By Katelin Brooks
Contributing Writer
St. Bonaventure University has struggled with enrollment over the last few years.
This may have something to do with the lack of academic opportunities for students. One example is that the university doesn’t have a four-year nursing program. The university should look into creating a nursing program to help with the enrollment problems.
Other schools similar to St. Bonaventure in student population size have nursing programs where educators prepare students for the healthcare profession with a bachelors program, as well as graduate programs for the nursing field. This could help St. Bonaventure with its enrollment issues.
For example, Niagara University has revamped their nursing program, which launched in 2012. They provide the opportunity for their nursing students to enter into an honor society in order to recognize their academic achievement.
According to U.S. News & World Report, Niagara’s 2013-14 enrollment is 3,227 while St. Bonaventure’s 2014-15 enrollment is 1,784. We need to keep up academically with other schools in our area that have similar enrollment numbers.
As if low enrollment isn’t a big enough issue at the university, retention rate is also an underlying issue. Students might leave St. Bonaventure’s science department to enter into a program like Niagara’s. Do we really want our competition to receive our talented and bright students?
A nursing program would fit well with the Franciscan values that St. Bonaventure advocates for, which gives the university a great tool for promoting and advertising the program and its values.
The Franciscan values we are taught throughout our education at St. Bonaventure would make great nurses and prepare them morally for a great professional career.
Having a nursing program would give St. Bonaventure an increase in enrollment among its competition considering nursing is a career students are becoming more interested in.
The rate of employment in the field has increased to 20 percent, which is above the average for job outlooks. This program would make St. Bonaventure more appealing and it would allow students to enter the workforce quicker.
Alyssa Zlotnicki, a junior bioinformatics major, said offering a nursing program would be beneficial to our university.
“I think there definitely should be a four year nursing program at Bonaventure,” Zlotnicki said. “I think it would be a great asset to the Franciscan Health programs already offered, as well as students could graduate in four years and seek job opportunities.”
St. Bonaventure offers four-year, pre-professional programs in education and accounting.
In both programs, students have the opportunity to enter the workforce in four years if they want. St. Bonaventure should offer an opportunity like this for the science department for many reasons, but mainly because it will create a better reputation for our school, which we are in need of.
It will also provide more professional opportunities for our students considering there is a rise of employment in nursing.
If the university doesn’t take the leap and add a nursing program, it will continue to fall behind similar-sized schools.
