<p> Page 1 of 6</p><p>Massachusetts Department of Higher Education Nursing and Allied Health Initiative FY 2011- Education Redesign Grant Program Guidelines</p><p>Final Project Implementation Report – November 30, 2012 Educational Innovation for LPNs to BS in Nursing Fitchburg State University Worcester State University</p><p>Strategic Goal: Seamless LPN to BS in Nursing Model that has potential for statewide and national replication</p><p>Executive Summary Objective 1: Launch and institutionalize the LPN to BS in Nursing track in both universities. MET</p><p>At this time, per our objective, the LPN to BS in Nursing track has been institutionalized and implemented at both universities. At Fitchburg State University, the program and the three transition courses have been approved by governance and the President. At Worcester State University, the transition courses and the track have been accepted by university governance and await the President’s signature. The implementation schedule differs slightly between the two universities. Worcester State has planned a part-time option for the first cohort, who will be allowed up to two years to complete their pre-requisites. Fitchburg State University has admitted students who will complete their pre-requisite courses in one year. Once an LPN to BS in Nursing coordinator was hired, NLN ACE I exams were scheduled for interested applicants. These exams were administered in April, after three formal information sessions were held; one at each university and one at Assebet Regional Vocational Technical High School. The admission process was finalized, and applications were accepted from mid -May to mid-June at each university. At Fitchburg State University, fifteen LPN students were admitted and in September, enrolled in their first year pre-requisite courses. Assuming successful completion of these pre-requisites, fourteen of the fifteen students will begin the nursing curriculum in September of 2013. Due to family commitments, one student will take two years to complete her pre-requisites, and will be part of the second cohort at Fitchburg State. At Worcester State University, three LPN students were admitted and in September began taking courses. An additional three students are taking courses and plan to Page 2 of 6 apply. These students, combined with students who will be admitted this year, will comprise the cohort of fifteen, and will begin their nursing courses in September of 2014. </p><p>NLN ACE I exams have been administered during this fall to students interested in applying to either university in the spring of 2013. These exams will be offered again in January-February, allowing prospective students two opportunities to satisfy this admission requirement. Since the admission process is now established, applications for admission will have a priority deadline of March 1, 2013. This cycle will continue each year, to more closely match the traditional university admittance schedule.</p><p>Objective 2: Develop effective academic success and retention strategies.</p><p>An orientation “Boot Camp” for admitted students was developed by consultants Andrea Wallen and Rose Veith. This boot camp was held for LPN students at Fitchburg State on August 16 and at Worcester State on August 22. Each camp provided students with the opportunity to meet the president of the university, and provided an opportunity to meet fellow classmates, the LPN to BS in Nursing Coordinator, and faculty from each university. Presentations on academic challenges and strategies for success, library orientation and a general university orientation were included in the day. Students also received academic advising, and were able to register for fall courses. Each student was presented with a book Transitioning from LPN to RN. Evaluations from participants were positive. Each university was also able to purchase books which have been placed on reserve at each university library. Purchases included books to assist LPN students in preparing for the NLN ACE I challenge exams, and other books to assist with test-taking, as well as copies of required textbooks for classes. These books will assist students in their study efforts. As students move through the fall semester, the LPN to BS in Nursing Coordinator checks in with them on a monthly basis. In addition, each student has an academic advisor who is a full-time nursing faculty member. At present it is difficult to evaluate the success of the retention strategies that have been introduced. What we can report is that all admitted and enrolled students remain in the program, and are currently in the process of registering for spring classes. As the first cohort in this new track, each university will be closely monitoring the retention of this group. The steering committee for this project meets bi-monthly and will be following these students closely. Page 3 of 6</p><p>Objective 3: Develop a process for replication of the model. MET</p><p>To date two poster presentations have been completed; one at the Massachusetts/ Rhode Island League for Nursing spring conference, and one at the St. Anselm Nurse Educator Conference held June 1-2, 2012. A summit of state university programs and LPN programs was held June 6, 2012 to further disseminate our model. Attendance was less than hoped for from other baccalaureate programs, as only Salem State, Anna Maria College and St. Anselm College were represented. Our LPN to BN in Nursing Coordinator, Carol Kronopolus presented the model to Practical Nursing School administrators at the Practical Nurse Council meeting, held in November. She has visited ten LPN schools to explain the program, and more visits will take place in the spring. In October, twenty-five students attended an open house held at Fitchburg State University to promote both programs. This is a very high number of prospective applicants.