About the College

Welcome From the Dean

Dean Carole Kenner The University of Oklahoma College of Nursing is one of seven colleges on the Health Sciences Center campus in Oklahoma City. Total College enrollment Fall 2005 is 806. 70 full-time faculty and 20 part-time faculty from diverse backgrounds bring their varied expertise to the educational arena.

The College of Nursing's undergraduate program offers two tracks: generic and career mobility. The generic bachelor of science in nursing program is for individuals not previously licensed while the career mobility program is for individuals licensed as LPNs or RNs or from health related fields such as EMTs. The nursing major is an upper division major requiring enrollment in the last two years of the program. Career mobility students may be eligible for advanced standing which permits entrance into the program as seniors.

The graduate program offers a master of science (MS) degree with a major in nursing requiring two years of full-time study. Students enroll in one of four Pathways: Administration/Management, Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS), Education or Nurse Practitioner. In addition, each student (except for those in the management/administration pathway) focuses on a clinical area of nursing practice: Acute Care Nursing (Adult) CNS, Community Health Nursing (Education Pathway only), Gerontological Nursing CNS, Parent-Child Nursing CNS, Psychiatric-Mental Health Nursing CNS, Family Nurse Practitioner or Pediatric Nurse Practitioner. For individuals who have a master's degree in nursing who seek nurse practitioner certification, a post master's track is offered requiring up to 35 credit hours of master's degree course work. A post-master's certificate is awarded upon completion. The MS degree is offered on the HSC campus in Oklahoma City; at the Schusterman Center in Tulsa; and at the Cameron campus in Lawton, with limited tracks available in Ada, Ardmore, Enid/Woodward, McAlester, and Talihina.

The College offers both undergraduate and graduate programs at distant sites. Both tracks in the undergraduate program are offered on the campus of Cameron University in Lawton and at the Schusterman Center in Tulsa.

The College of Nursing is committed to meeting the three missions of the University: teaching, research and service. Several initiatives are underway to do so. The College's case management program is very active and operates under contract for this service with a state agency. The case management program currently operates in 65 counties and serves more than 2000 clients. A grant from the Indian Health Service provides for scholarships and support personnel to recruit and graduate Native American students who will serve the Native American community.

Faculty, staff and students are actively involved in all facets of the College's programs. The College has clinical contracts for its educational programs with 79 agencies/entities. Continuing education programs are offered through contracts with the OU Health Sciences Center Consortium and others.

Each year, the college offers a Visiting Scholar Program whereby a prominent nursing scholar is brought to campus to meet with faculty, alumni, students, and the university and nursing communities. This program is funded through an endowment from Frances and Earl Ziegler of Dallas.

Recently, the University Of Oklahoma College Of Nursing was one of three nursing programs designated a 2006-2009 Center of Excellence by the National League for Nursing. “The COE program recognizes schools of nursing which have achieved excellence in a designated level, demonstrated sustained, evidence-based, and substantive innovation in that area; and have a proven commitment to continuous quality improvement.” Our School of Nursing achieved this status for its accomplishments in Creating Environments that Promoted Student Learning and Professional Development. It is but another step we build upon as we work towards the most effective ways to develop the next generation of leaders in nursing.

Dean Carole A. Kenner
Dean of the University of Oklahoma College of Nursing