Information sessions set for nursing program at Anoka Ramsey Community College

BEMIDJI, Minn. (March 5, 2010) — Information sessions for Bemidji State University’s nursing program at Anoka-Ramsey Community College Cambridge Campus have been set for Wednesday, April 7. The information sessions are the first step for registered nurses interested in continuing their educations and pursuing a Bemidji State University bachelor’s degree at the Anoka-Ramsey campus.

The information sessions will be held at noon and 3 p.m. in room G202 of Anoka-Ramsey Community College Cambridge Campus’s Campus Center building, located at 300 Spirit River Dr. S. in Cambridge, Minn.

The program will offer registered nurses a combination of on-campus and online courses, allowing them to pursue their bachelor’s degrees. Featuring full- and part-time enrollment options with block scheduling on Fridays, students will study at the Cambridge campus during the first two weeks of classes, then return every three to four weeks while pursuing their coursework on-line during alternate weeks. Clinical experiences will be arranged at a variety of sites, with the goal of having these sites as close to a student’s home as possible.

The colocation program requires a minimum enrollment of 20 students and will be capped at 40 participants. Interested students are encouraged to register quickly; last year, the first year of the partnership between Bemidji State and Anoka-Ramsey, the 40-student enrollment cap was reached shortly after the initial information sessions and interested students were turned away.

“Students have been raving about the high quality of this program,” said Dr. Jeanine Gangeness, chair of Bemidji State’s Department of Nursing. “Our recent student responses have included positive comments about the relevancy of the curriculum and the accessiblity of the Cambridge site.”

The highly successful Anoka-Ramsey program continues a flourish of notable activity by Bemidji State’s nursing program over the last several years. The four-year baccalaureate program was announced in Dec. 2006 and enrolled its first students during the fall of 2007. The program received a full 10-year national accreditation in May, 2008, and celebrated the opening of its state-of-the-art Clinical Resources Center in Feb. 2009. The program then inducted its first group of students into the four-year program just days after the unveiling of the lab.

Bemidji State University and Anoka-Ramsey Community College are part of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system. The system comprises 32 institutions, including seven state universities and 25 two-year colleges and is the largest single provider of higher education in the state of Minnesota.

For more information about the program or the April 7 information sessions, please contact the Department of Nursing at (218) 755-3860.

FOR YOUR CALENDAR
April 7
– noon and 3 p.m. – information sessions for Bemidji State University nursing degree colocation program at Anoka Ramsey Community College Cambridge Campus. Location: Anoka-Ramsey Community College Cambridge Campus’s Campus Center, room G202, 300 Spirit River Dr. S., Cambridge, Minn. Information: Bemidji State University Department of Nursing, (218) 755-3860.

ON THE WEB
• BSU Department of Nursing: http://www.bemidjistate.edu/academics/departments/nursing
• Anoka-Ramsey Community College: http://www.anokaramsey.edu