19 Mar Huntington’s Nursing Program Gains Final Approval

The Indiana State Board of Nursing has approved Huntington University‘s application to begin offering a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree program in the fall of 2007. The board announced its decision at a meeting in Indianapolis on March 15.

“Nursing will be a very strategic addition to our academic programs and will expand our ability to educate students to impact the world for Christ,” said Dr. G. Blair Dowden, president of Huntington University.

This state approval process involved providing extensive evidence of the appropriateness of the curriculum, the faculty, the nursing director and resources to support the program.

“I want to congratulate Dr. Pat Pierce, who authored our lengthy application to the State Board of Nursing and has worked tirelessly to lay the groundwork for our nursing program,” Dowden said. Pierce is the university’s interim director of nursing. In January, Huntington announced that Margaret Winter had been hired as the director of the Department of Nursing.

Next, the university will seek professional accreditation for the new program from the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education. CCNE is an independent accrediting agency recognized by the U.S. Secretary of Education as a national accreditation agency. CCNE assesses baccalaureate and graduate nursing programs.

Meanwhile, construction on the university’s nursing facilities will be completed in the coming weeks. The program will be housed in the lower level of the state-of-the-art, 93,000 square foot Science Hall. Equipment and supplies will be moved in before classes begin in the fall.