By Christopher Giovarelli
Beginning next fall, BYU''s nursing students will be saving $1,800 on their education. Well, sort of.
Administrators in the College of Nursing have announced that they will be changing the popular major''s requirements to improve students'' education, while better meeting university requirements.
Among other things, major requirements will decrease from nine semesters to eight - saving students time and money.
Associate Dean Catherine Coverston said the changes will benefit students by allowing them to get into their long-term professional and personal lives sooner.
Besides graduating early, the adjustments will also allow pre-nursing students to apply to the major after taking only four pre-requisites, rather than the historical twelve. The other eight pre-requisites will become core classes in which students admitted to the program will be enrolled.
'It''s going to allow us to have more nursing students, and we''ll get them in faster and get them out faster,' said Cara Wiley, of the Nursing Advisement Center.
The College of Nursing currently graduates approximately 130 students per year. Alterations in the college''s curriculum schedule will allow for nearly 50 additional students to graduate from the program over the next five years, with better skills than before.
'We will have more time with them in the beginning, and they will be immersed sooner into the culture,' said Mark White of the college''s Advisement Center.
Students who are contemplating applying to the nursing program should visit the College of Nursing Advisement Center in room 551 of the Spencer W. Kimball Tower, where they can meet with an adviser to map out their academic schedule.