FYI: http://www.courierpostonline.com/art...20322/1001/rss

Helene Fuld School of Nursing is dissolving its 30-year partnership with Camden County College now that health care employers prefer entry-level registered nurses with four-year bachelor's degrees rather than two-year diplomas, the nursing school's dean said this week.

The college and nursing school are considering partnering with Rowan University on such a four-year program, officials said.

"The nursing profession has evolved over the years," said Rose Saunders, dean of the nursing school. "Although it's not required, this will enable the work force to enter with that (bachelor's degree). More employers of nursing are desiring graduates who already have that."

Saunders and Rowan University officials said they were in talks about a four-year baccalaureate degree program in partnership with Camden County College. Neither side could say whether a deal could be negotiated before December 2011, when the last class graduates from the Helene Fuld School.

"It's beyond casual conversation but it's not at the point where a partnership agreement has been hammered out. We're trying to develop a plan for the future," said Joe Cardona, spokesman for Rowan University.

Earlier this summer, the Helene Fuld School fell out of compliance with federal guidelines after it altered the program's curriculum, leading to cancellation of funding for many students.

In existence for more than a century, Helene Fuld nursing programs are part of a national model that supplements liberal arts and science studies with clinical nursing training.

Camden County College anticipates using the Helene Fuld School building on its Blackwood campus for classroom instruction in 2012. Inside the Helene Fuld School building, students can access state-of-the-art technologies, including multimedia with interactive nursing software programs, modern nursing skills lab and computer lab.

Since 1980, more than 3,000 students have graduated from the Helene Fuld program in Camden County with two-year associate's degrees. The majority of those graduates work as registered nurses in the Greater Philadelphia region.