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Western Announces Online Information Sessions for Online-only Master’s Degree in Continuing and College Education, Jan 17. and Feb. 18

Contact: Jacob Kinser, program coordinator, Western Washington University RN-to-BSN program, (360) 650-6700; bsn.info@wwu.edu

BELLINGHAM – Western Washington University will hold an information session for its new RN-to-BSN program at 4:45 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 30 in Academic West Room 203 on Western’s campus.

The program, which is planned to begin in fall 2013, will allow registered nurses to complete their bachelor’s degrees in nursing (BSN).

Information session participants will have the opportunity to meet Western’s BSN staff and faculty, and other university representatives, to help them better understand:

  • How to apply for the program, tips and deadlines
  • Financial aid resources
  • Course requirements for admission  

The new program, offered through Western’s Woodring College of Education, is designed for associate-degree and diploma-prepared nurses who have completed their pre-licensure registered nurse (RN) studies. It will provide RNs in Whatcom, Skagit and Island counties the opportunity to continue their professional education to the bachelor’s degree level, along with structure to support students’ ability to balance school with busy work, family and personal lives.  Classes are scheduled to meet one day per week on Western’s campus.

A number of studies link better patient outcomes in facilities having greater percentages of more highly prepared nurses with bachelor’s degrees. The 2011 Institute of Medicine “Report on the Future of Medicine” recommends that 80 percent of the national RN work force hold BSNs by 2020.

Statewide estimates show that only 51 percent of the state’s nursing work force is baccalaureate-prepared. The figure for Whatcom, Skagit and Island counties is even lower, at 45 percent.

Western’s innovative RN-to-BSN program responds to these local, state and national recommendations to increase the proportion of BSN-prepared nurses through seamless academic progression between associate degree and BSN-completion programs.

Free parking for the Jan. 30 info session will be available in Lot 12A after 4:30 p.m. View a map of campus parking at .

For more information, please visit , email bsn.info@wwu.edu or call (360) 650-6700.