College of Allied Health and Nursing Executive Summary

College of Allied Health and Nursing Executive Summary The College of Allied Health and Nursing has a long history of preparing professionals to serve in healthrelated disciplines. In fact, the recently revised Mission of the College states that the College of Allied Health and Nursing is dedicated to educating individuals who promote wellness and improve the quality of life through teaching, scholarship and service. Most of the programs in the College hold external accreditation and many graduates are employed in their field before they complete their degree. Over the past two years, the College has been actively engaged in strategic planning. During the summer of 2013, the College Leadership Team, comprised of chairs of the 7 units in the College, plus our Student Relations Coordinator, our Technology Director, and our Development Director, generated a list of 14 potential strategic priorities to guide us until the completion of the campus-wide Academic Planning process. With the help of facilitators from Regenerate Group, faculty used a retreat to narrow those 14 down to 5 and we brainstormed ideas about what we could accomplish in the upcoming academic year and beyond. The five strategic priorities aligned well with Institutional Goals and included: 1) Student Outcomes and Advising; 2) Fundraising and External Partnerships; 3) Online Pedagogies; 4) Technology; and 5) Transdisciplinary Practice and Scholarship. Faculty volunteered to serve on Action Teams charged with addressing the priorities and making recommendations to the College by January 2014. The top accomplishment of each Action Team included: 1) Hired a new academic advisor with summer revenue; 2) Published the inaugural issue of the College Pulse in May 2014; 3) Funded Quality Matters reviewer training and course certification; 4) Converted HC 2010 into a collaborative learning classroom; and 5) Brought together 140 students and faculty from 5 departments to participate in Interdisciplinary Case Study Day. Additional accomplishments allowed us to serve students in extraordinary ways. INTRODUCTION Following review of the 7 Academic Master Plans submitted, a summary of each of the Academic Planning documents was presented at our January 2015 College meeting. This summary included requests for 19 new positions as well as the Points of Pride and 5-year visions for each unit. At that time, a plan was developed for further review of the documents and the role of the Leadership Team in a deeper dive into the plans. What follows is a summary of the Points of Pride and 5-year visions for each unit. Points of Pride for Dental Hygiene (DH) include the fact that they are the only baccalaureate degree program in MNSCU, they have very high regional and national exam pass rates, they offer a service abroad program in Belize, and they participate in the Give Kids a Smile program. Their five-year vision is to establish a dual enrollment or dual-degree program and expand their online baccalaureate 1

completion program. Family Consumer Science (FCS) faculty considered their Points of Pride to include their longstanding 100% pass rate on the Registered Dietetics exam, the fact that they are the largest and most comprehensive FCS program in the State, and that 3 of the programs in the department hold National accreditation. Their five-year vision includes completion of their new Foods Lab, addition of a master s degree in Dietetics, expansion of the FCS Education program to address teacher shortage in the State and beyond, and addition of a Parent Education licensure program also to address the teacher shortage. Points of Pride for Health Science (HS) include the fact that they are the only Community Health Education graduate program in the State, their programs are nationally accredited, and they have two interdisciplinary undergraduate programs. Their five-year vision includes adding three new national accreditations, increasing the number of articulation agreements and redesigning PH 116 as a collaborative learning classroom with Telepresence to resolve their challenge of securing such space at the times needed for their audiences. Points of Pride for Human Performance (HP) include their longstanding nationally accredited programs, the high demand for their majors, and the strong national and international relationships for research and study abroad. Their five-year vision includes graduating their first cohorts of Athletic Training graduate students, their lab space will be substantially increased, and their behavior-change competencies will be completed. In addition, they hope to have all of their graduate students funded, they will have more short-term study abroad programs available and will have student interns managing the Super Bowl. Nursing faculty identified their Points of Pride as the high achievement of their students, their family- and society-focused curriculum, their high-tech simulation experiences available to students and community partners, and the Taylor Nursing Institute for Family and Society. In five years, they hope to be offering a metro-based BS program, their RN to BS program and offerings will be substantially increased, the size of their Basic Nursing program will be increased as will the BSN to DNP program, and faculty practice and student clinical opportunities will be available on campus. Points of Pride for Recreation, Parks, and Leisure Services (RPLS) include the fact that they are the only nationally accredited Recreation program in the State, they have strong relationships with professionals and agencies throughout the State and region, and they annually host the Professional Connection event and the Summer Job Fair. Their five-year vision includes lab space for experiential learning, the addition of discipline-specific requirements for the Interdisciplinary Studies major, and reaccreditation is attained. Speech, Hearing, and Rehabilitation Services (SHRS) identified their Points of Pride as their longstanding national accreditation of their Communication Disorders graduate program, the high pass rates on board exams, their exceptionally high job placement rates, and their service abroad program in Belize. Their five-year vision includes expansion of their graduate programs, recognition as a regional CE provider with national provider status, and providing Rehabilitation Counseling program offerings within the Metro area. Since the January 2015 College meeting, the Leadership Team has devoted time during our bi-weekly 2

