Northwestern Michigan College and Davenport University partner for BSN completion program

In a recent announcement, Northwestern Michigan College revealed that it had chosen Davenport University as an exclusive partner for a bachelor of science in nursing degree program. The program will officially start in May, and comes after a long legislative battle during which a group of Michigan community colleges fought to be able to offer BSN degrees.

This first-of-its-kind BSN program will give nursing students at Northwestern Michigan College and Davenport University a structured pathway to earn a BSN without leaving Traverse City. Students enrolled in the program would attend classes at NMC for two years, and then spend a third year still in Traverse City, but as Davenport students. Davenport and NMC believe the structure will be a quicker and cheaper path for students to earn a BSN than northern Michigan has ever had to offer.

Northwestern Michigan College has offered an associate degree in nursing for a long time, but state law prohibits community colleges from being able to offer bachelor’s degrees with a few exceptions. In the past few years, NMC and other community colleges in Michigan, with strong industry support, have urged the state to change that law. Munson Healthcare, a Michigan healthcare provider, and NMC have argued the importance of offering BSN degrees at community colleges would be a boon to the state’s nursing shortage, particularly in rural areas. 

In the summer of 2022, Michigan lawmakers passed legislation that would allow community colleges to partner with four year universities or colleges that operate out of Michigan to create BSN completion programs. Once the legislation shift occurred, Northwestern Michigan University issued a request for proposals in an attempt to find potential partners. Davenport University was one of nine such schools that submitted proposals for a partnership with NMC.

The decision to partner with Davenport came from the university’s willingness to operate in-person classes within the Traverse City area, so that NMC students would not have to travel to attain their BSN. In an article from Traverse Ticker, Northwestern Michigan College Communications Director Cari Noga talked about the importance of keeping the BSN program as local as possible, saying, “The plan is to have students be able to complete their coursework in Traverse City. That is something that our local students have requested and will be important for us to implement.  A goal is to have local representation so that the students truly feel a part of the university partner. Additionally, [the partner university’s] faculty will be local to allow for improved communication, retention, and accessibility.”

Davenport will offer significant student support in Traverse City so that students can finish their third year of study without having to leave the city.

NMC Director of Nursing Tamella Livengood talked more about the choice to partner with Davenport University, saying, “One of the big differences [with Davenport] will be the level of support we’ll be able to provide students. I think retention and completion will improve.”

Students who have already completed the ADN program at NMC will be the first graduates of the new BSN program. In the past two years, 91 students have graduated from the ADN program at NMC. Munson Healthcare currently employs more than 60 of those graduates, but has an employment requirement that ADN students must complete a BSN program within five years of becoming employed. President and CEO of Munson Healthcare Ed Ness spoke on the Davenport-NMC partnership, calling it a “new tool to support replenishing our healthcare talent pipeline."

More information about Northwestern Michigan College can be found at the school’s website.

More information about Davenport University can be found at the school’s website.