MSU partners with MN North College to help students become registered nurses

Minnesota State University, Mankato and Minnesota North College have partnered together to create an RN-BS completion program known as MAP to help students who have completed their RN  from MN North continue on the path to earning a bachelor’s degree.

This program is a fully online transfer pathway that offers an opportunity for students to expand their education through remote study. Laura Schwarz developed this program and sees this as one of the most beneficial parts of the program.

A large portion of students who enter the MAP program are fully invested in their communities. This partnership makes it possible for students to continue to serve in their communities without having to relocate. 

“Students in this program are very fiercely loyal to their community. Most of them have homes, families, other obligations, children, parents, grandparents, and other people that they’re looking out for as nurses, they are caregivers beyond just work,” said Schwarz.

Program Advisor, Marie Slotemaker, noted the main goal of this partnership is to allow students to continue their education seamlessly, giving them the flexibility  to move forward with  finishing their bachelor’s degree at their own pace. 

“All seven of our program courses are available every semester, including summer. Students can also progress at their pace,” Schwartz explained. “If they go full-time, they can graduate in under a year. If they go part-time, it’s somewhere around one and a half to two years total.” 

Unlike the traditional nursing program offered by MSU, this program targets students who are furthering their education rather than students directly out of high school. This benefits MSU by bringing a different demographic of students.

“We serve a large nontraditional population. This program is really benefiting the university because we are reaching a different type of student than the traditional student out of high school,” said Slotemaker. “This is possible because our program is online and flexible, our students can be working full time but also still be pursuing a bachelor’s degree while they’re doing that.”

This transfer pathway can also be beneficial for current MSU students who were not accepted into the nursing program and have or plan to move to a two-year institution to continue pursuing a career in nursing. MAP gives a great opportunity for them to go elsewhere to complete a two-year program and return to MSU to complete a bachelor’s degree.

Students can learn more about this partnership by either contacting Laura Schwartz (laura.schwartz@mnsu.edu), Marie Slotemaker (marie.slotemaker@mnsu.edu) or by visiting mnsu.edu/about-the-university/news-and-events/.

Header photo: The goal of combining MSU and MN North College is to create an opportunity for students to expand their education remotely. (Courtesy photo of Laura Schwartz)

Write to Andrea Schoenecker at andrea.schoenecker@mnsu.edu