AGENDA ITEM IV PROPOSED LETTER OF INTENT UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA - MONROE M.S. IN NURSING ADMINISTRATION

AGENDA ITEM IV PROPOSED LETTER OF INTENT UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA - MONROE M.S. IN NURSING ADMINISTRATION

AGENDA ITEM IV PROPOSED LETTER OF INTENT UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA - MONROE M.S. IN NURSING ADMINISTRATION BACKGROUND INFORMATION Letters of Intent Prior to the submittal of a proposal for a new academic program, a college/university must submit a Letter of Intent for assessment and approval. Letters of Intent serve two related purposes: 1) they allow the Board of Regents to decide whether campuses should continue to plan for the development of new academic programs; and 2) they serve to coordinate statewide the development of new academic programs. Letters of Intent do not serve as the mechanism to determine need, review curricula, assess resources, or approve a budget. These processes are accomplished during the full program proposal review. Colleges and universities shall transmit Letters of Intent to the Commissioner of Higher Education for all new programs to be proposed, with the exception of proposed undergraduate programs below the baccalaureate level. Procedures and timelines for Letters of Intent are as follows: 1. A Letter of Intent may be filed at any time. 2. A separate document must be prepared for each projected program. 3. Letters of Intent will be scheduled for consideration by the Board of Regents within ninety days (90) after receipt of documentation. 4. A full program proposal may be submitted ninety (90) days after a Letter of Intent has been approved by the Board of Regents. 5. Letters of Intent are valid for three years after approval by the Board of Regents. Upon expiration of this time period, a new Letter of Intent must be submitted. The following factors will be considered in assessing Letters of Intent: 1. The program must be within the role and scope of the institution. 2. The program must not be needlessly duplicative of those at other institutions of higher education. 3. The program shall be consistent with the mandates of the desegregation Settlement Agreement. 4. The program shall adhere to specific criteria for funding. More specifically, the Board of Regents shall not approve planning for a new academic program unless the prospective program meets certain funding criteria. (See Staff Analysis section below)

Program Description Per this Letter of Intent, the University of Louisiana at Monroe (ULM) seeks Board of Regents approval to submit a program proposal for a new, on-line M.S. program in Nursing Administration. The University of Louisiana Board of Supervisors approved this Letter of Intent at its April 2008 meeting. The Letter of Intent provides the following projected program description: This program would be an on-line program consisting of the Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) degree with emphasis in Nursing Administration. This program will be developed to prepare Registered Nurses to practice in a variety of upper level management roles and to implement strategies that direct health care delivery in a variety of practice settings. A bridge option will be available to bring the Associate Degree and Diploma prepared nurse to the baccalaureate level and progress to graduate degree status. In addition, a part-time option will be available. The nature of the Master of Science in Nursing Administration is to offer the working Registered Nurse an attractive opportunity to complete an advanced degree within their career field in an on-line environment. Nursing administration roles vary within the field with regards to responsibility, offering a number of different types of nurse manager, executive, and leadership positions. For example, the nurse prepared with a Master s in Nursing Administration would be able to assume the role of Director of Nursing (Clinical Services) in a Home Health Agency, Skilled Nursing Facility, Outpatient Clinic, and Community Based Hospitals. Other roles include consultant for a variety of health care agencies including nursing homes, skilled facilities, and home health agencies. The objectives of the program are to: offer the availability of an on-line Masters program option in Nursing with an emphasis in Nursing Administration; graduate 25 MSN on-line students per year by 2010; retain 75% of Louisiana resident completers for in-state management positions; offer students graduating with this degree the ability to assume responsibility for positions as Director of departments and service lines in large hospital systems; allow nurses the ability to seek executive positions in health care environments. The MSN degree is also a requirement for nursing faculty in community college and university programs. STAFF ANALYSIS The Board of Regents follows established criteria in evaluating Letters of Intent, as described in the Background section of this agenda item. The following four issues are primary considerations: 1. The program must be within the role and scope of the institution. According to Role, Scope, and Mission Statements of the Master Plan for Public Postsecondary Education: 2001, ULM will be committed to graduate education through the master s degree, offering graduate programs to meet regional or state needs. The projected program would compliment comprehensive, existing graduate offerings at the University. Staff, therefore,

