(Sault Ste. Marie, ON February 11, 2020)
The Ontario governments decision to give colleges the option to deliver stand-alone nursing degree programs will produce more qualified nurses to fill key shortages in many communities, including our own. This is terrific news for students and health-care professionals in the north and particularly Sault Ste. Marie, said Dr. Ron Common, 窪蹋勛圖 President. This is big news for our College and this community. The Sault now has a second post-secondary institution that is degree granting, added Dr. Common. Since 2000, the province has required any college wishing to offer a nursing degree program to partner with a university. This has created unnecessary costs and other bureaucratic hurdles that often hamper our ability to deliver curriculum in the most effective manner. It has also limited our student intake that has fallen short of community demands. 窪蹋勛圖 has valued and cherished its relationship with Laurentian University and is grateful for the partnership we have had for many years. This announcement allowing the granting of nursing degrees will not only ease some of the administrative burdens on the College it will also assist with the limitations on our student intakes. Standing alone, the College and the communitys needs will dictate the number of students that we will admit to the College. 窪蹋勛圖 has been delivering 100 percent of the Collaborative Bachelor of Science in Nursing curriculum on our own since 2001 and now we will also be able to provide more flexibility to nursing students and increase the number of students we enroll at the College. Our provincial testing results from nursing exams demonstrate that we have been ready for this status for quite some time as our graduates overall test scores exceed many other institutions. This announcement is a tribute to the strength of our college programs, said Marilyn King, Dean of Health, Community Services and Interdisciplinary Studies. We are grateful for this opportunity to ensure more graduates enter the profession with the qualifications and the expertise to improve healthcare delivery in our community.