Banner Fellows Program-- Being Restructured?!

Crystal74 · Feb 12, 2010

Thank you for your post. I also went to the December info session and have been vigorously working on my essay questions and have heard the same thing. I decided to call and the information I was given was the same. Banner also needs as I was told to offer more BSN students and less ADN students. I am extremely discouraged, because as the woman told me from Banner they are becoming even more competitive:crying2: I will still be turning in my application that I received and hopefully it will be in before the next info session.

Good luck to all.

NewBeginning · Feb 13, 2010

Thanks for sharing what you have heard! I was a little confused by the first post. I thought there was only one information session per month at Gateway, but the post said the friend attended the first Jan info session and then the rest of Jan were cancelled. Did they have a Jan info session? I, also, was at the Dec meeting and there seemed to be no hint of a change to the program, although they did state changes could occur at anytime.

Regarding the second post and statement that "Banner also needs as I was told to offer more BSN students and less ADN students." This confused me as well. The Banner partnership is with the Maricopa Community Colleges, which only offer an ADN. Did this statement mean they are looking to bring in more people who already have their BSN, or that they are going to partner with other colleges/universities that offer BSN in Nursing?

All the best to everyone!

Crystal74 · Feb 13, 2010

Hi there, I was also a bit confused by the first post saying her friend went to the January session, because there is only one per month at Gateway and when I called to confirm, they told me that both January and February sessions had been cancelled. So maybe she went to a session somewhere else but I'm not sure. As for the ADN program, that is what Maricopa Community College offer, but the way I took the information is they are looking at students more now who have a BSN and less with ADN and as a result are making the program more competitive than it already is. I hope this helps.

Good luck

PineappleCrush · Feb 13, 2010

NewBeginning: Yes, they did have a January Information Session--it was like the 5th or something like that I think, fairly early in the month--but it was at Gateway CC, just like all the rest (they are only held at Gateway). You and Crystal74 are both right that there is only one information session a month, I think it was just said that the rest of the January sessions were canceled was a mistake and was simply there to re-iterate that any and all sessions were canceled until the March session (except for the one that she was at in early January).

But yes, when my friend told me at first I thought she was playing some cruel joke because at the December session they seemed completely normal and content with the program--they didn't even hint at the fact that there would be any restructuring whatsoever. That's why I wanted to get the information out ASAP.

Crystal74 (and NewBeginning): I was a little confused, too, because I didn't really understand what you meant by the BSN thing. Are they trying to turn the Banner Fellows program into like an accelerated second BSN program? I know there are dozens of schools that have the accelerated 16-month program but only have it available to students who already have a Bachelor's. But that still doesn't really make sense since the CC's are only accredited for Associate's degrees... :confused: haha

Regardless of the BSN thing, I think it is inevitable that the program is going to get a lot more competitive, unfortunately :uhoh3:

Hopefully that cleared things up a bit. :) Good luck to everyone still applying! I'm still going to apply, and I'm actually starting my essays this weekend regardless of the fact that they're restructuring. They may or may not even have the essays any more, but I'd rather be prepared for anything at this point... haha!

All the best to everyone! :heartbeat

Crystal74 · Feb 14, 2010

Yeah, it's all a bit confusing to me. I dont think they are offering any other programs(accelerated) for BSN's, I just think they are focusing more on hiring more people with BSN's than ADN's. I knew something was up when I emailed Banner asking if it were true they were cancelling the program totally because I had heard that from a current Banner Nurse Fellow's student and in the past they email back immediately. Since I had an old email response from them, I just called the person directly to tell her what I had heard and find out if it were true or not, and she was insistant on me knowing that by no means was the program going to be cancelled but restructured and more competitive. I will be turning in my application soon, and hopefully we will just see what happens.

Good luck to all

fromtheseaRN, BSN, RN · Feb 17, 2010

when i went to an info session last summer, a lot of the attendees directly asked about the future of the program, jobs, etc, and she told us that they were not sure about the future due to the economy (doesn't make sense to pay to educate employees that you can't give jobs to). that being said, if you did complete the program and they did not have a job for you, your employment contract is forgiven. and it was already extremely competitive, i applied with a 4.0 and super high net scores and was not even granted an interview, so i can only imagine how hard it is now.

kf_az82 · Mar 16, 2010

According to this link:

http://www.bannerhealth.com/NR/rdonlyres/620D11CB-9BB6-47B9-B54A-ED5A7852F519/41790/BHNFPInfoSessions2010.pdf

from the banner website, the only Info session for January was January 13th, so I don't know how accurate the information is, not trying to discredit what is being said, but that's just what the website says. It would seem weird to have a info session no one knew about... just my two cents. That being said, I'm sure there is some possible restructuring going on considering the economy and lack of current jobs, especially for new grads. On the placement whiteboard however, it does say there are 30 slots available for summer/fall 2010, with 30 being part time slots. Both at Gateway.

PineappleCrush · Mar 16, 2010

According to this link:
http://www.bannerhealth.com/NR/rdonlyres/620D11CB-9BB6-47B9-B54A-ED5A7852F519/41790/BHNFPInfoSessions2010.pdf
from the banner website, the only Info session for January was January 13th, so I don't know how accurate the information is, not trying to discredit what is being said, but that's just what the website says. It would seem weird to have a info session no one knew about... just my two cents.

lol, so I was off on the date, I apologize. I'm just trying to provide information that is indeed accurate. Call any of the nursing offices at Gateway, Glendale, Mesa, or Estrella and they will all tell you that the sessions in January and February were canceled. However, they did still have the session in January because they did not get the information out in time. I'm not trying to spread rumors or anything, I am simply trying to warn people who may not have known that this is going on.

