FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                              November 17, 2006

NURSING PROGRAM RETURNED TO FULL APPROVAL STATUS

            Northwestern Oklahoma State University’s nursing program was returned to full approval status Thursday by the Oklahoma Board of Nursing (OBN) after the group reviewed improvements made by the university during the past seven months.

            “This is tremendous news for Northwestern and for the health care organizations of this area,” said Dr. Janet Cunningham, president of Northwestern. “I want to commend the leadership of Dr. Steve Lohmann, Dr. James Bowen, Dr. Carole McKenzie and the nursing faculty for taking the necessary steps to strengthen our nursing program and position the Division of Nursing for future success.”

            As a result of OBN’s actions, all enrollment restrictions for the nursing program will be removed beginning with the spring semester of 2007.

            The improvements were made following a focus visit by OBN representatives in February. As a result of the visit, OBN placed Northwestern’s nursing program on conditional approval and asked the University to implement its recommendations in the next year.

            Since OBN’s visit last spring, Northwestern implemented the following initiatives to strengthen the nursing program:

·         Increased the amount of supervised clinical time and faculty support to allow students to develop the required knowledge and skill necessary to be successful as a registered nurse;

·         Provided a variety of teaching methods to support student learning;

·         Ensured that admission, progression and graduation standards were implemented consistently and in accordance with written standards, and;

·         Implemented academic assistance for students taking the NCLEX licensing examination for registered nurses.

            Northwestern has full program approval status from the National League for Nursing Accreditation Commission. The group approved eight years of full accreditation in August of 2003. OBN also accredited Northwestern’s nursing program in 2003 and gave the school five years continued program approval, the maximum length allowed.

-NW-

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