Chairman
Boehner, members of the Committee, it is a great pleasure to appear before you
today to discuss some innovative educational initiatives to address the nation's
nursing shortage.
The University of Phoenix is the nation's largest private University, with over
120,000 students in over 90 campuses and learning centers in the United States,
Puerto Rico, and Canada. Our 26,000 on-line students are able to complete their
education even if they move frequently or travel. Founded in 1976, the University
of Phoenix is dedicated exclusively to working adults. Phoenix offers degree programs
and professional certificates in many high demand fields, including: Business,
Technology Management, Information Systems, Education, Counseling, Nursing, and
Criminal Justice.
The
University of Phoenix College of Health Sciences and Nursing offers National League
for Nursing Accreditation Commission (NLNAC) accredited programs for the Bachelor
of Science (BSN) and the Master of Science in Nursing (MSN), including our Family
Nurse Practitioner Program. In just ten years, the Nursing Program has grown to
our current enrollment of over 2000 undergraduate and 1800 graduate nursing students
at 36 campus locations in 10 states. Over 1000 of our nursing students are going
to school exclusively on-line. Our present student body is 37% minority and 10%
male, with an average age of 37. Our growing enrollment and the diversity of our
program is due to three key factors: the Phoenix teaching-learning model for the
working adult, our just-in-time curriculum development process, and our expert
practitioner faculty.
The
University of Phoenix offers one course at a time, with on-ground class attendance
one night a week. Students also meet in learning teams once a week, a process
that replicates the typical multi-disciplinary work environment. The classes are
purposely kept small to encourage active participation, leveraging the combined
experience of the whole class. Class faculty student ratios average 1:15 for on-ground
and 1:10 for on-line.
Expert
clinicians, faculty, and employers continuously revise our curriculum in an effort
to provide the most relevant curriculum in today's rapidly evolving health care
environment. An extensive on-line library collection, custom textbooks, interactive
learning technologies, web links, and writing lab support the curriculum.
Our
300 plus nursing faculty are either doctorally prepared or masters prepared with
five years experience. Our practitioner faculty members work full time in their
professional practice and teach for us on a course-by-course basis. We have no
trouble recruiting high caliber, academically qualified faculty, despite the fact
we have no full-time career track of tenure system. Our faculty includes chief
nursing executives, state board of nursing staff and members, managed care professionals,
chief financial officers, and every clinical care specialty.
Our
nursing education establishment must embrace the concept of public -private partnerships
to deal with the increasing shortage of health professionals at a time when the
workplace requires greater skill and advanced critical thinking. The traditional
four year college based BSN programs are rapidly loosing ground, as we look again
to the roots of traditional nursing: vocational development in high school, strong
community college Associate RN degree programs that articulate into BSN/ MSN programs
designed to enable our students to work and support their families.
In
fact, there are many men and women wanting a nursing career, as seen by the 2-3
year waiting lists for many community college nursing programs across the country.
A majority of those waiting are ethnically diverse, non-traditional students,
who must work to support families. The traditional semester, daytime class model
is not designed to support their success. We must actively work to develop alternative
models of delivery and to encourage the innovators.
In
a number of communities, the University of Phoenix is partnering with the Community
College system and a number of local hospital employers to double the number of
one year community college Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) graduates, who then
articulate seamlessly into the University's 30 month LPN to BSN program. The LPN
is able to go to school while working full time in his chosen profession. Hospital
employers are enabling these students by providing tuition support, facilitating
clinical work, and providing nurse mentors from their own staffs. This program
will be offered on line to the over 900,000 working LPN's across the country to
encourage them to move into the RN role. The program will also be offered to active
duty medics in our armed services, who will be able to complete the BSN degree
while on active duty, thus promoting the 2005 goal of an all BSN nursing corp.
The distance education model affords educational opportunities in rural areas
as well as allowing those nursing students who work odd shift hours to pursue
education at their own convenience. The on-line student cohorts bond quickly and
provide a positive support system for each other as well as cross-country sharing
of expertise. In December, our first national cohort of nurses working in the
nation's 38 Children's Hospitals will start their on-line masters degree classes.
We
hope that the committee will consider the following recommendations that we believe
would help promote nursing education and nursing careers:
Tuition/loan forgiveness programs. There are several bills pending in the
House and the Senate that would create new scholarship/loan forgiveness type programs
at the Department of Health and Human Services for students pursuing a nursing
education. These programs help recruit students into nursing and help keep them
in the profession after completing their education. However, new programs are
not needed. This Committee oversees the largest student loan program in the country
that serves millions of students each year. If you were to consider adding a loan
forgiveness component for nurses to the existing student loan program similar
to the one you created for teachers, it would be the most efficient way of promoting
recruitment and retention efforts.
Innovative delivery programs. In order to expand the number of people who
enter the nursing profession, we need to target working adults looking for new
and better opportunities and adults reentering the workforce. This means colleges
need to be able to offer innovative and flexible programs and schedules. We are
not talking about 18-year old traditional college students who can spend all day
in class. Congress and the Department of Education need to change laws and regulations
that create roadblocks to expanding educational opportunities for nontraditional
students. That is why many of us in the higher education community greatly appreciate
your efforts to expand on-line education by supporting HR 1992 which will allow
colleges to reach more nontraditional students.
Employer Awareness of Education Support as an Effective Recruitment/ Retention
Tool. Employers should be encouraged to use employee tuition reimbursement
as an effective recruitment and retention tool. The Veterans' Administration Medical
System is a national model for this approach.
Thank
you for this opportunity to speak before you today. I would be pleased to answer
any questions you might have.
Catherine
Garner, DrPH, RN, FAAN
Dr.
Catherine Garner is currently the Dean for Health Sciences and Nursing at the
University of Phoenix, where she is responsible for educational programs with
over 4000 students and 300 faculty at 36 campus locations and via distance education.
Her background includes extensive experience in administration in a variety of
health care settings. Prior to joining the University of Phoenix, she was President
of Innovative Health Strategies, an international consulting firm. Her various
contracts included the development of an innovative nurse practitioner program
in Honduras, Central America. She serves on the Board of Advisors for a number
of E-Health Companies.
Dr.
Garner received her both her bachelors and maters in nursing from Vanderbilt University,
where she was the 2001 recipient of the Alumni Award for International Leadership
in Health. She received her doctorate in Health Policy and Administration from
the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, where she was a HRSA Public Health
Leadership Fellow. She is a fellow in the American Academy of Nursing and a fellow
in the Robert Wood Johnson Nurse Executive Development Program. In 1992, Dr. Garner
served as the President of the Association of Women's Health, Obstetric, and Neonatal
Nursing. Dr. Garner is a national and international consultant, author and lecturer
in health policy and women's health.
