| Olympic College (OC) received a nod from the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities, which approved the college’s proposal for informal candidacy at the baccalaureate level while retaining accreditation for associate degrees. The candidacy will allow Olympic College to begin reviewing student applications and formally admitting them to the Bachelor’s of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree program, which will begin in the Fall.
The Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities provides accreditation for private and public institutions across the Northwest. Olympic College is accredited as a two-year community college through the Commission. The new candidacy allows the college to begin offering a Bachelor’s of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree. This will be the first time in its 60-year history that the college will offer its own baccalaureate program.
“The Bachelor’s of Science in Nursing will expand options and create additional opportunities for local citizens,” said Dr. David Mitchell, president of Olympic College. “The BSN is another way to fill the demand for higher education in the region and meet the mission of community colleges.”
OC is teaming up with the University of Washington Tacoma (UWT) to jump-start the degree program. UWT will help set up the curriculum and provide instruction for the nursing courses during the first year. The general education courses will be taught at Olympic College. Following the first year, the entire program will be run by OC.
To offer the BSN, the college has had to go through a comprehensive approval process. In April 2006, the school received approval from the State Board for Community and Technical Colleges. The Higher Education and Coordinating Board approved of Olympic College’s application for the BSN in July 2006.
The most recent step was seeking informal candidacy from the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. The college is now required to conduct a comprehensive self-study that will culminate with a Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities evaluation in fall 2009. This is the normal process colleges follow after achieving candidacy through the Commission.
The BSN is another way the college is addressing the need for four-year access in Kitsap and Mason counties. Currently, Olympic College has partnerships with universities that offer four-year degrees, including St. Martin’s University, Western Washington University, and Old Dominion University.
The Legislature granted authority and provided funding for the community and technical college system to offer four pilot applied bachelor’s degrees as a way to increase access to four-year degrees in the state. Applied bachelor’s degrees take the current two-year technical degrees and add on junior and senior level. | 