Registered nurses are in short supply in South Dakota. Now, Dakota Wesleyan is entering a public-private partnership to fill that gap.
The Sioux Falls-based program is designed to assist Southeast Technical College LPN grads to work toward a bachelors in nursing at Dakota Wesleyan University.
Julie Brookbank is the associate director of communications at DWU.
“What we have done is to expand access to that program by entering into an articulation agreement with Southeast Technical College that we would give 30 credits for students who have completed their LPN program," Brookbank said. "So, those students can either move directly into the Bachelor of Science program if they wish, or if they are working and are grads of Southeast Tech, those 30 credits will apply to their future instruction through our program.”
It’s designed to fill a serious gap in the nursing workforce.
“We have been well aware of the need for nurses," Brookbank said. "Of course, we have our regular, on campus four-year bachelor’s degree in nursing for those students seeking a traditional experience. We have that program in Sioux Falls that is a hybrid program, part of it is delivered online and part of it is delivered in person.”
Brookbank said this process much simpler than you might think.
“Students who enroll in any one of these programs will find that we are very flexible in the credits we allow to be transferred in, we have excellent highly, highly qualified instructors at all of our sites,” Brookbank said.
Applications are open for the program, which begins with the start of the academic year in August.