Messenger - Vol. 3, No. 4, Page 12
Summer 1994
College of Nursing exceeds $1 million goal

     The University of Delaware's College of Nursing Scholarship
Endowment Campaign has raised $1,040,258, exceeding its fund-raising
goal of $1 million.
     "Our premise that the availability of scholarships would attract
increased numbers of quality students into the nursing profession has
been validated," Sherman L. Townsend of Dover, University trustee and
co-chair of the campaign, said. "Since the inception of our
fund-raising efforts in 1991, the enrollment of students in the
College of Nursing has increased 31 percent. The number of freshmen
this year is 108, compared to 62 last year. In the past year, 20
percent of the students offered admission to the College of Nursing
were eligible for the University Honors Program."
     Betty Paulanka, dean of the College of Nursing, noted that the
campaign received support from a wide range of individuals, including
health care professionals, members of the medical and nursing
professions, hospitals and corporations and businesses allied with
health care such as Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Delaware, DuPont Merck
Pharmaceuticals and Zeneca Pharmaceuticals Group.
     Other members of the campaign steering committee are trustee
Catherine Flickinger, co-chair, and alumnae Linda Harra, Jayne
Huntington and Carol Sirkowski and Susan Noyes.
     The College of Nursing currently has an enrollment of 473
full-time and 22 part-time undergraduate bachelor's degree students
and 109 part-time and 16 full-time students for the master's degree
program. Both programs are fully accredited by the National League of
Nursing.
     This year, the college implemented three new programs to meet the
needs of the changing health care system:
        * The Family Nurse Practitioner Program of graduate study
          focuses on health promotion and prevention. This year's
          program is filled with an extensive waiting list for new
          admissions.
        * An Accelerated Second Degree Program for returning adult
          students with previous degrees started in January. Thirteen
          months of intensive study will allow 24 returning adult
          students to complete nursing degree requirements by the end
          of January 1995. The college currently has 90 adult students
          preparing to complete prerequisites for future accelerated
          degree classes.
        * Returning RN students from diploma and associate degree
          programs can now enter their own major-the Bachelor's Degree
          for Registered Nurses (BRN)-to earn their BSN degrees. This
          major eliminates the replication of course work required in
          the college's basic BSN program. It also allows students to
          complete course work in a video format offered in their
          homes or work sites, at times convenient to the students.

     The College of Nursing's partnership with the Division of
Continuing Education and University Media Services continues to expand
distance education alternatives for nursing degrees at both the
baccalaureate and master's levels. Satellite and video delivery
options now provide continuing education contact hours required for
mandatory nursing relicensure.
     Money from the scholarship endowment fund will support a variety
of students seeking nursing degrees.