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@KSCEQUINOX
THE EQUINOX The student voice of Keene State College
Vol. 71, Issue #5
Thursday, October 4, 2018
KSCEQUINOX.COM
Nursing program back on track Holiday EMILY CARSTENSEN
Staff Writer After their two year probation, KSC’s Nursing Program is finally getting on track to retaining their accreditation. The accreditation would mean the program gets the Board of Nursing’s approval, which ultimately allows graduates to be more valuable and competitive in the job market. The nursing program was put on an approved on probation status by the Board of Nursing in 2016 because of low scores on the National Council Licensure Examination, more commonly referred to as NCLEX. The NCLEX is a national exam that nursing students must take once they’ve graduated to become a registered nurse in the United States and Canada. When the program was put on the approved status, Dr. Patricia Shinn was brought on to take on the position Director of Nursing. Since her arrival at KSC, students have said the program has seen nothing but positive changes. Each year the NCLEX scores rise higher than the year before. “This probation has, all-in-all, been very positive for the program. However, it is hurting our recruitment. Students looking to come to KSC to pursue nursing see that the program has been on probation, and automatically think they’re better off going somewhere else where
they know for sure the school’s program is approved. My ing to enrolled students and choose KSC,” Shinn said. hope is that once these 2019 seniors graduate with the high To be able to join the Nursing Program as an incomNCLEX scores that we’re anticipating, incoming students ing freshman looking to take Pre-Nursing courses, the will start seeing the success that this program is provid- following requirements need to be met: a 3.25 GPA from high school, either “A” or “B” grades in math and science courses and either a 520 math SAT score or a 22 math ACT score. For juniors looking to pursue nursing and take PreLicensure courses, an overall 3.4 GPA is required along with a 3.25 GPA in science courses, either an “A” or “B” grade in the four science courses: Chemistry, Anatomy & Physiology I, Anatomy & Physiology II and Microbiology. Juniors also need success with the Nursing Basic Math Competency exam, and completion with a “Proficient” scoring on the Test of Essential Academic Skills. James Halkiotis, a senior Nursing major, said that while some of these requirements are vigorous, they push him to work his hardest to become the best nurse he can be. “These requirements are rigorous but necessary. You have to be dedicated to this field of work to be a good nurse one day. Other changes include what specific material is focussed on, and where we spend time as far as clinical locations go. These changes have all been beneficial, as seen from last year’s senior class’ massive success with the NCLEX,” Halkiotis said. The nursing program is now approved on probation,
» SEE PROBATION A2
Keene State college
New Hampshire
Percentage of passing students
Percentage of passing students
2013
77.78%
2013
83.17%
2014
48.28%
2014
85.53%
2015
62.16%
2015
87.02%
2016
62.5%
2016
81.65%
2017
80%
2017
87.35% LAURA ROMANIELLO / ART DIRECTOR
Endowed scholarship to be named after KSC employee RACHEL VITELLO
equinox Staff The life of Carole L. Russell, a former employee of the Child Development Center (CDC) at Keene State College who passed away in 2015, will be remembered by an endowed scholarship in her name; The Carole Russell Memorial Endowment Fund. “If a child is to keep alive his inborn sense of wonder, he needs the companionship of at least one adult who can share it, rediscovering with him the joy, excitement and mystery of the world we live in,” said poet Rachel
Carson. According to multiple people who knew Carole Russell personally, this was her favorite quote, and it embodied her passion for working with children. According to an overview of the fund, it will allow local children in economic need to attend the CDC. The CDC is a New Hampshire State Licensed learning community that provides programs for infants to five-yearolds. Russell’s husband, a former professor of KSC, David Payson, was helping pay students’ tuition at the CDC on his own. Payson said, “After my wife died I wanted to do something
with the CDC. I had initially thought, well for a few years I’ll just fund a tuition scholarship for the CDC for a family that was economically disadvantaged ... I began providing funds out of pocket to support this.” After two years of doing so, the Advancement Division at KSC stepped in. “The advancement office suggested we should do an endowed scholarship ... I began this because I wanted to preserve my wife’s name in association with CDC ... I wanted some element of that to continue. I thought it was a wonderful idea,” Payson said. The fund is in collaboration with Keene
Top Headlines
Index Section A: News .................1-3 Opinions ...........4-5 A&E ..................6-8 Associated Collegiate Press
Section B: Student Life...1-4 CC....................5 Sports............6-8
A5: A smile can go a long way A8: KSC at the Emmy’s B1: Debórah Dwork speaks at Keene State B8:
changes CAROLINE PERRY
Managing executive editor Traditionally, Keene State College has a set-in-stone holiday calendar. However, new contract negotiations are now giving teachers the opportunity to choose which holidays they want to take off, or in other words, floating holiday hours. The Program Manager for Diversity and Multiculturalism Initiatives/ NEASC Kimberly Schmidl-Gagne said, “It used to be depending on how the holidays fell. Staff would always have to take at least one vacation day, most years two. Part of what we were able to negotiate was that the college has 13 holidays, and the college gets to decide on a few of them. Some of them aren’t flexible, but there are a few that are. So what we negotiated was instead of the college saying, ‘these are the 13 holidays, done,’ that the college would say, ‘here’s 13 holidays, take one of them, work that day, and it can become a floating holiday for you.’” “The reasoning/rationale behind this new negotiation was that Keene State College is trying to recruit and maintain staff,” Schmidl-Gagne said. She added if KSC is trying to recruit a diverse group of people and staff members, then the holidays that those people celebrate are reflective in that diversity. This keeps the option open to staff to celebrate their personal holidays, even if they are not the generalized holidays. Schmidl-Gagne said, “Although the new staff contract has only negotiated one floating holiday, KSC hopes to change it to two holidays. You get the one floating holiday and then we go back to the negotiation table in about 18 months. We want the college and University System of New Hampshire to take a look at how they’re deciding particularly the flexible holidays and allow more choice,” she said. Schmidl-Gagne said Jewish and Muslim holidays are two categories that often get overlooked. She added that having the ability to celebrate those holidays will make strides towards constructive changes. KSC’s website under Religious Diversity Guidelines states, “Staff and faculty must contact their supervisors and make reasonable arrangements to cover their responsibilities to students and other tasks at the college. Employees could trade the holiday off for a campus ‘floating’ holiday or take personal vacation time.” Schmidl-Gagne believes this new adjustment to staff contracts will create building blocks to a stronger, more diverse, foundation. Caroline Perry can be contacted at cperry@kscequinox.com
CONTRIBUTED BY DAVID PAYSON
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