Striving to ensure future nurses are up to snuff, Houston Community College (HCC) is plotting a course to resurrect its Associate Degree Nursing (ADN) program by 2025 after voluntarily slamming the brakes on the program due to poor pass rates, the Houston Chronicle reports. A series of subpar performances on the nursing licensure exam has spurred decisive action from HCC officials, leading to a shut down late last December.
Planned to overhaul with new leadership and a revised curriculum, no fresh enrollees will be admitted while the school engages in a state-mandated year of reflection and internal corrections. Despite the grim necessity to close the program after 45 years of nurturing nursing candidates, 76 current students are being allowed to stay the course and complete their studies. Although the program is down, it is far from out. "Our goal is to come back stronger," HCC Chancellor Margaret Ford Fisher announced, according to the Houston Chronicle.
The pause button was hit after the ADN program's pass rates plummeted from a healthy 93% in 2018 to a precarious 49% in 2022. With the program losing its shine, the Texas Board of Nursing clipped HCC's wings, putting it on conditionally approved status last year, as reported by the Houston Chronicle. Accreditation woes aside, the decision has been weighed against the backdrop of a pressing nursing shortage gripping the state.
This anticipated resurgence of HCC's ADN program centers on amending curriculum and admission policies, alongside harnessing new-age technologies like artificial intelligence for a more robust educational experience, said HCC Chancellor Margaret Ford Fisher in a revelation shared with the HCC news. In a seamless transition to address these challenging times, Dr. Norma Perez has taken the reins as interim administrator in charge of Coleman College, aiming to shepherd the program back to meet the demanding healthcare environment of the Texas Medical Center and beyond.
HCC leadership is undeterred in its commitment to providing high-quality nursing education, as echoed by Dr. Perez in the narrative given to the HCC news. "Voluntarily closing the program, while difficult, reflects our adherence to the highest nursing education standards," Dr. Perez affirmed. As the college positions itself for the 2025 relaunch, it bears the mantle of hope for the future of healthcare education.
