Students interested in pursuing a career in nursing will have an opportunity outside of Edwardsville come fall 2009.

SIUC is partnering with the Edwardsville campus to expand the university’s nursing program, said university spokesman Rod Sievers.

Sievers said the joint program would admit first-year nursing students to SIUC. Though students would study on the Carbondale campus, the actual degree would come from SIUE.

Sievers said a program is expected to be in place by the fall semester, which is when administrators hope to admit pre-nursing students to SIUC. Details such as which campus would receive tuition and fees and what classes need to be altered remain as obstacles to the program’s creation, Sievers said.

‘All those things have got to be worked out,’ Sievers said. ‘It’s not that they can’t be worked out, it’s that they just have to do it and they’ll do it.’

Janet Followell, a nursing instructor at John A. Logan College, said a nursing program on Carbondale’s campus should be successful, especially with the program at Edwardsville providing a base.

‘You need a solid foundation as far as faculty,’ Followell said. ‘The program should make sure that the basic needs are provided for the students.’

The SIUE School of Nursing is fully accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education. Its Certified Nurse Anesthesia Program is also fully accredited by the Council on Accreditation of Nurse Anesthesia Programs.

Sievers said though SIUE already offers a nursing program, there are no other health care fields available for students who do not get accepted into the program.

At SIUC, however, pre-nursing students would have other options if they do not get accepted into the program, such as physical therapy or health care management.

‘They’re going to admit so many students and only a certain amount of those students are going to qualify to get on to the next level,’ Sievers said. ‘There’s no reason to think because you didn’t make the (nursing) program that you’re done. There’s other opportunities for you here.’

Brittany Newman, a freshman from Herrin studying nursing at John A. Logan College, said she looked at SIUC first for an available nursing program, but decided to attend John A. Logan after she realized SIUC had no available nursing program.

‘I like the idea of having all four years at SIUC,’ Newman said. ‘John A. doesn’t have as much as SIU has, so it would be a real plus if they had a nursing program.’

Sievers said faculty arrangements for the program have not been finalized. Either faculty from the Edwardsville campus would come to Carbondale or classes would be held online, where faculty would teach through a video link.

Followell said for SIUC’s program to be successful, administrators should look to online courses, an easier way for classes to continue with a shortage of nursing instructors.

Madeleine Leroux can be reached at 536-3311 ext. 259 or [email protected].