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ASU West Nursing to Go Year Round
PHOENIX (By Louie Villalobos, Arizona Republic) July 27,
2007 —
Arizona State University West will begin offering nursing courses year-round
next month and, as a result, be able to graduate students a semester early. The change is expected to help Arizona and the rest of the country deal with a shortage of nurses, ASU West said in a news release. The university's nursing program, which is based in Tempe, admits 20 students each semester to the ASU West campus. This fall, an additional 40 students will be able to take the classes on a year-round basis. According to numbers provided by ASU West, Arizona is expected to have a shortage of more than 8,000 nurses by next year. Nationally, there is a shortage of 126,000 nurses. That number is expected to climb to at least 400,000 by 2020. "ASU will be able to put a greater number of registered nurses into the field more quickly," said Mary Killeen, associate dean for undergraduate programs in the College of Nursing at ASU's Tempe campus. "That's a definite social benefit." The addition of a summer semester was done after the College of Nursing polled current and prospective students on their opinion of going to year-round classes. The results of the poll showed there was an interest in the additional semester, ASU West officials said. Students will still be able to choose the traditional fall-spring schedule, and course offerings are not expected to be affected by the change. |
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