Courtesy SUNY Empire State
SUNY Empire State College and SUNY Ulster have formed a new partnership to address the demand for registered nurses in New York state to have completed a bachelor’s degree.
Thanks to the partnership, graduates of SUNY Ulster’s nursing program will transfer seamlessly to SUNY Empire’s RN to BSN program, college officials said.
SUNY Ulster’s nursing graduates also will be able to complete upper-division SUNY Empire RN to BSN courses through a blend of online and face-to-face learning at SUNY Ulster’s campus.
“We can take our nursing program and bring it to Ulster where it’s needed,” said Merodie A. Hancock, president of SUNY Empire. “Our partnership provides a highly regarded, convenient baccalaureate degree option. We’ll share faculty, leverage SUNY Ulster’s facilities, so that students will be able to stay close to their homes, communities and places of employment, complete their BSN and move on with their careers.”
“This is a unique opportunity for registered nurses looking to attain their BSN for career advancement and professional development to do so right here in Ulster County affordably,” said Alan P. Roberts, president of SUNY Ulster. “We are delighted to partner with Empire State College to expand access to this degree, which is in high demand, and feature our partnership as a model for other RN to BSN programs.”
Admission Requirements for SUNY Ulster Nursing students are:
• Completion of an A.S. degree in nursing.
• Possession of an active, unencumbered New York state nursing license (RN).
• Completion of SUNY Empire’s admissions application.
Officials said all 64 credits earned by SUNY Ulster nursing graduates will transfer to the RN to BSN program and SUNY Ulster graduates also may elect to register for up to 15 additional lower-division credits at SUNY Ulster, which also will transfer to the RN to BSN program.
Up to 79 lower-division credits, of the 124 required for a SUNY Empire bachelor’s degree, can be earned through SUNY Ulster at its lower tuition rate.
These lower-division courses are distinct from the upper-division SUNY Empire courses offered through the blended learning approach, officials said.
Empire State College, the nontraditional, open college of the SUNY system, yearly,educates nearly 19,000 students worldwide at eight international sites, more than 30 locations across the state of New York, online, as well as face to face and through a blend of both, at the associate, bachelor’s and master’s levels. The average age of an undergraduate student at the college is 35 and graduate students’ average age is 40.
Most Empire State College students are working adults, according to the college. Many are raising families and meeting civic commitments in the communities where they live, while studying part time.
In addition to awarding credit for prior college-level learning, the college pairs each undergraduate student with a faculty mentor who supports that student throughout his or her college career.
The college’s 78,000 alumni are active in their communities as entrepreneurs, politicians, business professionals, artists, nonprofit agency employees, teachers, veterans and active military, union members and more, officials said.
More information about the college is available at www.esc.edu.