Following the advice of the Ohio Board of Regents, Ohio University Southern and Collins Career Center will collaborate on a new nursing program next year, with more programs likely to follow.

The program, which will be jointly administered between CCC and OUS, would allow licensed practical nurses (LPNs) who graduate from Collins to take a few bridging classes and complete the associate degree nursing program (which prepares students to be registered nurses) at OUS with just a year of study.

Although the bridging program will be open to any LPN, OUS dean Dan Evans said that Collins would be the primary feeder for the program when it rolls out, which Evans hopes will be in January.

The announcement, which will be formally made on Tuesday, comes 10 months after the board of regents, the state body that oversees all aspects of higher education, advised that the two institutions should work together, squelching CCC’s hopes of becoming a community college.

But Steve Dodgion, CCC superintendent, doesn’t seem to be disappointed. He said that the collaboration was the next logical step for both of the schools.

“These are the kinds of things that need to happen for the community,” Dodgion said. “We’ve got to offer these services as effectively and efficiently as possible. The best way for us to do that is to come together. We can do what we do best, and they can what they do best and the community ends up being the beneficiaries of that.”

The numbers would seem to back up Dodgion’s belief in more higher education opportunities. On a state level, only 11 percent of Lawrence County residents achieve an associate or bachelor’s degree compared to 48 percent of all Ohio residents.

Locally, Boyd County, Ky., and Cabell County, W.Va., report higher levels of degree attainment. For associate’s degrees, Boyd shows 6.3 percent, Cabell 4.9 percent and Lawrence at 4.5 percent. For bachelor’s degrees, Boyd is at 8.1 percent, Cabell at 12.1 percent and Lawrence at 6.4.

While there are benefits for both schools, Evans said that the biggest winner in the

collaboration will be the county.

“It’s not news that there’s a huge shortage nationally and locally for nurses,” Evans said. “By collaborating, we think we can make a greater impact and provide more opportunities for students to complete the degree, and we can at least begin to improve that shortage.”

At least at this early stage in the game, students would seem to be receptive to the schools building a bridge between their nursing programs.

“We sent out some literature and did a need analysis, and so far we have about 100 students who are interested in the program already,” Dodgion said.

Dodgion hinted that there may be even be more collaborations between the two schools in the coming months, though no specific programs have been announced yet.

“We’re also going to be working on some customized training for business and industry, and I anticipate that this is just the first program that we’ll be working together on,” Dodgion said. “We’re laying the groundwork to do some other things in the future.”

More details should be available after the schools’ press conference Tuesday morning.