opines that proposed program is consistent with the stated role, scope, and mission of the University. 2. The program must not be needlessly duplicative of those at other institutions of higher education. There are currently eight master-level programs in Nursing offered by public institutions of higher education; two of these, at Northwestern State University (Shreveport) and the Louisiana State University Health Science Center-New Orleans offer specific degrees in Nursing Administration. Accord to Regents records and University websites, neither of these institutions offer an on-line version of this degree. As the projected program is designed primarily for currently under-served areas of northeast Louisiana and rural areas across the state, the staff believes that program duplication is not a relevant issue. 3. The program shall be consistent with the mandates of the Desegregation Settlement Agreement. As the 1994 Desegregation Settlement Agreement provides for the development of a Ph.D. program in Nursing at SU-BR and an M.S. program in Nursing at Grambling State University. With regard to SU-BR, ULM projected program is at the master-level and does not duplicate SU-BR s area of expertise. With regard to Grambling, the University requested and received a letter from Dr. Robert Dixon, Vice President for Academic Affairs at Grambling, agreeing that ULM s proposal would not duplicate either current or projected MSN program development at Grambling. Hence, the staff concludes that desegregation issues are not a relevant concern. 4. The program shall adhere to specific criteria for funding. Recalling acceptable financial criteria as stated in the Letter of Intent policy: The Board of Regents shall not approve planning for a new academic program unless the prospective program meets one or more of criteria 1-5 below: 1. The program will be formulated through a reorganization of existing courses, requiring no additional State expenditures for at least five years (for example, new options or concentrations in existing programs). 2. The program will be funded by concomitant reductions in expenditures, requiring no additional State expenditures for at least five years (for example, programs funded by the reallocation of resources from terminated or consolidated programs). 3. The program will be funded entirely through non-state monies for a period of five years. 4. The program will demonstrably promote economic development in the State. 5. The program is deemed indispensable to fulfilling the role, scope, and mission of the university or college and is deemed indispensable to fulfilling critical educational needs of the State.

The University notes the following regarding cost: The cost of the program for the first five years will consist of faculty salaries and nonpersonnel operating costs. The University will fund this program with current sources of revenue without additional appropriations. This program fully meets the requirements of item five. A Masters program in nursing is indispensable to fulfilling the role, scope, and mission of the university and college. A part of ULM s Mission seeks to serve the community through teaching and providing complete educational experiences. The Northeast Louisiana region, state, and nation have identified the critical shortage of qualified health care professionals as having a prolonged impact on the provision of health care at all levels of intervention. This program is critical to the development of a pool of nurses with advanced credentials that are qualified to serve in administrative roles to plan, coordinate, and implement care. STAFF SUMMARY The proposed program appears to be within the role, scope, and mission of the University. Program duplication appears not to be a problem, given the lack of similar online degree anywhere in Louisiana and the lack of such a program in northeast Louisiana. The continuing issue of need for such trained professionals throughout Louisiana also mitigates against any duplication concerns. Desegregation issues appear not to be relevant in this case, as Grambling, the proximate other-race university to ULM, agrees that ULM s projected program would not compete with their own MSN program offerings. The University assures that additional costs will be absorbed through current sources of funding, but also notes the critical nature of the projected program to fulfillment of ULM s assigned role, scope, and mission. Given these circumstances, the staff tenders the following recommendation: STAFF RECOMMENDATION The staff recommends that the Academic and Student Affairs Committee grant approval for the proposed Letter of Intent for the projected online Master of Science in Nursing Administration (CIP Code 51.1602) at the University of Louisiana - Monroe.