For Immediate Release: October 30

Contact:
Office of Admission
Office: (417) 873-7205
E-mail: druryad@drury.edu

SPRINGFIELD, Mo., Oct. 30, 2008 – Drury University and Cox College signed a dual degree agreement today that will allow students to complete a Bachelor of Arts from Drury and a Bachelor of Science in Nursing concurrently. This allows those students that desire a nursing degree to fulfill that goal at Cox College while also enjoying a traditional undergraduate experience at Drury.

“This collaboration provides a three-way win. Students will earn two degrees while Drury and Cox College collaborate to provide an outstanding education. In addition, society benefits as Drury and Cox College educate workers for a profession that will profoundly influence the nation’s future,” says Dr. Charles Taylor, vice president of academic affairs at Drury.

Students graduating from this program will be in high demand. The Missouri Economic Research and Information Center estimated that between 2006 and 2016 there would be a need for 1,600 new registered nurses every year.

“This is a group of students that neither one of the colleges could attract alone, but together young people interested in nursing and a college life experience will have an excellent option. Regardless of the outcome of the health care reform being debated, nurses will continue to have a critical role in health care. The nursing shortage will continue to exacerbate over the next 20 years as baby boomers move toward retirement. Also, graduates of the dual degree program will bring a broader knowledge base to nursing practice,” says Dr. Anne Brett, president of Cox College.

The dual degree program can be completed in either four or five years, depending on the number of summer courses a student chooses to take. Whether the student is attending liberal arts classes at Drury or engaged in nursing coursework at Cox College, the student remains a Drury student and can continue to live in campus housing as well as participate in student activities.

CoxHealth guarantees an initial employment interview to qualified graduates from the dual degree program for posted positions. Students are also eligible to apply for up to $10,000 of student loan forgiveness over the first two years of employment at Cox.

For years, Drury’s College of Graduate and Continuing Studies has provided a large number of general education and some laboratory science courses for Cox College students. That relationship will continue for students enrolled in other Cox College programs. This new program is for students seeking a traditional college experience.

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Drury is an independent University, church related, grounded in the liberal arts tradition and committed to personalized education in a community of scholars who value the arts of teaching and learning. Education at Drury seeks to cultivate spiritual sensibilities and imaginative faculties as well as ethical insight and critical thought; to foster the integration of theoretical and practical knowledge; and to liberate persons to participate responsibly in and contribute to a global community. For more information, visit www.drury.edu/strategicplan.

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