My friend did go to the January session. You can choose to believe me or not, but she went to it and what I posted above is what she sent me in an email describing how the meeting went. She was not the only person at the meeting, either, so it wasn't an info session that, "no one knew about." She said that there were at least 30 other people there. Not everyone checks the Banner website all the time, and when I went to the meeting in December, they never mentioned anything about canceling any of the sessions, so they must have canceled the January one very last minute.

On the placement whiteboard however, it does say there are 30 slots available for summer/fall 2010, with 30 being part time slots. Both at Gateway.

It is my understanding that the Banner Fellows program is not a part-time program, it is a full-time program (how else could it be accelerated?). Also, as far as I know, the Banner Fellows Program is not listed on the Maricopa Student Placement website since they do not select from the General Pool of applicants from MCCCD, you must fill out that second application in order to even be considered for an interview. Also, if the Banner Fellows Program was on the Maricopa Student Placement website, then there should also be spot at Glendale Community College for the Summer Banner full-time accelerated program (that starts at the same exact time that Gateway's does), in which there isn't an accelerated program listed at Glendale at all.

My purpose for this thread was to just simply get information out to the general public about the issues that are going on with the Banner Fellows Program and how they are doing some restructuring to the program. So much restructuring that they didn't even give my friend who went to the January session an application and told her to go to the March session in order to get one. I was trying to do some people a favor by alerting them to this issue.

I do not appreciate that you are seemingly trying to discredit the information that I am/was putting out to people who may be affected by this (even though you said you weren't trying to discredit me, but you were merely trying to point out that I was wrong about an information session date and alluding to the fact that I could be wrong about pretty much everything else). I did not go to the January meeting, therefore, I did not know the date. However, my friend did go to the meeting and I trust that she simply isn't making this information up for a good laugh. I would hope that no one would ever make up this kind of information because they thought it was funny. I take my nursing school information seriously, if you could not tell.

If you don't want to believe me, then please feel free to do so and to also do your own research. Call all of the nursing advisors that deal with the Banner Fellows Program and ask them yourself. I trust that anyone who is serious about their future with the Banner Fellows Program would have followed up with their appropriate advisor in order to confirm or deny the claims that I have made.

That's just my :twocents: .

Good luck to everyone applying--see you at the March session!

fromtheseaRN, BSN, RN · Mar 16, 2010

don't let it upset you! sometimes people just don't want to hear bad news. when i went to an info session over a year ago they said they didn't know how much longer they would even be doing the fellowship. however this is not info they give freely, they told us because many attendees were specifically asking how much longer, etc.

this is the whiteboard link that shows public programs as well as ones with special application processes, so it shows banner:

https://hceweb.maricopa.edu/CFIDE/docs/hcies/placementWtBd.cfm

for the record, banner does have a part time program, which shows on the link above (as "gwbfpt").

PineappleCrush · Mar 16, 2010

Thanks, fromthesea. :) I just don't like people trying to make what I said look like it was falsified or something.... I'm just trying to help alert people to this problem (without my friend telling me--I would have been blissfully unaware that there was any restructuring going on at all! )

Thank you for the link! I was going off of this chart, which is a lot less specific:

https://hceweb.maricopa.edu/CFIDE/docs/hcies/studentStatus/index.cfm?logout=1

I apologize for the mix-up.

I just looked at my Banner Application and I didn't see anything about a part-time program. I don't remember hearing anything about it, but I probably wasn't paying too much attention because I am not interested in a part-time program in the slightest. So, again, I apologize.

In the link that you provided, fromthesea, do you know why they do not list GCC's Banner Fellows program for the Summer? It looks as if Gateway's is the only Banner Fellows for that round. I will have to check with GCC tomorrow. I wonder if they are even open since it's Spring Break. I will check.

Thank you again, fromthesea. And I apologize to kf_az82 (and anyone else reading this) if my response seemed rash or a little abrasive. I just don't take very kindly to people trying to make me look like I'm making information up or that what I was trying to say was completely inaccurate, when the information in my original post is not. I've talked to the GCC advisors and they confirmed everything I wrote in that first post.

:heartbeat

kf_az82 · Mar 16, 2010

I apologize if you took offense to my post. I do not disagree that the Banner Sessions for January and February were cancelled, I have been to the Banner website many times and also being in the pool of waiting applicants for the mccdnp program, I received an email about it as well. This information I am not debating. I am simply going off what the banner website said as far as it is listed, (which I linked in my earlier post) so again I apologize to you if you saw this as a personal attack.

I too, am only trying to get out the facts, as I have done my research as well. I did in fact call to inquire about the future of the banner fellows program, and they could neither confirm or deny any details. They simply said to come to the March 23rd informational session.

On the nursing placement board, which not everyone is aware of, it lists the capacities as well as the programs, and it does say their is a special application process. Both program options are for Gateway and it is my understanding GWBFPT is a part time option.

https://hceweb.maricopa.edu/CFIDE/docs/hcies/placementWtBd2.cfm?longDesc=1

(GWBF) Not a packet option (Special GW application process)

Banner Fellow (GW) In_List30

(GWBFPT) Not a packet option (Special GW application process)

Banner Fellow (GW) In_List30

The Gateway website does also indicate a part time 24 month option as well:

http://www.gatewaycc.edu/Programs/BannerNursingFellows/

What I can take from this, is that the "restructuring" Banner is doing is possibly eliminating other program choices, and providing for two, 30 person cohorts at Gateway for the Summer/Fall 2010 semester. One accelerated, one part time. Again, at this point, there is a lot of speculation going on, and I appreciate the information you provided to all of us who are very patiently waiting to get into the nursing program. I'm sorry if you took my post the wrong way. We are all very interested to hear what is going on with the Banner Program and I wish everyone the best of luck!