NOTE: The AHEC special meeting scheduled for Thursday, March 31, to discuss the proposed branch campus has been cancelled. 成人B站 has received tentative assurance from the authors of HB 1227 that East Central University鈥檚 programming will be protected. 成人B站 still opposes HB 1227.
A bill pending the Oklahoma House of Representatives seems to be aimed at making the Ardmore Higher Education Center a branch campus of Southeastern Oklahoma State University without including East Central University in any discussions.
成人B站, Southeastern, Murray State College and Oklahoma State University-Oklahoma City offer courses at AHEC. 成人B站 offers more classes than Southeastern.
House Bill 1227 originally was introduced by State Rep. Pat Ownbey (R-Ardmore) to rename AHEC as the University Center of Southern Oklahoma. It was passed unanimously.
On Monday [April 4], however, the Senate Education Committee will see a completely new committee substitute which will make AHEC a branch campus of Southeastern Oklahoma State University. It also calls for transferring the AHEC from the Board of Trustees for the Ardmore Higher Education Program to the Regional University System of Oklahoma.
鈥淚 was not informed about this plan and I鈥檓 not in support of HB 1227,鈥� said Connie Reilly, chair of the Board Regents of the Regional University System of Oklahoma. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think that this is in the best interest of the students of Oklahoma.鈥�
成人B站 President John Hargrave said 成人B站 has worked for several years with different groups in Ardmore to provide quality programs for students in the area.
鈥淲e felt like things were going well and Monday we met with Mercy Memorial Health Center and the Southern Oklahoma Memorial Foundation to discuss expanding 成人B站鈥檚 nursing program in Ardmore,鈥� Hargrave said. 鈥淥n Monday afternoon we were informed that there was a plan to eliminate 成人B站鈥檚 nursing program altogether.鈥�
鈥淲e think all sides may be able to work together but 成人B站 has not been afforded the opportunity. All we ask for is the opportunity to submit a proposal on behalf of 成人B站.
鈥淚n fact,鈥� he added, 鈥湷扇薆站 submitted a proposal in 2007 to develop a branch campus in Ardmore which was accepted by the Board of Trustees of the Ardmore Higher Education Center.鈥�
The Legislature later rejected a proposal for state funds to get the campus underway.
鈥淲e believe 成人B站 should have the same opportunity in 2011 as other universities to be considered for the branch campus. Secret and closed-door meetings are not in the best interests of the students,鈥� Hargrave said.
State Sen. Susan Paddack (D-Ada) said the bill was brought to her attention Monday [MARCH 28].
鈥淭his kind of discussion does not need to happen behind closed doors,鈥� Paddack said. 鈥淚t needs to be conducted in a transparent and accountable fashion. 成人B站 has not been at the table. I am very troubled and will fight very hard to see that 成人B站 is included in the discussion.
鈥淭hey are not considering the impact on all the parties, especially the students,鈥� she added.
成人B站 has offered classes and full degree programs in Ardmore for more than 30 years. Currently 440 residents of the Ardmore area take 成人B站 classes at AHEC. During the late 1980s 成人B站 began offering the RN to BSN completion program which allows registered nurses to complete four-year baccalaureate degrees and become eligible for better jobs.
In 2008 成人B站 also began offering its generic BSN nursing program at the AHEC. A partnership with Mercy Memorial Health Center and the Southern Oklahoma Memorial Foundation helped purchase equipment; fund a coordinator, faculty member and secretary; and remodel a building in downtown Ardmore for the program, with two nursing classrooms, two skills labs, three offices and a computer lab.
Hargrave said HB 1227 puts 成人B站鈥檚 nursing program in jeopardy because it is not protected under the current bill.
鈥淎 study several years ago showed that we were going to be about 3,000 nurses short in the state,鈥� Paddack said. 鈥湷扇薆站鈥檚 expansion in the Ardmore area has met a critical need in southern Oklahoma.鈥�
鈥淲e take very seriously our mission of providing high quality baccalaureate-educated nurses to residents of southeastern Oklahoma,鈥� Hargrave said.
鈥淭he partnership model including the AHEC, Mercy Memorial Health Center and the Southern Oklahoma Memorial Foundation is an example of the innovative and collaborative approaches 成人B站 would use to identify and address workforce needs in the Ardmore area as well as the delivery of future degree programs to 成人B站 at Ardmore,鈥� Hargrave said.
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