By LUCIE BURNS
News Editor
As the prolonged search for teach-out partners continues, a plan has been made for Saint Rose’s newly reinstated nursing program to continue at UAlbany. The teach-out program has already passed through the SUNY Board of Trustees and is currently waiting on approval from the New York State Education Department.
UAlbany is planned to be a teach-out partner for undergrad students who have not yet obtained their associate’s degree, therefore not yet become a Registered Nurse. This would mean that this program at UAlbany is going to be a 1+2+1 program, which is one year of classes, two years of clinicals at a partner program, and another year of classes. This is completely new to their UAlbany campus. Their current nursing program is a 2+2, or a RN to BSN program.
“The 1+2+1 teach-out, which is our nursing program, is currently under review and we should be hearing results very shortly. The 1+2+1 has had complete approval of being a teach-out partner at SUNY and it just has to follow the state guidelines before we can officially name UAlbany as a partner absorbing our program,” said Cassandra Marshall, the chair of nursing at Saint Rose. Marshall has recently taken on the role of transition coordinator for nursing amidst the closure.
“A benefit of this role for me is that I am here at Saint Rose to help ‘teach-out’ the students. We have two partners; our teach-out with Siena, but they have an established 1+2+1 program, so it was really looking at both programs and determining how those would intertwine together. UAlbany is completely mirroring our entire program, the same curriculum, partners, and same clinical, so the benefit of having me there is to provide that seamless transfer for when students get there,” said Marshall. She will also be the nursing students’ advisor when they move over to UAlbany’s program, registering them in classes and ensuring their curriculum is ordered in the same ways.
Nursing students in the new program will continue working with the same hospital affiliated programs to complete their clinical hours, as well as sitting to take their NCLEX at the end of their third year. They will also be set to graduate with their associate’s degree as well as bachelor’s degree in nursing. “So the plan that I have been building there is making sure that those clinical opportunities are the same clinical hours, same course expectation, same course assignments, same syllabi, it just will have a different logo and be specific to that university,” Marshall said.
Another similarity that may be unexpected due to the state school’s size is that the program will remain small, as they are only accepting Saint Rose students at this time. “The students’ perspective of UAlbany is such a huge campus and that can be really intimidating coming from a really small private school; however, the nursing department will continue to ensure small class sizes, so that the students really feel engaged,” said Marshall. “So they will be able to still have the small class sizes that we had here and they won’t have to try to adjust to a new facility, and adjust to additional new students, they can stay in their cohorts and in their sequence.”
As for the timeline, it is unknown exactly when the new program will undergo finalization. “I’m hoping soon,” said Marshall. “I would say since we are using the exact curriculum, we are looking at the mission and vision and values between Saint Rose and UAlbany, and kind of marrying those. I don’t foresee there being any barriers to approval.”
Students who have already graduated from their clinicals at the affiliated hospitals can move on to UAlbany’s RN to BSN 2+2 program, if they would like to complete their education or continue with the teach-out agreement for their fourth year. UAlbany will be able to accept students from Saint Rose’s program that have graduated from the hospital affiliated nursing programs with St. Peter’s Hospital College of Nursing and Samaritan and completed their RN after their third year. “UAlbany still has their 2+2 program so they’ll continue with enrolling students in that option, but the 1+2+1 program will only absorb Saint Rose students at this time, just so that UAlbany can really focus on those students because it is such a big disruption,” said Marshall.
Although nursing at Saint Rose began in 1932, it was later terminated until its recent return in 2020. This means that the graduating nursing class of 2024 is the first and final nursing class to graduate in around 70 years. “Again, we are mirroring the program here at Saint Rose, and I think a big part of this was continuing the legacy of the nursing program, as this has been something very meaningful to me being here and growing this program,” said Marshall. “And so, the benefit of the program being mirrored is that the UAlbany campus will have the program to continue that growth and development, and make sure the students are supported.”
