College of Nursing offers new programs in grad program

Graduate students from 14 states surrounding Colorado can now attend University of Colorado Denver College of Nursing (CON) programs they don’t have in their states at in-state tuition rates. UC Denver CON was recently approved by the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE) to offer new programs through the Western Regional Graduate Program (WRGP) effective with the 2009-10 academic year. Colorado is one of 15 states belonging to WICHE.

UC Denver CON’s three approved degree programs for WICHE/WRGP include two Master of Science (MS) program options, the Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) program and the PhD program:

• Nursing – Health Care Informatics option – MS degree program
• Nursing – Pediatric Nurse Leadership option – MS degree program (NEW)
• Nursing Practice – DNP degree program (NEW)
• Nursing – PhD degree program
  
  

"With the approval from WICHE/WRGP, nurses throughout the west will have access to these two new graduate program areas," said Patricia Moritz, PhD, FAAN, professor and dean of the UC Denver CON. "This will help to enable those living in the western states to have Advanced Practice Nurses who are specialists in areas such as mental health, children with special needs, and clinical doctorate education."

Classes are offered online with some intensive classroom activity for each of the options offered through WRGP.

"The UC Denver CON is known nationally for excellence in online and advanced practice nursing," said Vicki Erickson, RN, PhD, associate professor/director of the Master of Science/Doctor of Nursing Practice degree programs at the UC Denver CON. "Recognition of the Doctor of Nursing Practice Program, and the Family Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner and Pediatric Nurse Leadership Clinical Nurse Specialist Master’s Program options by WICHE/WRGP will allow graduate students from surrounding western states opportunities to study at the College of Nursing. I’m thrilled that we were accepted. This benefits the College of Nursing by bringing more students to our programs while at the same time benefiting graduate students in surrounding states that don’t have these programs."

To be included in WRGP, programs must meet the criteria of distinctiveness and quality. Programs are nominated by their institutions, peer reviewed by other graduate institutions in the West, and then researched and reviewed by WICHE staff for final approval.

New programs are added every two years.