UC Nursing Program Scrambles to Find New Faculty
By Williams, Walt
CHARLESTON – When students in the University of Charleston’s nursing program head back to class later this month, they will see some new faces.
Three professors and the former chairwoman of the university’s nursing program have resigned in recent months, leaving the school scrambling to find replacements before classes start Aug. 27.
The school has hired a new chairwoman and is in the process of hiring four instructors to replace the staff it lost. Martha Rader, the new chairwoman of the Division of Health Sciences, said change is always unsettling, but it brings new opportunities as well.
“So we’re encouraged that we are going to have a very good year,” she said.
UC is a private university that is expecting to enroll more than 1,400 students during the 2008-2009 school year. Attendance has been increasing in recent years, with UC enjoying the highest enrollment in more than 30 years last year, according to the university.
Among those students are the 60 students in the university’s nursing program. Thirty are in the two-year associate’s degree program, and 30 are in the four-year bachelor’s degree program.
The nursing program always has had high turnover, but this year it was unusually high with the four resignations, said Charles Stebbins, provost and dean of the faculty. While he didn’t name any names, Stebbins said the chairwoman resigned to take another position within the university, while another faculty member left to take a higher paying job.
“I don’t view it as an alarming situation,” he said. “Certainly l wish the timing was better.”
The West Virginia Board of Examiners for Registered Professional Nurses, which is a state board that accredits nursing programs, held an emergency meeting Aug. 11 to review what UC was doing to fill the positions. The board plans to review the situation again during its next meeting in October.
The hiring of Rader, who started Aug. 1, was the first step the university took to bring its nursing program staff levels back to normal. Rader has a Ph.D. from Ohio State University in education policy and leadership and is a trained physical therapist. She has taught at five universities, most recently serving as dean of the College of Professional Studies at Shawnee State University.
Rader noted that DC’s most recent batch of nursing students has enjoyed a high success rate in passing licensure exams. All 16 students in the bachelor’s degree program from the previous school year passed their exams, while 20 out of the 22 students in the associate’s degree program passed their exams.
Copyright State Journal Corporation Aug 15, 2008
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