Concordia and Bryan College of Health Sciences partner to offer dual degree program

Published by Concordia University, Nebraska 3 years ago on Wed, Sep 2, 2020 12:11 PM
Rev. Russ Sommerfeld, Concordia interim president and Dr. Richard Lloyd, Bryan College of Health Sciences president, sign a dual degree partnership agreement Sept. 2.
Rev. Russ Sommerfeld, left, Concordia interim president, and Dr. Richard Lloyd, right, Bryan College of Health Sciences president, sign a partnership agreement to offer a dual degree in biology and nursing.

Concordia University, Nebraska and Bryan College of Health Sciences have partnered to provide students an opportunity to receive both a Bachelor of Arts degree in biology and a Bachelor of Science degree in nursing (BSN) while only adding a single semester.

Through this partnership, students will start at Concordia, and then become dual-enrolled at Bryan College of Health Sciences in their second semester. They will have the ability to live on Concordia’s campus and participate in co-curricular activities as they earn their Bachelor of Arts degree in biology. When the student begins their classes at Bryan, they will be classified as both a Concordia and Bryan student as they pursue their Bachelor of Science in nursing degree, while being educated at one of the top nursing programs in the state.

“This partnership with Bryan College of Health Sciences will provide Concordia’s students with access to a well-established, high-quality nursing program,” said Dr. Tim Preuss, Concordia provost. “Nursing is already Concordia’s principle pre-health program. This partnership will streamline that process for our students, provide them with the flexibility to pursue vocations in nursing or vocations in natural sciences as they receive a degree from each institution.”

Concordia’s biology program is one of the university’s fastest-growing programs, with a student-to-faculty ratio of 15:1, ensuring students receive the personal attention needed to be successful. Each faculty member in the program has earned their terminal degree and 90% of recent biology graduates are either accepted into graduate school or employed within six months of graduation.

Bryan nursing students complete more than 1,235 faculty-led clinical hours – the highest in the state. The first-time pass rate average for graduates in the last three years on the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX), the exam for the licensing of nurses, is 97%, higher than the Nebraska and national averages. As one of the top nursing programs in the state of Nebraska, 100% of Bryan graduates actively seeking nursing positions obtained employment in the field within three to four months of graduation.

“We are excited to partner with Concordia with this program as we continue to focus our efforts to serve more students in our area to achieve their bachelor of science in nursing,” said Dr. Richard Lloyd, Bryan College of Health Sciences president.

For more information, visit cune.edu/nursing.