Mississippi College Expands Online Initiative with New Nursing Program
Posted on January 4, 2008 in News
CLINTON, MS (December 31, 2007) – Online education is making it easier than ever to earn a nursing degree from Mississippi College (www.mc.edu). Mississippi College will launch a new set of online nursing courses in May 2008 as part of an RN-BSN completion program. The implementation of these new online courses is part of fulfilling Mississippi College’s mission to eliminate time conflicts experienced by nurses who are unable to take substantial time away from their jobs. Online instruction “makes it more accessible,” remarks Mary Jean Padgett, Nursing School Dean at Mississippi College. “After all, nurses just can’t take off work.”
Nine total courses in nursing will be offered through online instruction. Beginning in the summer of 2008, Mississippi College will launch the first three of these classes and continue to add three courses each of the following two semesters. Mississippi College intends for the new online courses in nursing to provide ample opportunities for working nurses already holding associate’s degrees or certificates to pursue a higher degree. Distance learning is a fast-growing trend in nursing schools across Mississippi and the nation as a whole. It represents one way to address nursing staffing problems for hospitals, medical clinics and nursing homes from coast to coast.
“With the nursing shortage, nurses are unable to commit to traditional classroom instruction because their schedules are frequently erratic in order to meet the demands of clinical needs,” Padgett said. “In order to increase the number of professional nurses who have obtained baccalaureate level education, we must be flexible and innovative in approaches to delivering quality nursing education.”
Currently, 141 students are enrolled in Mississippi’s School of Nursing. Mississippi College has high hopes that these numbers will grow considerably with the addition of new online courses. However, it was not until recently that the Academic Council on the Clinton campus approved the new, online initiative of the Nursing School. While the College continues to explore online instruction, Padgett, a 1973 Mississippi College graduate of the Nursing School, says, “nursing students will do their prerequisites the normal way” and come to campus. Potential nursing students might also catch a break when it comes to the cost of the new courses. While the exact cost remains to be determined, tuition may stay the same or slightly lower for the online courses.
Mississippi College also offers an online master’s degree program in higher education administration. In August of 2007, MC began its online ventures with the assistance of Kentucky-based The Learning House, Inc. (www.learninghouse.com) - one of America’s leaders in online education for private, largely faith-based colleges. Founded in 1985, Learning House provides each of its clients full access to its comprehensive catalog of eLearning services, including academic consulting, online campus hosting and development, faculty augmentation and training, online course and content development, 24/7/365 student support, and program and enrollment marketing. More than 50 accredited institutions of higher education, professional organizations, government agencies, and businesses utilize Learning House’s all-inclusive eLearning services—truly making it a one-stop shop for all distance learning needs.
Fortunately for both Learning House and Mississippi College, online education doesn’t seem to be slowing down anytime soon. In fact, a report produced by the Sloan Foundation highlighted the incredible surge in distance learning across the nation. A survey of 1,000 colleges and universities confirmed a 24.8 percent increase in online enrollments. This figure surpassed the projected growth rate of 19.8 percent. The Sloan Foundation report also estimated that approximately 2.6 million U.S. college students were enrolled in online courses during the fall of 2004.
Ron Howard, Mississippi College’s vice president for academic affairs, is thrilled to welcome the new online nursing classes as part of the institution’s 181 year-old legacy. “We are determined to have the best online program available,” Howard notes. “I am happy to say that our nursing faculty is thoroughly devoted to making it so. They care deeply about all their students and about meeting the nursing needs of our state and region.”
PHOTO: Dr. Mary Jean Padgett, dean and professor, Mississippi College School of Nursing
About Mississippi College
Mississippi College, affiliated with the Mississippi Baptist Convention, is a private, co-educational, Christian university of liberal arts and sciences serving more than 4,600 students from 41 states and 24 countries. Founded in 1826, Mississippi College is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of Mississippi and second oldest Baptist university in the nation. With more than 80 areas of study, 14 graduate degree programs, a doctor of jurisprudence degree and a doctor of education leadership degree, Mississippi College seeks to be a university recognized for academic excellence and commitment to the cause of Christ.