WSU master's program in nursing OK'd by panel

Deseret News (Salt Lake City), Apr 11, 2007 by Steve Fidel Deseret Morning News

OGDEN -- Weber State University wants to add a master's program to its nursing school, a proposal the school's Board of Trustees approved Tuesday.

The plan must next win approval from the Board of Regents, which will receive the school's proposal this week and begin a detailed review process, said Weber State Provost Michael Vaughn.

The nursing department hopes to launch the advanced-degree program early in 2008 with 20 students and have 40 students enrolled each year thereafter. Annual program funding of $419,000, when the program is fully operational, would come from a combination of state, endowment and health-care industry funds.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the number of unfilled nursing positions in the United States is expected to grow to more than 1.1 million by 2012. A shortage of nursing instructors is one bottleneck in meeting the demand for additional nurses. Nurses with a master's degree would be qualified to fill faculty positions in nursing schools.

"The rationale for the master's program is that if you're going to produce more nurses at the two- and four-year levels, you're going to need more faculty," Vaughan said.

The University of Utah is currently the only other state- sponsored Utah school that has a master's program in its nursing school. Brigham Young University and Westminster College both have nursing programs that offer master's degrees.

Vaughan said employers are also seeking nurses with more education. "Health-care providers are increasingly making a bachelor's degree a minimum requirement where previously it was a one-year or two-year degree." Advanced degrees also qualify nurses for administrative positions.

Weber State's nursing department has spent the past three years assembling plans for a master's program. Vaughan said the school notified the Board of Regents about the plan a year ago. He doesn't anticipate any opposition and expects regents will mostly be considering "whether the institution is ready to move ahead."

E-mail: sfidel@desnews.com