meetings to discuss each unit s Academic Plan further. These discussions culminated in two, 2-hour brainstorming and synthesizing sessions. The Curricular/Programmatic Priorities and the Resource Needs identified in those brainstorming and synthesis sessions are listed below: Curricular/Programmatic Priorities The curricular and programmatic priorities for the 2015-18 planning horizon include successful passage of two new graduate programs through the CDS and beyond. The first is the Wellness Coaching and Disease Prevention Masters of Science program, which is collaborative, interdisciplinary program between the departments of Family Consumer Science, Health Science, and Human Performance. The second is the Masters of Science in Athletic Training. This program will replace the baccalaureate program due to changes in accreditation standards. In addition, the Leadership Team identified two undergraduate programs and three graduate programs as priorities among the several programs within the College that indicated a desire for growth. These include the undergraduate programs in Alcohol and Drug Studies and the Dental Hygiene. Graduate programs identified as a priority for supporting growth include graduate programs in Human Performance, Rehabilitation Counseling, and the post-master s Doctorate of Nursing Practice certificate. Other curricular and programmatic priorities identified by the Leadership team include the development of a consumer studies degree program, a parent education licensure program, and a post-baccalaureate Family Consumer Science Education licensure program, all within the department of Family Consumer Science. In addition, attainment of accreditation in Community Health Education and in Alcohol and Drug Studies are curricular priorities as is the maintenance of accreditations within Recreation, Parks and Leisure Services was identified as a priority. Finally, the creation of a Center for Communication Disorders was determined to be a priority for the College of Allied Health and Nursing, as was identification of ways to support expansion of the use of simulation in the Basic Nursing Program. Resource Needs The personnel resource needs for the 2015-18 timeframe for the College identified by the Leadership Team include six probationary lines, one for each of Speech, Hearing and Rehabilitation Services (specifically for Communication Disorders), Dental Hygiene, Health Science and Recreation, Parks, and Leisure Services and two for Nursing. In addition, funding for two MSUAAF positions in Nursing was identified as a priority as was the additional of administrative support for the Activities Program currently housed within Human Performance. The addition of resources allowing reassigned time for interdisciplinary work also was identified as a priority. Resources also identified as a priority for the College include acquisition of additional lab space for Human Performance and funds to remodel Pennington Hall 116 into a Telepresence classroom and to remodel space within Wiecking Hall for a Foods Lab. In addition, technology needs of the College were identified as a priority and include software and hardware for Phase II Clinical Sciences vacated space remodeling and for remote clinical service delivery. ACADEMIC AWARD PROGRAMS There are 16 undergraduate programs within the College of Allied Health and Nursing (see table above 3

