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University of Maryland School of Nursing and Harford Community College Sign Dual-Admission Partnership Agreement

March 8, 2018

Community college students can take UMSON courses while completing associate degree. 

Baltimore, Md. – The University of Maryland School of Nursing (UMSON) and Harford Community College (HCC) in Bel Air, Maryland, recently signed an agreement of dual admission that will ensure students’ seamless transition from HCC’s Associate Degree in Nursing (ADN) program to UMSON’s Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) program. HCC becomes the eighth community college in Maryland to sign such an agreement with UMSON.

‌Through the agreement, students can apply and be admitted to UMSON’s BSN program while in HCC’s ADN program. Students will receive transfer credits from UMSON for completed coursework at HCC and will be granted special student status, allowing them to take UMSON courses while still working on their associate degree, thereby saving them time and money in completing their BSN degree.

“We encourage all of our nursing students to determine their career goals early in their nursing education and develop an academic progression plan,” said Laura Cianelli Preston, dean, Nursing and Allied Health Professions, HCC. “This partnership adds to our students’ options in taking the next step in advancing their nursing degree.”

An effort to increase qualified nursing candidates, the agreement is helping further the mission of the Future of Nursing: Campaign for Action, an initiative of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the AARP to advance comprehensive health care change. The campaign uses as its framework the landmark 2010 Institute of Medicine report, The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health. The partnership program specifically addresses one of the eight goals set forth in the report: to increase the proportion of nurses with a baccalaureate degree to 80 percent by 2020.

“We are excited to begin this partnership with Harford Community College. It will provide ADN students at Harford Community College with a flexible BSN degree option for continuing their education,” said Linda Murray, DNP '16, MS '84, CPNP-Ped, assistant professor and director, RN-to-BSN Program, UMSON. “This option provides them with a seamless transition to the BSN, as it enables them to work on prerequisites or take UMSON courses while enrolled in their prelicensure program.”

To matriculate to UMSON’s BSN program, students must graduate with an ADN from HCC and satisfy UMSON’s progression criteria

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The University of Maryland School of Nursing, founded in 1889, is one of the oldest and largest nursing schools in the nation and is ranked among the top 10 nursing schools in the United States. Enrolling nearly 1,900 students in its baccalaureate, master’s, and doctoral programs, the School develops leaders who shape the profession of nursing and impact the health care environment.