Mount St. Mary's Collaborative Degree Completion

 

Overview:

Notre Dame of Maryland University and Mount St. Mary’s University agree to offer a collaborative option in which students will pursue a Bachelor of Science (BS) degree in Health Science from Mount St. Mary’s University and a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) at NDMU. This relationship will provide for an ease of transition and foster a relationship that encourages collaborative degree completion.

The goal of the Accelerated Second-Degree BSN Program (ABSN) is to increase the number of baccalaureate prepared nurses to address the critical nursing shortage in Maryland and nationally. This relationship will provide for an ease of transition and foster a relationship that encourages collaborative degree completion. Following successful completion of the BS degree in Health Science, students and graduates who meet the admission criteria shall enroll in the ABSN program. The ABSN program has two different delivery methods 1) an on-ground option at the Charles Street location, Baltimore campus, which offers a one time a year start in May, and 2) a hybrid (H-ABSN) option that consists of a combination of both on-line courses and in-person clinical experiences and other activities at the Elkridge Learning Site in Elkridge, MD (heretofore referred to as Elkridge) and local healthcare facilities. A three times—September-Fall Semester, January-Spring Semester, and May-Summer Semester)—a year start is offered at Elkridge.

Overall Requirement:

Mount St. Mary’s shall award the BS degree in Health Science pre-nursing upon successful completion of the Health Science pre-nursing degree requirements. Students must meet admission criteria, including pre-requisites for the ABSN nursing program as a degree seeking student. The BSN degree will be awarded by NDMU upon successful completion of the degree requirements. While in the Health Science program, students may apply to the ABSN nursing program at NDMU. A Mount St. Mary’s student may be conditionally accepted prior to enrollment in the first semester of the ABSN program until all pre-requisites have been completed and the BS degree conferred. NDMU will reserve 10 seats per year for qualified applicants.

Admissions & Eligibility:

Mount St. Mary’s students who are or will be enrolled in the Health Science, Pre-Nursing program may be eligible for the ABSN program.

A student interested in the BS/BSN collaborative degree program shall be encouraged to meet with the Mount St. Mary’s designated advisor as soon as possible upon matriculation or when a student makes a decision about pursuing a nursing career to ensure appropriate course scheduling and admission criteria reviewed.

Mount St. Mary’s students shall complete an online application for admission to the ABSN program.

The ABSN Admission Counselors shall serve as the point of contact prior to full acceptance into the ABSN program to ensure all materials for review by the School of Nursing Admission and Progression committee have been obtained.

The School of Nursing Admission and Progression committee shall review applicants’ materials and make a decision for full, conditional, or deny acceptance. A conditional acceptance is appropriate when all pre-requisites have not been fully met or a degree not conferred but will be prior to the first week of the start of the ABSN program.

The candidate must have fulfilled or demonstrates satisfactory progress toward fulfillment of NDMU’s ABSN program prerequisite course requirements. (Appendix A)

Mount St. Mary's University shall provide an official recommendation for each applicant from the designated advisor. The recommendation will include a statement as to whether the candidate is "recommended" or "not recommended," followed by a narrative format describing attributes such as academic performance, campus citizenship/engagement, leadership potential, emotional maturity, and the candidate's potential capacity to function in a health career setting narrative format describing attributes such as academic performance, campus citizenship/engagement, leadership potential, emotional maturity, and the candidate's potential capacity to function in a health career setting.