Nursing students will be able to take their first year of a new program in Muenster this fall.
The University of Saskatchewan has launched a brand new Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree.
The four-year, non-direct entry degree includes one year of pre-professional classes, followed by three years of concentrated nursing education.
Students apply to the College of Arts and Science to complete their first year of classes, then during that first year, apply to the College of Nursing for year two of the program.
St. Peter's College (SPC) in Muenster, as an affiliated college of the University of Saskatchewan, will be offering the pre-professional year of classes for this program this fall.
SPC simply needed to add one class to their course offerings in order to be able to do this, indicated Rebecca Cross, one of SPC's academic advisors.
The pre-professional year requires a variety of Arts and Sciences classes, including nutrition, English, native studies, chemistry, viology, statistics, two social science electives and two open electives.
SPC offered all of them previously with the exception of nutrition.
"Nutrition was the major addition," Cross noted. Now that it will be offered this fall, "students can take all of the classes for the first year of this program at SPC."
It's exciting ,she noted, to be able to offer this to people who want to get into nursing.
"We feel it is important to provide quality education for our students where they can start their university path closer to home," said SPC president Glen Kobussen. "Offering the pre-professional year of nursing supports our other health science programs, including the prerequisites to apply for pharmacy."
The college has offered pre-professional years for a number of non-direct entry programs for years now - pre-pharmacy and pre-med, to name a few,
As acceptance to the College of Nursing depends on the marks students receive in their pre-professional year, SPC feels students who take the year of classes at their campus may have a leg up on the competition, due to their smaller class sizes and campus.
"We find that our students have the opportunity to make a strong start in their university classes, and have a high rate of success in their academic programs," Cross said. "The first year of university is often make-or-break for students, and the smaller campus allows the students to access help readily."
SPC caps class sizes at 30 students.
The smaller class sizes, Cross noted, often results in students having more success, as they tend to receive more one-on-one instruction.
"Our faculty are extremely dedicated and enjoy teaching," noted Dr. Barbara Langhorst, chair of SPC's academic council. "We are there for our students."
SPC has expressed interested in offering the full nursing course at their Muenster campus, but have yet to receive a response from the U of S.
