Cleveland State Seeks Nursing Collaboration with Chattanooga State

Holly Vincent
Friday, August 12, 2016 2:42 PM
All, Academics

CLEVELAND, Tenn. – Cleveland State has agreed to a Letter of Intent with Chattanooga State to develop a collaboration to ensure the seamless continuation of nursing education on the Cleveland State campus. Any agreement developed by the two colleges will be pending approval from the Tennessee Board of Nursing. This is in response to Cleveland State’s status with the Tennessee Board of Nursing that restricts the enrollment of new nursing student cohorts until the college reaches an 85 percent first-time NCLEX pass-rate. This status was reconfirmed earlier today at the Tennessee Board of Nursing meeting earlier in Nashville.
“This arrangement provides a possible continuity plan for our nursing program—one that encourages us to return our program to the reputation it has enjoyed for decades,” stated Dr. Bill Seymour, CSCC President. “Research has shown there is a strong demand for nurses and other allied health programs, so we remain committed to seek this growth. This remains a significant part of our strategic plan. This potential arrangement, while unique, is a statement of our commitment to the future of our nursing program.”
At this time, the most recent graduating class has a first-time pass-rate of 87 percent on the NCLEX exam. Since the benchmark is based on all graduates of the previous year, the overall calculation includes the night nursing cohort that finished their program last December. Their pass-rate is less than 80 percent, pulling the overall rate for the year below 85 percent.
In the proposed agreement Chattanooga State will be the education provider for an entering cohort for the fall 2017 semester and provide training and credentials through the two-year program period. These students will be Chattanooga State students in all ways; however, the instruction for these students will take place on the Cleveland State campus.
The potential agreement will only involve one nursing cohort that will commence in August of 2017 and complete in May of 2019. CSCC will continue to provide instruction for all current pre-nursing and nursing cohorts and will resume admitting new cohorts as soon as the restriction from the Tennessee Board of Nursing is lifted.
Seymour continued, “The status with the Tennessee Board of Nursing does not impact accreditation. The CSCC Nursing Program remains fully accredited.”
Dr. Denise King, Vice President of Academic Affairs, stated, “Taking care of our students and our community remains our number one priority. We will continue to work with partners to make sure that our students have access to a local program to assist them on their path to become nurses.”
For more information on the nursing collaboration, contact Nancy LaBine, Director of Nursing, at (423) 478-6227.