Francis Marion University and the University of South Carolina Sumter have announced a new partnership that will give USC Sumter students easier access to FMU’s nationally accredited Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) program.
Under the new partnership, students would begin degree work at USC Sumter, completing up to two years of work there, then transfer seamlessly to Francis Marion to complete the degree. The transfer would be dependent upon students successfully completing pre-requisite courses at USC Sumter.
The new arrangement will be in place beginning in the Fall of 2015.
Officials at both schools lauded the process that led to the creation of the partnership.
“It has been a pleasure working with the leadership at Francis Marion University and we are thrilled to offer this pathway between USC Sumter and FMU to our students,” said USC Sumter Regional Campus Dean Dr. Michael Sonntag. “This opportunity will allow students in our area to train close to home and move through the Nursing program quickly to start their careers.”
Dr. Ruth Wittmann-Price, chair of FMU’s School of Nursing, says the faculty in the Department of Nursing is looking forward to the partnership.
“The Department of Nursing at FMU is thrilled to be able to advise pre-nursing students at the University of SC Sumter in order to assist them to successfully transition into FMU’s upper division baccalaureate nursing program,” says Wittmann-Price. “This is a good partnership that will benefit students and which should help address the continuing shortage of nurses in South Carolina.”
The four-year BSN degree is fast becoming the gold standard in nursing. That push was accelerated recently when the Institute of Medicine (IOM) released a study entitled, “The Future of Nursing.” The study recommended that 80 percent of all nurses should have their BSN by 2020. Currently, many nurses hold a two-year, RN degree.
The IOM report was the culmination of its two-year, cooperative study of nursing and healthcare with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The study was commissioned because health leaders recognized that the health challenges faced by nurses today are not the same as those faced in the past. Both patients and the healthcare landscape have changed.
FMU’s Department of Nursing has one of the highest NCLEX Board pass rates in the region. The nursing program at FMU is expanding rapidly to provide a full range of nursing education. The department recently graduated its first class of Nurse Practitioners and Nurse Educators.
USC Sumter nursing students can now earn their pre-requisite courses at the Sumter campus and then apply to the BSN program at USC Upstate or USC Columbia, in addition to FMU.
For more information on the joint program, please contact the USC Sumter Office of Admissions at 803-938-3717 or the Department of Nursing at Francis Marion University at 843-661-1226.
