Students pursuing an associate degree in nursing from Wor-Wic Community College in Salisbury can now enroll simultaneously in the University of Maryland School of Nursing’s bachelor of science degree program under a dual admission agreement, the schools announced Wednesday.
The Eastern Shore community college becomes the 12th such college to join with Maryland in training future nurses, who are in short supply particularly in rural areas of the state and country.
Dual admission offers students seamless training as they will be able to begin taking classes in Maryland’s program at the same time they are completing their associate degree. Those Maryland courses also will be paid for through a gift from Bill and Joanne Conway’s Bedford Falls Foundation.
Officials with the programs say the advanced training will benefit the nurses as well as shore communities, which rely heavily on nurses to provide health care.
Under the agreement, all community college course credits will transfer to Maryland after students graduate with an associate degree.
Maryland currently enrolls almost 1,900 students in its bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral programs, making it one of the nation’s largest nursing schools.