Bismarck State College plans to offer an associate degree nursing program next fall after receiving state regulatory approval from the North Dakota Board of Nursing.

The board gave four North Dakota colleges the go-ahead Sept. 15 for a registered nursing program that came under fire in June after it was initially submitted. The schools have since overhauled the proposed program and received a one-year approval.

BSC, Williston State, Minot State Bottineau and Lake Region State are part of a consortium that developed the Dakota Nursing Program, which allows them to offer a certificate in licensed practical nursing and an associate degree in registered nursing.

The new program at BSC will be housed in the former Worker's Compensation building on Front Avenue, along with some of its other alllied health programs.

"The nursing staff is relieved because they weren't sure how their work would be received," said Wayne Boekes, vice president of instruction and student services at BSC. "Administratively, we knew if our people put out a good product the board would see that and accept it."

Reviewers for the state board told colleges in June that the nursing program fell short of state standards and wouldn't prepare students to pass a licensing exam. Constance Kalanek, director of the nursing board, said the board had concerns with the program's curriculum development and content.

Boekes said college officials were "shocked" and took their concerns to the Legislature's interim Budget Committee on Health Care. Legislators urged members of the board to sit down with the colleges and resolve one another's concerns.

"There should have been a trust that the colleges could meet the expectation," Boekes said. "It floored me anyone would think we wouldn't deliver that quality coursework."

College officials worked with members of the board to revamp the proposed program. The consortium gained a one-year approval of its licensed practical nursing program in August and continued to work on its registered nursing program.

"Our faculty of the four institutions met and started from scratch on the whole program," Boekes said. "We said let's take whatever recommendations they have and improve upon those areas."

Although the registered nursing program was approved, there are still areas of concern that the colleges will need to correct within the next year. Staff qualifications, clinical facilities and instruction and program and student policies need to be addressed by March 2006.

"The program has worked very hard in the last two months to really comply with the requirements and made significant progress towards the requirements," Kalanek said.

(Reach reporter Sheena Dooley at 250-8225 or sheenadooley@ndonline.com.)