BOULDER — The University of Colorado Board of Regents today (Sept. 7) unanimously approved a new Doctorate of Nursing Practice degree for students at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs.
Meeting at the University of Colorado at Boulder, the regents agreed with recommendations by UCCS Chancellor Pam Shockley-Zalabak and CU President Hank Brown to offer the degree as part of the university’s efforts to reduce health care costs and improve rural health care access. The degree will be offered by the Beth-El College of Nursing and Health Sciences which currently offers bachelor’s and master’s degrees in nursing and other health care-related fields. UCCS faculty will collaborate with faculty from the University of Colorado at Denver and Health Sciences in offering the new degree.
UCCS will now offer three doctoral degrees in addition to 18 master’s and 25 bachelor’s degree programs. Doctoral degrees are also offered in engineering and geropsychology.
“I am appreciative of the support of the Board of Regents in allowing UCCS to offer the Doctorate of Nursing Practice degree,” Carole Schoffstall, dean, Beth-El College of Nursing and Health Sciences, said. “By offering this degree, we are responding to needs throughout Colorado for advanced practice nurses able to work in clinical settings. Additionally, we will provide faculty who will teach nursing in our region’s colleges, an integral piece of meeting future demand for nursing professionals.”
Currently, UCCS offers a Master of Science in Nursing degree. In Oct. 2004, the American Association of Colleges of Nursing called for a transformational change in nursing education and recommended as its new standard the doctorate of nursing practice degree. The new standard is expected to be in place by 2014.
Students in the doctorate of nursing practice program will be expected to complete a master’s degree program and will receive additional training in an advanced practice specialty that allows them to be certified by state and national boards of examiners. To receive the doctoral degree, students will complete 78-82 credit hours in addition to their bachelor’s degree. Students who hold a master’s degree will complete an additional 36 credit hours.
The new program will begin for the Summer 2007 session. For more information, contact the Beth-El College of Nursing and Health Sciences, 262-4422, or visit www.uccs.edu/bethel
UCCS, located on Austin Bluffs Parkway in northeast Colorado Springs, is the fastest growing university in Colorado and one of the fastest growing universities in the nation. The university offers 25 bachelor’s degrees, 18 master’s and two doctoral degrees. The campus enrolls about 7,600 students annually. For more information, visit http://www.uccs.edu.