or below). Two of these are baccalaureate-completion programs that are delivered exclusively in online platforms (DH; RN to BS); 3 graduate certificate programs are offered in online platforms (Coaching Education; Forensic Vocational Rehabilitation; Public Health Education). There are ten masters programs and four graduate certificate program that are offered in face-to-face and/or hybrid formats in the College. The Doctorate of Nursing Practice (DNP) is now being offered independent of the previous consortium agreement and is in its second year of offering coursework. The DNP is offered in an online plus format and sequences either from the Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) and from the Masters of Science in Nursing (MSN). One undergraduate program will be suspended in FY16 (Athletic Training) and three graduate certificate programs will be suspended in the coming year (Coaching Education; Forensic Vocational Rehabilitation; Clinical Nurse). Several programs are currently in the process of revising curricula including: Alcohol and Drug Studies, the BS and the MS in Community Health Education, the Graduate Certificate in Public Health Education, and the RN Baccalaureate Completion Program. Three new or resurrected academic programs are on their way through CDS and beyond: Athletic Training master s program, Wellness Coaching and Disease Prevention master s program, and Physical Education master s program. We aspire to roll out these programs over the next two years and will require additional staff and resources. Two additional probationary lines in HP will be needed to support the new graduate programs in Athletic Training and Wellness Coaching and Disease Prevention as well as the resurrection of the graduate program in Physical Education. With carefully crafted position descriptions, we could find individuals that could serve all three programs. The AH&N Leadership Team affirmed the importance of supporting these programs in every way possible as we anticipate strong enrollments in these programs based on employment projections in iseek of LMIwise. The projection for employment of graduates of the Athletic Training Program is reported to be well above statewide projections. Projection data for the other two programs that have been approved are more challenging to ascertain. Most individuals seeking the Wellness Coaching and Disease Prevention master s degree hold other credentials including nursing, exercise science, nutrition, among others. But there is a waiting list to sit for the Mayo Clinic Wellness certificate exam. That credential would be acquired along with the master s degree in our program. In addition, many individuals seeking the master s in Physical Education already have positions in public school settings; that is the attraction of the online platform for pursuing this degree. The Leadership Team also supported expanding the DH baccalaureate completion program. This high demand online program has tripled in three years and could admit more students, in particular as they seek to develop dual enrollment and/or dual-degree partnerships with MNSCU institutions. Additional faculty will be necessary to expand these offerings. There is also great potential for developing an online post-baccalaureate program in Communication Disorders. The significant shortage of master s prepared speech-language pathologists is welldocumented, but increasing the graduate program would be very expensive. We would serve the discipline better by providing opportunities for individuals who hold a baccalaureate degree in something other than communication sciences and disorders to take the prerequisite coursework necessary for admission to a graduate program in Communication Disorders. Once that postbaccalaureate program is successful, the revenue generated can be used to expand the size of the existing graduate program. 4

As a Leadership Team, we also identified the need and opportunity surrounding increasing the size of the Nursing programs, in particular, the graduate programs in Nursing. While job opportunities continue to exist for bachelor s prepared RNs, the greater need for the future in this region will be for advance practice nurses. Current projections from the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) indicate that we may face a surplus of registered Nurses in the state and region. However, there will be a need for baccalaureate-prepared nurses and we are well postured to address this need. AACN reported anticipating significant shortages of advance practice nurses. And we are well postured in the Metro area and beyond with our mostly online graduate programs. We need to support the existing cohorts as they move through our new RN to DNP sequence and expand the offerings in these programs. This will require additional faculty and staff. There are also opportunities to engage students who are not admitted to the Basic Nursing program and other health-related disciplines both on-campus and in the Metro area by developing a healthrelated degree completion program. It will be important to finalize any articulation agreements with Normandale Community College and other regional two-year institutions to offer the Community Health Education program as well as other health-related programs, including the Associate of Arts degree in Liberal Studies with emphasis in Allied Health professions. We need confirmation of the model for review sharing with Extended Education. We have so many opportunities to reach new demographics of students with programs available in the College of Allied Health and Nursing. As we discussed these opportunities, it was clear that we did not have all of the answers about how to reach out to these students effectively nor how a revenue stream could support expansion of these offerings. We are eager to have a better understanding of the Extended Education model for program offerings and potential revenue. STUDENT ENROLLMENT AND SUCCESS Ten of the undergraduate programs in the College of Allied Health and Nursing are ranked in the top 40 majors declared by incoming freshman. That translates to 25% of all incoming students selecting majors within our College. Undergraduate students within the College persist from semester to semester, complete awards, and gain employment at high levels. Each program within the College is committed to improving the persistence, completion, and employment rates of our students as well as increasing the number of students from diverse cultures in our programs. In fact, in January, the Student Relations Coordinator in the College, Shirley Murray, took it upon herself to contact 22 students who were on academic warning from the Fall 2014 semester and who had not registered for spring semester. With her encouragement, 6 of those 22 students did return to register for Spring semester 2015 courses. This is just one example of our commitment to retaining students until they are successful in completing their program of study. Persistence Six programs have retention rates for all students at rates that exceeded the University mean of 85.6% (FCS-Teaching; School Health-Teaching; Exercise Science; PhyEd-Teaching; RPLS; Communication Disorders). All programs within the College aspire to retain students at levels higher than currently achieved. Retention rates for student of color in undergraduate programs within the College vary 5