</p><p>The Steering Committee has submitted an abstract for presentation at the national NLN conference to be held in November, 2013 in Washington, DC. We will be notified in January as to whether or not we have been accepted. </p><p>Research Findings to Date</p><p>To date, the NLN ACE I exams have been offered in three scheduled sessions, with retakes offered approximately one month later. Fourteen students piloted these exams in August, 2011. The exams were then administered in the spring of 2012 for those students seeking admission for the Fall, 2012 academic year. For students seeking admission to the Fall, 2013, the exams were offered in October and November of this year. To date, the percent of students passing each exam are seen in the table below. </p><p>Foundations of Childbearing After Change in Care of the Nursing *See below Childbearing Decision Child Score to >62 Passing 89% 67% 86% 82% Percentage </p><p>The NLN Ace I exams will be offered again during the Spring, 2013 semester. </p><p>Page 4 of 6</p><p>Changes Implemented and Plans for Sustainability</p><p>Qualifying Scores for Nursing Care of the Childbearing Family (NCCF) NLN ACE I Exam</p><p>Initially, a decision score of 65 was set for this exam, based on the performance of the pilot group and on national norms for the exam. A review of test scores for the NCCF (Nursing Care of the Childbearing Family) component of the NLN ACE I exam for subsequent groups showed 15/19 test takers failing at the required decision score of 65%, with most students failing by 1-2 points. A review of the content tested in this exam revealed that questions about high risk maternity patients were included. This content is not included in PN curriculums, which focus on the well infant and the well post-partum woman. In fact, this content is included in one of the bridge courses developed for this program. A review of which students failed revealed that these students did not fail any courses in their PN program, had previous success in college level work, and were considered to be excellent candidates. </p><p>In order to address this discrepancy, the steering committee made the decision to change the qualifying score to 62%, and to notify all students with this grade or higher that they now have an acceptable score and may continue the admission process. This change has just been made; students are now being notified of the decision. As the change is implemented, the steering committee will be closely monitoring the students’ performance in this nursing course.</p><p>Once the grant-funded position of the LPN to BS in Nursing Coordinator is completed (June, 2013), each university has committed to continue the position on a half-time basis. This position is integral to the continued successful recruitment of students and dissemination of information about the program. Currently, the coordinator receives 10-15 calls/ emails each week from prospective students. Each university is committed to continuing this track, as it provides an opportunity for students to advance to the next level of education by crediting them for their past education. </p><p>Further, it is evident from the response to the program initiation and publicity that there is a strong demand for this type of option for LPNs. In the first week following the launch of the web site for the Fitchburg State University LPN to BS in Nursing track, the site received 728 hits. In November, 2012 the web page received 3386 hits, which is one indicator of the amount of interest in this program.</p><p>Page 5 of 6</p><p>Opportunities for Scale Up Projects/Replication</p><p>The universities are very interested in sharing their findings and process with any other interested college or university. The model is replicable. As seen in the previous section of this report, there is great interest in this type of accelerated track for LPNs, at least from LPNs. </p><p>Scale up projects would include increasing the number admitted to these tracks, and providing these students with the support they need to be successful. As this is a very diverse population, retention strategies already in place need to be evaluated. Further, additional strategies addressing the unique needs of this population need to be identified and implemented.</p><p>Key Lessons Learned</p><p>One of the most important lessons learned from this project was the importance of educating BSN faculty members on the education of the LPN. Most faculty, and many others university personnel (such as those in admissions, etc.) do not understand that although some LPN programs are located in vocational high schools, these programs are post secondary programs. Further, educating nursing faculty about the educational preparation of LPNs helps to foster an understanding of the knowledge already acquired. When we formed our working groups (which consisted of an LPN faculty member and two baccalaureate nursing faculty) to develop the bridge courses, we should have spent some introductory time addressing this issue. </p><p>Another lesson learned was the amount of time needed to receive approval to implement a new track at the university. Getting nursing faculty, administration, admissions, the registrar, financial aid, and other university personnel on board was a more involved process that the committee initially anticipated. Although time-consuming, the process was a very positive one.</p><p>Recommendations for DHE</p><p>We believe that the DHE could help in disseminating the model among state universities and the University of Massachusetts by facilitating a meeting of these constituents. Getting these public institutions together would be an excellent starting point for the discussion of establishing an accelerated track for LPNs. As noted above, our summit was well attended by Page 6 of 6</p><p>LPN educators, and by the Massachusetts Board of Registration in Nursing, but not by many baccalaureate programs.</p><p>In Summary </p><p>In order to promote a seamless transition in nursing, we must find a way to credit LPNs for their education. This project addresses this issue, and thus provides for an efficient way for LPNs who wish to become baccalaureate –prepared registered nurses to achieve this goal. Development and implementation of this track would not have been possible without two grants received from the Fairlawn Foundation, as well as the DHE. We are very grateful for this opportunity. It has been and continues to a privilege to observe the enthusiasm and gratitude of current and future LPN students. </p><p>Respectfully submitted,</p><p>Linda McKay RN MS</p><p>Grant Coordinator </p>