The Kansas Partnership Program, which allows students to stay at their local community college while pursuing both their Associate Degree in Nursing (ADN) and Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN), began in January 2015 and now includes eight community colleges:

• Kansas City, Kansas Community College
• Neosho Community College
• Hutchinson Community College
• Johnson County Community College
• Butler Community College
• Fort Scott Community College
• Labette Community College
• Cloud County Community College

The need nationally for more nurses with baccalaureate degrees in nursing has been spurred in large part by health care industry research, which shows patient outcomes are significantly improved when the person is cared for by a nurse with a BSN.

As a result, many hospitals and other health care providers are requiring their nurses to have a BSN, and national groups have encouraged an 80% BSN-prepared workforce by 2020.

As of January 2021, 314 students have enrolled in the program, with an average retention rate of 80% and an average pass rate of 82%.

Watch a video in which partnership program students share their experiences:

Each summer, KU School of Nursing hosts an annual Kansas Partnership Summit. It consists of nursing faculty and leadership from Kansas schools to build relationships, share strategies and jointly discuss issues that affect all pre-licensure faculty and leaders. It also includes a panel of partnership program graduates, which gives program administrators the opportunity to dialogue with alumni about their experience and to gather feedback.