City Colleges of Chicago Announces Plan to Overhaul the Registered Nursing Program at Kennedy-King Collegey

Chicago, IL (April 6, 2006) -- At today's Board of Trustees monthly meeting, City Colleges of Chicago (CCC) announced that, as a result of an internal review process, it has determined the Registered Nursing program at Kennedy-King College (KKC) needs to be completely overhauled.

The internal review process has determined the Kennedy-King College Registered Nursing program to have:

• Unacceptable student graduation rates (56%)
• Inconsistent licensure exam pass rates 67% (2004) - 78% (2005)
• Ineffective curriculum

These deficiencies have also contributed to the KKC Nursing program's loss of its previously held accreditation through the National League for Nursing Accreditation Commission (NLNAC). Changes for the improvement of the program will include the following actions: De-activation of the KKC Registered Nursing program for a minimum of 1 year to re-design the program and improve program curriculum. This will take effect with the fall 2006 semester. CCC will finalize its review and enhancement of the district-wide RN curriculum. Student learning outcomes and periodic assessments will be part of this process.

• The improved nursing program will also include a Nursing Prep Institute that identifies, aggressively recruits and nurtures potentially successful program candidates.
• Intensive student mentoring and monitoring for increased student success and program retention will also be incorporated into the new plan.
• An on-line tutorial for nursing students will be developed.
• Ongoing faculty development will be included.
• The Director of Nursing will work with district nursing faculty, consultants, and administrators to redesign the KKC nursing program.
• KKC will continue offering its Licensed Practical Nursing (LPN) Program. The KKC Nursing Director will oversee the LPN program

 

New students (identified as having an interest in the KKC registered nursing program), who meet City Colleges' standardized RN program prerequisites and requirements, will be invited to apply for admission to the nursing programs at Daley College, Olive-Harvey College and Truman College. These students will receive assistance in this process. City Colleges of Chicago will increase the capacity of Daley, Olive-Harvey and Truman nursing programs and modify the application deadline to accommodate new students that might otherwise have applied at KKC for the fall 2006 semester.

• Forty-four current Kennedy-King College RN students will graduate May 2006.
• Current KKC / Dawson LPN students will bridge to the RN program at Olive-Harvey College in fall 2006 for completion of the AAS in Registered Nursing.
• The City Colleges of Chicago currently offers Registered Nursing programs at five colleges including KKC. All nursing programs, including KKC, are accredited by the Illinois Department of Finance and Professional Regulation. The programs also operate under the colleges' accreditation by the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools (NCA).
• NLNAC status is recognized by the U.S. Department of Education as the national accrediting body for all types of nursing education programs. This designation streamlines transfer to a BA Nursing program. It is not required for a nursing license in Illinois. Daley, Truman and Malcolm X Nursing programs hold the NLNAC accreditation. Olive-Harvey College is in the process of applying for the accreditation.