NCMC, Davenport partnership for nursing graduates formalized in signing event
PETOSKEY — Leadership from North Central Michigan College and Davenport University formalized a partnership on Tuesday between the two schools to allow for easy transfers for nursing graduates.
With the new partnership, North Central students that complete their associate's degrees in nursing can easily transfer to Davenport to pursue their Bachelor's of Science in Nursing. Leaders and faculty from both institutions, along with guests like State Sen. John Damoose (R-Harbor Springs) and new McLaren Northern Michigan CEO Gar Atchison, attended the signing at NCMC in Petoskey.
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The new program allows students to spend three years at NCMC completing an associate's degree. Then, students would spend their fourth year locally, but as Davenport students.
School officials said the program, offered online with on-campus opportunities, lets students pursue higher education while having the ability to stay in the area.
"We are so excited about what it will mean for health care and the greater community," NCMC President David Roland Finley told the News-Review. "We're very, very pleased to have established this partnership with Davenport."
Finley said he is happy to have an opportunity to keep students that want to get their bachelor's degrees in a community they know and love, and hopes to have similar partnerships in other academic fields as well.
"What we currently do is take students who want to get a bachelor's degree, and we ship them out of Petoskey," he said. "This provides the opportunity for those students to stay here."
The partnership came following 2022 legislation that is designed to allow Michigan's community colleges to partner with four-year universities to offer completion programs for nursing degrees. The program received a $2 million grant from the State of Michigan in Public Act 103 of 2023.
During the event, Damoose took to the podium and said he is excited to see the collaboration between NCMC and Davenport.
"This is really exciting to me — it kind of restores my faith in the system to see the end product of this," he said.
During the signing on Tuesday, the North Central Dean of Nursing of Health Sciences Brent LaFaive said Davenport's 31-credit program is specifically designed to create a pathway for North Central graduates and registered nurses to seamlessly transition into advanced education.
Finley added that the partnership is about shaping the future of nursing in the region.
"It's about empowering our nurses with a convenient and affordable means to take the next step in their education and training," Finley said during the signing event. "Together with Davenport University, we are not only meeting the demands of the present, but simply contributing to the future of health care in Northern Michigan."
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Davenport University President Richard Pappas said he is excited about the partnership because it allows students to take advantage of the resources at both NCMC and Davenport.
"It's a practical approach to the profession so when you graduate, you're ready to work. You're prepared to work," Pappas said. "We're really excited by that."
Up to $10,000 in scholarships will be available to the first 30 eligible students that apply and are accepted to Davenport's BSN completion program. To be eligible, students have to have graduated from NCMC within the last five years, be enrolled in Davenport's BSN completion program and have a current, unencumbered nursing license.
Davenport's program will be available this winter. Students interested in the program can learn more at virtual information sessions scheduled for 12-1 p.m. on Feb. 6 or 5-6 p.m. on Feb. 8. Registration is required for the information sessions.
For more information, visit ncmich.edu/nursing and davenport.edu/ncmc.
— Contact reporter Karly Graham at kgraham@petoskeynews.com. Follow her on Twitter at @KarlyGrahamJRN.
This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: NCMC, Davenport partnership for nursing graduates formalized in signing event
