MACON — Mercer University’s Georgia Baptist College of Nursing, the state’s longest standing educator of nurses, has received state approval to expand its Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree to the University’s Macon campus. The Georgia Board of Nursing, which approves programs that educate students to sit for nursing licensing exams, approved the expansion on Oct. 23. The program will open in fall of 2013 and offer the final two years of nursing education to current Mercer students, as well as transfers.
“We are very pleased to be able to extend our baccalaureate program to the Macon campus,” said Dr. Linda A. Streit, professor and dean of the College. “Georgia Baptist College of Nursing brings a longstanding, 110-year history of excellence in nursing education, and we are excited to expand into Macon for the first time.”
The College has already signed contracts for clinical sites, including Coliseum Medical Center, Houston Medical Center, Medical Center of Central Georgia and Oconee Regional Medical Center. With the approval, the College will begin to recruit faculty to the program. In all, the program will enroll up to 45 students per year and just under 100 nursing undergraduate students when fully implemented, Dr. Streit said.
Through the College of Liberal Arts, the University has long admitted pre-nursing students who complete their two years of undergraduate core requirements in Macon. Beginning in the fall of 2013, those students may apply to the new Bachelor of Science in Nursing program, which is identical to the program the College offers on Mercer’s Cecil B. Day Campus in Atlanta. The program will also admit transfer students with the appropriate core classes, Dr. Streit said.
The University’s Board of Trustees and the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools previously approved the expansion. The final remaining piece for approval is for the College to submit a report to the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education within 60 days of the first nursing class. Freshmen interested in attending the nursing program on the Macon campus began entering the pre-nursing curriculum plan in fall 2011. Those students will be eligible to apply for the nursing program in Macon or Atlanta campuses, beginning fall semester 2013.
For admission into pre-nursing coursework, contact Mercer Macon Campus Undergraduate Admissions at admissions@mercer.edu, (478) 301-2650 or 1-800-840-8577. For application to the Bachelor of Science in Nursing program, contact Georgia Baptist College of Nursing Admissions Office at nursingadmissions@mercer.edu, (678) 547-6700 or 1-800-551-8835.
About the Georgia Baptist College of Nursing
Founded in 1902 as a school of nursing, the Georgia Baptist College of Nursing is the oldest nursing program in Georgia. Over its 110-year history, the College has graduated more than 7,198 nurses. Since its founding, the College has been dedicated to educating the person, fostering the passion and shaping the future of nursing. The College merged with Mercer University in 2001 and offers a Bachelor of Science in Nursing, a Master of Science in Nursing, a Doctor of Nursing Practice and a Ph.D. in Nursing. nursing.mercer.edu
About Mercer University
Founded in 1833, Mercer University is a dynamic and comprehensive center of undergraduate, graduate and professional education. The University enrolls more than 8,300 students in 11 schools and colleges – liberal arts, law, pharmacy, medicine, business, engineering, education, theology, music, nursing and continuing and professional studies – on campuses in Macon, Atlanta and Savannah – and four regional academic centers across the state. The Mercer Health Sciences Center launched July 1, 2012, and includes the University’s medical, nursing and pharmacy schools and will add a fourth college – the College of Health Professions – on July 1, 2013. Mercer is affiliated with four teaching hospitals — Memorial University Medical Center in Savannah, the Medical Center of Central Georgia in Macon, and The Medical Center and St. Francis Hospital in Columbus. The University also has educational partnerships with Warner Robins Air Logistics Complex in Warner Robins and Piedmont Healthcare in Atlanta. It operates an academic press and a performing arts center in Macon and an engineering research center in Warner Robins. Mercer is the only private university in Georgia to field an NCAA Division I athletic program. www.mercer.edu
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