College of the Rockies thrilled to offer entire Bachelor of Nursing Program

Students going into the first or second year of the program will be able to complete the entire course locally.

Premier Christie Clark has announced that students taking the Bachelor of Nursing program through College of the Rockies will be able to complete the entire course locally, starting September 2016. — Photo courtesy COTR

College of the Rockies received some welcome news on Thursday, June 24 when Premier Christie Clark announced at the Cranbrook Chamber of Commerce lunch that the Bachelor of Science in Nursing program will be held in its entirety at the College’s Cranbrook campus.

“This is a terrific opportunity for the College, our students and our region,” says Dean of Health and Human Services Heather Hepworth.  “Not only can our students remain in the East Kootenays to complete their entire program but we can retain our graduates for employment in health care in the region.”

College of the Rockies has been educating nurses for over 20 years and has been in partnership with the University of Victoria since September 2005.  Currently, students in the Nursing program complete their first five semesters at College of the Rockies before transferring to University of Victoria to complete the final three semesters.

College of the Rockies and University of Victoria are working together to ensure a smooth transition of the entire four-years of the Nursing program to the College.  Students going into first or second year of the program in September will be able to complete the entire program in Cranbrook.

The health sector is one of the largest and fastest growing in British Columbia.  The high demand for nurses translates into a high demand for nursing education.  College of the Rockies regularly has an extensive waiting list for their 32 seats available each September.

“Our program intakes for the 2016 and 2017 Fall semesters are full so we are not currently taking applications at this time,” explains Hepworth.  “This is a great opportunity for those interested in taking the nursing program to ensure they have all the prerequisites necessary or to take some of the non-nursing courses required in the program. We will begin accepting applications for Fall 2018 on November 1, 2017.”

A one-time grant of $450,000 over three years is being provided by the Ministry of Advanced Education for the planning and transition required to move the entire program to College of the Rockies.

Learn more about College of the Rockies’ Bachelor of Science in Nursing at: cotr.ca/regnurse