- Rhode Island’s new online RN-to-BSN program
- Wisconsin partnership opens nursing, teaching degree paths
- Tennessee college provides scholarships to study abroad
- Kids on Campus project making Head Start connections
Rhode Island’s new online RN-to-BSN program
The Community College of Rhode Island (CCRI) is partnering with Rhode Island College to offer a fully online registered nurse to bachelor of science in nursing (RN-to-BSN) program to help meet the state’s healthcare system needs.
The program is designed with working nurses in mind, combining academic excellence with the flexibility required to balance work, life and professional advancement, the colleges said in a release. Graduates of CCRI’s associate degree in nursing program can seamlessly transition directly into the four-year college’s BSN program.
“This program is deeply personal to me,” said CCRI Interim President Rosemary A. Costigan, who was a registered nurse and nursing educator earlier in her career. “I began my journey in nursing right here at CCRI and earned my bachelor’s degree at RIC. This fully online RN-to-BSN program is a powerful investment in our nursing students and a vital investment in the health of our state.”
Wisconsin partnership opens nursing, teaching degree paths
Lakeshore College and the University of Wisconsin (UW)–Green Bay will launch a new program this fall that will allow students pursuing a teaching or nursing degree — two local sectors in much need of workers — to study at both institutions.
Participating students can begin by earning their associate degree with Lakeshore at its Cleveland Campus or at the UW-Green Bay’s Sheboygan Campus and finish with a bachelor’s degree at the UW-Green Bay Sheboygan Campus. The sharing of resources provides students enrolled in the program a “local solution to a four-year degree in high-demand fields,” according to the colleges.
“Lakeshore College is excited we are doing something which is not common in higher education – partnering with a four-year college to directly address the acute workforce needs in our community,” said Lakeshore College President Paul Carlsen. “Together with UW-Green Bay, we are making higher education local in Sheboygan at a time when other communities are experiencing a divestment in higher education.”
Tennessee college provides scholarships to study abroad
Tennessee’s Jackson State Community College (JSCC) has steadily grown its Global Learning program to provide scholarships for students to study abroad over the summer. This summer, 19 JSCC will use their scholarships to study in 10 foreign countries, including Japan, Greece, Italy, France, Ecuador and more. Last summer, 23 students went abroad.
In partnership with the Tennessee Consortium for International Studies, JSCC’s Global Learning now awards $54,440 in scholarships. Students receiving scholarships for their study abroad program of choice spend three weeks overseas and earning college credit. Upon return, they are required to serve as international ambassadors to promote the study abroad program to their peers, share their personal travel journals, photos and videos with the college.
“Many of our study abroad students have never left the state before they take a flight with Jackson State to a foreign land,” said Liz Mayo, who coordinates the Global Learning program. “We are creating international ambassadors who study abroad and then return to their various West Tennessee communities to share those life-altering experiences.”
Kids on Campus project making Head Start connections
A five-year project to improve student success by bringing Head Start child care centers to more community college campuses has helped to launch two new “Kids on Campus” partnerships this fall, with a third set to open this later spring, according to a progress report on the project.
The Holyoke Chicopee Springfield Head Start and Springfield Technical Community College (Massachusetts) and the Community Action Council of Howard County and Howard Community College (Maryland) both opened their Head Start centers in September 2024. The Parent and Child Together for West Central Illinois and John Wood Community College will soon open their new center.
The project partners — the Association of Community College Trustees and National Head Start Association — also have found 18 potential matches in 10 states between community colleges and Head Start programs interested in exploring partnerships. The goal of Kids on Campus is to establish at least 50 new community college-Head Start partnerships by 2030.
The recently released report includes details on the overall project and on the three new centers.