dramatically. And although three programs demonstrated retention rates of 100%, this is due to very small cohorts. Again, there is a desire to increase retention rates for all students of color in programs within the College. In Health Science, resources are being sought to support students of color with English language barriers and increase both retention and completion rates. Completion The 4-year and 6-year completion rates are very high for several programs in AH&N. Eleven programs in the College met or exceeded the University 6-year completion rate of 52.2%., with two programs demonstrating 6-year completion rates of 100% (Family Consumer Science-Teaching and School Health-Teaching). Each program in the College expressed a desire to increase completion rates for cohorts of students. Employment Employment rates for graduates are also very high in AH&N with eleven programs, reaching the 85% or higher Employment Rate. 85% of students in Communication Disorders continue their education following graduation. This is due to the fact that the master s degree is required for certification as a speechlanguage pathologist. Diversity The diversity of students in programs within Allied Health and Nursing varies considerably from 0% in School Health-Teaching (Department of Health Science) to 41.9% in Community Health (Department of Health Science). Currently six of the 15 undergraduate programs have a higher percentage of students of color than the Institutional Goal for 2014 and 4 of the 8 graduate programs exceeded that target. Community Health has consistently attracted the most students of color over the last several years in both the undergraduate program and the graduate program. All programs program in the College expressed a desire to increase completion rates for cohorts of students. Several departments within the College employ faculty of color (Human Performance; Nursing; Recreation, Parks and Leisure Services; Speech, Hearing, and Rehabilitation Services). Searches successfully completed this academic year have resulted in the hiring of 3 additional faculty diverse backgrounds. RESOURCES As we begin our planning to furnish the new Clinical Sciences building, we are mindful of the need for very specialized equipment and technology. At the same time, our Academic Master Planning process has highlighted the fact that the units in the College who will not be moving into the new building have resource needs as well. As identified in the department summaries, we have needs for laboratory space and equipment for Family Consumer Science, Health Science, Human Performance, and Recreation, Parks, and Leisure Services. The Leadership Team prioritized those needs in our discussions. In addition, we have a significant need for greater access to Telepresence. We want to use Summer Revenue to reconfigure an existing space or new space in the Clinical Sciences building for a Telepresence classroom that will provide greater access for delivering programs to students in the Metro area, 6

particularly in the evening when we have to compete with the rest of campus for access. Another resource priority identified by the College Leadership Team was support for implementing the Activities Program. In the administrative separation of Athletics and Human Performance, we were allocated the equivalent of 75 credits to deliver the Activities Program. At that time, we also were provided administrative support to search and hire individuals to deliver those 75 credits of courses and reassigned time to oversee the set up and delivery of those courses. However, the support for the Activities Program disappeared and there is a need to figure out how to regain oversight and support to implement this program. In addition, there have been or will be changes in leadership in 4 departments within the College over the next few years. The College Leadership Team has identified succession planning professional development for department chairs as a priority. CONTINUING EDUCATION AND CUSTOMIZED TRAINING There are numerous opportunities within the College to serve the continuing education needs of alumni and regional professionals. In Communication Disorders, we are seeking national provider status for delivering Continuing Education Units with the intent to be the regional provider of continuing education offerings for speech-language pathologists and professionals in related disciplines. This would be a significant source of revenue that could support expansion of the graduate program in Communication Disorders. In addition, we recently have been approached by Mayo Clinic to provide Customized Training in Simulation in addition to the simulation training we currently provide to University of Minnesota, Family Practice residents. We will be working with the Director of Continuing Education and Customized Training to offer professionals from Mayo Health Systems and other regional medical facilities simulation experiences as part of ongoing professional development. This exciting opportunity would permit revenue generating opportunities for the School of Nursing to invest directly into the graduate programs. GRANTS/CONTRACT A total of 12 grant proposals or contract agreements have been submitted this academic year totaling more than $1,700,000; three proposals have been funded at various amounts. Most grants or contracts are for the purpose of funding graduate assistants (GAs) or to fund a portion of the cost of clinical training for Family Nurse Practitioners in various clinical sites; one proposal was a training grant to fund faculty and students in Rehabilitation Counseling. All units within the College expressed a desire to increase the number of grant submissions; some units discussed the need to identify strategies to support faculty in developing grant proposals. The reasons that grants and contracts are sought varied but included funding for GAs, clinical sites, faculty and student research, improvement of teaching pedagogies, direct service and experiential learning opportunities, and equipment needs within the Clinical Sciences building. DEPARTMENT PERSONNEL (ALL FUND SOURCES) As reflected in the College Leadership Team synthesis, the following personnel priorities emerged: 1) 7

