. The fast-approaching deadline for the Iowa Tuition Grant is July 1.
For more information on how to enroll in the program or what other financial aid is available, contact the offices at William Penn or SWCC, or visit William Penn's website, http://www.wmpenn.edu/.