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University of Maryland School of Nursing and the College of Southern Maryland Sign Dual Admission Partnership Agreement

April 13, 2015

Students will be able to apply to both schools simultaneously and satisfy the requirements of both schools.

‌Baltimore, Md. – The University of Maryland School of Nursing (UMSON) and the College of Southern Maryland (CSM) recently signed an agreement of dual admission that will bring a seamless transition from the Associate of Science in Nursing to the Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree to southern Maryland.

UMSON has partnered with CSM to design a program where nursing students may apply to both schools simultaneously and progress through the program, satisfying the requirements of both schools. In addition to transfer credits for completed coursework, UMSON will award students 30 credits toward their BSN degree at UMSON upon verification of an active registered nurse license. BSN coursework can be completed through Web hybrid courses taught onsite at CSM by UMSON faculty members.

Believed to be a step in the right direction for increasing qualified nursing candidates, the agreement will also help further the mission of the Institute of Medicine’s (IOM) Future of Nursing Campaign for Action to advance comprehensive health care change. Specifically, it will address one of the eight goals set forth in the IOM report, The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health, to increase the proportion of nurses with a baccalaureate degree to 80 percent by 2020.

“Baccalaureate programs in this country can’t meet this target unless we embrace and welcome these opportunities to establish partnerships between associate’s degree-granting institutions and those offering baccalaureate education,” said UMSON Dean Jane M. Kirschling, PhD, RN, FAAN. “I’m so excited and pleased that this legacy, in terms of the partnership with the College of Southern Maryland, could be part of our School’s 125th anniversary year, celebrating more than a century of excellence in nursing education.”

Students in the program will be granted special student status, which allows them to take UMSON courses while still working on their associate’s degree.

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The University of Maryland School of Nursing, founded in 1889, is one of the oldest and largest nursing schools, and is ranked sixth nationally. Enrolling more than 1,600 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.