add probationary lines in Nursing in each of 2015 and 2016 to support cohorts moving through the graduate program; 2) add a probationary line in Dental Hygiene to expand the online baccalaureate completion program and to assist in the development of a graduate program in Dental Hygiene; 3) add two new faculty to Family Consumer Science, Health Science, or Human Performance to support the new Wellness Coaching and Disease Prevention master s degree program; 4) add a probationary line in Communication Disorders to expand the size of the graduate program and support the development of a post-baccalaureate program in Communication disorders; 5) use Online Differential or Summer Revenue to sustain the graduate program in School Health; 6) add a probationary line in Recreation, Parks, and Leisure Services to increase offerings; 7) add 2 MSUAAF positions to teach and assist in Simulation Lab; 8) add additional administrative support for the Activities Program in Human Performance. PROGRAM ASPIRATIONS OR BIG IDEAS THAT EXTEND 5, 10, OR 15 YEARS AND BEYOND A number of provocative ideas surfaced at the department level within the planning documents. Among these are ways to manage and increase enrollments. Specifically, many of the programs within the College are experiencing significant growth in fields where shortages exist. Without additional resources to support new faculty lines, we are challenged to adequately handle the increasing numbers of students desiring to complete these majors. In particular, Communication Disorders, Dental Hygiene, and Nursing could add additional graduate or undergraduate students if additional faculty lines were available. We are likely to be able to support expansion of the baccalaureate completion program in Dental Hygiene by funding positions with online differential or Extended Education revenue. Programs like speech-language pathology and nursing are harder to fund in this way due to accreditation mandates. In addition, professionals in these programs can earn higher salaries in the private sector than we have been able to offer at the University; we are doing better with new hires in Nursing than we had been previously. We will continue to explore avenues to permit more students to receive awards and move into rewarding, high-demand professions. In addition, there is significant potential for increasing enrollments in the undergraduate programs in Dietetics, Family Consumer Science, Food Science, Exercise Science, Health and Physical Education, and Sport Management. Each of these programs has strong interest by students and has resulted in employment opportunities for graduates. Although recommendations to consider a Clinical Doctorate for Allied Health Professions did not emerge, subsequent conversations indicate interest in initiating ongoing discussions of the development of an applied clinical doctorate. Finally, the Minnesota Board of Teaching has approached Jill Conlon, Chair of Family Consumer Science, to develop a postbaccalaureate certificate in Family Consumer Science Education. This online program will help address the significant shortage of FCS Educators in the region. As we look 15 years into the future we see three new master s programs: Dental Hygiene; Child Development and Family Studies; Child Life. We also see the potential for two new doctoral programs: the Doctorate of Nursing Education and the Clinical Doctorate which could include many of the programs in the College. In addition, we see a new accreditation in Exercise Science but the American College of Sport Medicine. Finally, we see the lower level of the new Clinical Sciences Building fully utilized with laboratory space for programs in Human Performance and Recreation, Parks, and Leisure Services as well as a telepresence classroom. We also see an outpatient healthcare facility staffed by 8

advance practice nurses and graduate students offering a range of medical services and collaborations on campus as well as remotely to locations around the state, country, and world. CONCLUSION The College of Allied Health and Nursing is well postured to meet a bright future of serving students at the associate, undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral levels to prepare them for rewarding, highdemand careers. We are eager to work collaboratively to attract, retain, grant awards, and mentor students at all levels of educational opportunity. 9