Abilene Christian University will withdraw from the Patty Hanks Shelton School of Nursing to start its own nursing school, beginning in the fall of 2013.
On Wednesday the Reporter-News obtained a copy of a memo sent to faculty and staff explaining the shift.
“The ACU School of Nursing will provide our nursing students with closer connection to ACU faculty, advisers and fellow classmates, as these students spend all four years of classes on the ACU campus, under the tutelage of ACU faculty,” states the memo signed by Jeanine Varner, ACU provost.
The Patty Hanks Shelton School of Nursing is a consortium among Abilene Christian, Hardin-Simmons and McMurry universities. The school is housed on the Hendrick Medical Center campus, and the remaining partners have pledged to continue working together.
Students in ACU’s nursing program will be unaffected by the change, but the entering Class of 2011 will be able to enter the new program when they are juniors, according to a statement from ACU officials.
Varner, reached late Wednesday, said the new nursing school will start with about 30 students — roughly the current number of ACU students who earn degrees each year through the Patty Hanks Shelton School of Nursing. Administrators hope that enrollment will increase over time, and they also plan to offer graduate-level nursing degrees.
Through the years, students have asked administrators to move their classes onto the ACU campus so they can remain a part of the community through graduation, instead of spending their last two years off campus, Varner said.
ACU will either have to construct a new building or renovate an existing building to house the school, Varner said. ACU then will have to recruit faculty for the new program, she said.
John Russell, president of McMurry University, told the Reporter-News that the school will continue to thrive even after ACU withdraws.
“We’ve got a strong commitment from Hardin-Simmons, Hendrick and McMurry to continue that program,” Russell said. “We need nurses, and we’ve got a quality program. We think the consortium idea that started more than 30 years ago is a good one, so we’re going to continue the partnership.”
Russell said he was surprised to learn that ACU was withdrawing from the partnership, but he understands the need for universities to re-evaluate programs in an increasingly competitive environment.
“Institutions are doing what they need to do, and we’re all looking at our programs to make them what they need to be,” Russell said.
Russell said he learned of the change late last week. The agreement among the schools requires a three-year advance notice if a partner wants to withdraw.
The nursing students support a large portion of the school’s budget with tuition and fees, and an endowment was created in the past to support the program.
Russell does not foresee the need to cut faculty, but he said that details of the new arrangement will be worked out over the next few years.
“There’s such a need for nurses in this region that I suspect the program will stay and grow probably to an even larger number,” Russell said.
Hardin-Simmons University officials deferred comments to Russell, who is the nursing school board chairman.
A statement from Russell, Lanny Hall, president of HSU, and Tim Lancaster, president and chief executive officer of Hendrick Medical Center, pledged their commitment to the program.
“We believe the Abilene community appreciates this cooperation and that we are stronger when we join together in traveling the uncharted health care education waters in the future,” Hall said.
About 60 nursing students from the three universities combined receive degrees from the school each year, according to Russell’s statement.
Lancaster said the Patty Hanks graduates have become quality employees for Hendrick, and he said the hospital looks forward to continuing to provide clinical opportunities for the students.
“While we have seen some easing of the nursing shortage through the recession, experts project that a national shortage will re-emerge in the coming years,” Lancaster said in the statement. “Abilene and the surrounding areas are no different.”
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