As the Saint Mary’s community prepares for the upcoming school year, the B.S. in Nursing program is excited to welcome over 40 new students to the program, nearing the cohort’s capacity of 50 students.
With the incoming class of 43 students and the existing two cohorts, the program now has 72 students enrolled in total.
“It’s surprising that the program has grown so fast,” said Sister Agnes Mary Graves, RSM, DNP, director of the B.S. in Nursing program. “I know that we need nurses at this moment, and so it feels like a great responsibility and opportunity to form these students who have come to learn not just the science of nursing, but also the holistic approach to nursing.”
Sister Agnes Mary attributes the growth and interest in the program to recent marketing and admissions efforts put forth by the university. She says the school’s athletics program has also been key in recruiting students who are interested in nursing.
“About 30 percent of our nursing students are athletes,” she said. “The coaches have been recruiting these players over the last couple of years, and we’re starting to see the fruit of that.”
Another major selling point for incoming students is the program’s direct entry and cohort model. When students are accepted into the program, they begin classes immediately when they arrive on campus, something that differentiates Saint Mary’s program from other universities.
A majority of the students in the incoming cohort program are from Minnesota and Wisconsin, with five students coming from other states. Sister Agnes Mary says this is critical, as the university looks to build a regional nursing workforce.
“Our goal is to have our students go back and work in their local communities,” she said.