To everyone who was planning or hoping to go to the online SDSU nursing program for BS to BSN, don't give up yet.
Although I am just one person, I refuse to quit yet. I posted this on the previous thread, but I see that there are so many dispirited people out there, I wanted a proactive thread so they don't give up. Read on:
Hi all. I'm a potential faculty member for the SDSU Acc Bac program, and I have to tell you that the faculty and administration are as shocked as you all are. I have been working hard (for no pay) at developing one of the courses. Sorry the communication doesn't seem to have been very considerate of you, but the faculty at SDSU are constrained by the chain of command and Orbis is constrained by everyone at the local office now being off the payroll (and a possible pending lawsuit).
First off, CSU chancellor Charles Reed Executive | CSU is the person who made this extreme decision, and his rationale seems to have been that he did not approve it before work began. Since the procedures do not state that he has to approve it, but rather that he be "notified", it is unclear whether he actually has the power to stop the program. And considering all the reasons for HAVING this program, it seems unreasonable for him to block it.
OK. What can we do about it?
1. I am writing a letter to Maria Shriver, since she has taken on public health issues in the past. Maria Shriver, First Lady of California :: Home Page
2. I called the office of Marty Block, the California assembly Chair of the Higher Education Committee. (Is anybody reading this in the 78th assembly district, Lemon Grove?) Assemblymember Marty Block Representing the 78th Assembly District
3. I am going to write a letter to the editor of the San Diego Union Tribune and call or email local TV stations. Contact Us - SignOnSanDiego.com
4. I am going to contact my representatives in Sacramento. Find yours here: http://ca.lwv.org/lwvc/edfund/govtinfo/state.html
5. I am going to contact the California Nurses Association, which I have supported since I moved to California in 1986. Contact Us Index Page
6. I am issuing a "CALL TO ACTION". Agitate! Write letters (not to SDSU, we are all on the same side). email you state legislators! Find yours here: http://ca.lwv.org/lwvc/edfund/govtinfo/state.html. Be sure to let people know your personal stories, as those "make it real". Then come back to this site and let everyone else know what you have done. Show that you can be professional and proactive, don't blame SDSU for the CSU Cancellor's unexpected power grab.
Finally, I attach the document I have written describing the advantages I can think of to having the Acc Bac program in place. Feel free to add your own rationales, and use it when contacting people.
Appendix:
ADVANTAGES OF an ACCELERATED BACCALAUREATE NURSING PROGRAM at San Diego State University
1.There is a nursing shortage, and even more dire, there is a shortage of nursing programs and faculty. Some people point to the ability of California hospitals to recruit adequate staff, but hospitals themselves are claiming they cannot recruit adequate nurses to maintain patient care ratios. (And with the implementation of ratios in California, the "shortage" of nurses actually decreased as nurses moved here to work in a safer environment.) Also, nurses are needed in other areas than hospital care such as long-term care, home care, clinics, and hospice.
2.The population is aging, and more nurses will be needed to care for the problems encountered by the elderly at the precise time that many nurses themselves are retiring. Also nursing faculty are beginning to retire in larger numbers, further decreasing the ability to educate more nurses.
3.In addition to the aging of the population, there are now 30 million newly insured who will be expecting improved health care within the next few years, and that will create a burgeoning need for nurses at all levels.
4.The public/private partnership of SDSU and the online course development company Orbis Education, provides a plan that does not cost taxpayer money to educate nurses. It costs the students money, but the ability to complete the program in one year creates an economic incentive on behalf of these same students.
5.Many of the students applying for this program (and there are many more applicants than available places) have lost jobs in their former field with the recent economic downturn. This program will provide re-education that will enable these people to re-enter the work force. Additionally, as the economy improves the nursing shortage will grow as many nurses who have only recently returned to nursing will doubtless decide to leave it again.
6.The community colleges are apparently lobbying against this program, presumably because it will produce more BSN nurses who will out-compete the Associate Degree Nurses (ADN) from Community Colleges. But health care is becoming ever more complex, and the BSN will eventually become the entry-level standard for RNs, just as the DNP (Doctor of Nursing Practice) will become the standard for advanced practice nurses. The community colleges, while excellent institutions, should not be able to block the development of higher education. And the "competition" for ADN vs. BSN should play out according to the level of skill needed, and not according to some artificial restriction on the supply of BSN nurses.
7.The Accelerated Baccalaureate program has been approved by SDSU faculty and administration, and by the California Board of Registered Nursing. Sharp HealthCare, recognizing the need for more well-trained nurses, has worked closely with the program to be able to commit to providing clinical sites.
Elle71
42 Posts
80sami,
Have you found any info about any vanpool, commuter service? I talked this all over with my husband, and he doesn't think I can handle the commute...I'd be driving one hour from Rancho Cucamonga before I get to you in Murrieta. I was hoping they'd give us at least some lectures online, but there doesn't seem to be any indications so. It kills me to pass up on San Diego State.