![\"Portrait](\"https:\/\/news.boisestate.edu\/update\/files\/2016\/11\/RN-to-BS-500x258.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
Boise State\u2019s online RN-BS program staff<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Nearly every department on every college campus in America grapples with the same three questions: How do we attract students \u2013 and once we have them, how do we retain them and ensure they graduate?<\/p>\n
Boise State\u2019s online Registered Nurse to Bachelor of Science in Nursing (RN-BS) program in the College of Health Sciences seems to have found the answer to at least a few of those questions. While the online degree program is less than a decade old, it boasts retention rates consistently within 80 percent with a graduation rate last year of 72 percent.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese numbers are especially striking when compared nationally to other online RN-BS degree programs, which boast a graduate rate of around 40 percent,\u201d said Marilyn O\u2019Mallon, associate director of the RN-BS program of study in the School of Nursing.<\/p>\n
The program\u2019s faculty and staff attribute success of the online program to its proactive customer service model that responds quickly to students\u2019 individual needs, solicits regular feedback on processes and from instructors, and an exhaustive outreach campaign unparalleled by most online programs of study.<\/p>\n
Boise State\u2019s online RN-BS program was launched online in 2008 in response to a national call by Institute of Medicine to increase the number of professional registered nurses with a bachelor\u2019s degree to 80 percent by the year 2020. In line with this goal, Boise State\u2019s School of Nursing is celebrating more than 1,000 RNs earning their bachelor\u2019s degree online.<\/p>\n
When Boise State\u2019s program went online, the School of Nursing team was tasked with figuring out how to give virtual students the same level of attention, support, community and camaraderie that on-campus students in the program receive. Maura Rasmussen, manager of RN-BS student enrollment and advisement services within the School of Nursing, said that her background in customer service helped define the program to be responsive to student needs.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe solicit student and faculty feedback on a continuum because we\u2019re using collected data to constantly improve our processes at all times,\u201d Rasmussen said.<\/p>\n
The strategic feedback loop promotes quality education, clearer communication, camaraderie, better retention rates and faculty\/student satisfaction with online teaching and learning.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur outreach is a little like coaching, a little like mentoring and a little like quality assurance,\u201d explained Betty Miller, manager of online faculty. \u201cWe\u2019ve found that when our faculty engagement is high, they pass that on to their students.\u201d<\/p>\n
Since 2011, the program has experienced a double-digit growth in faculty and has enjoyed 100 percent retention among faculty they\u2019ve chosen to continue working with.<\/p>\n
On top of soliciting feedback from students and faculty, and evaluating processes ever semester, faculty and staff in the RN-BS program constantly show students that they\u2019re working as advocates in their best interests. This includes shouldering many of the larger, university processes that students normally would have to navigate through.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe try and cut out bureaucracy for students as much as possible so they can concentrate on learning,\u201d explained Candice Johnson, an academic advisor with the RN-BS program. Johnson helps students work with the registrar\u2019s office and figure out what core classes they might need to take to complete their bachelor\u2019s degree. \u201cTheir ability to navigate through university processes isn\u2019t important to us, their success is. We take over those processes so they can concentrate on meeting their goals.\u201d<\/p>\n
Another innovative way the program has ensured students stay actively engaged is by instituting a calling campaign at the start of every semester (if students would rather opt out, they also have the option of completing an email survey), explained Sandi Gregory, student services coordinator. The calling campaign\u00a0entails checking in with all 401 actively enrolled students mid-term every semester to find out how they\u2019re doing, solicit feedback on accessibility, technology, their instructors, classes, and generally identify themes and challenges that students are wrestling with. Although this time-consuming task takes days to a week to complete, staffers say it\u2019s a vital tool that allows them to respond with help for both students and instructors.<\/p>\n
There is even a \u201clost souls\u201d campaign for students who stop participating in the program.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe track students who kind of melt away \u2013 who took a semester off and never came back, or those who drop out, or those who apply but never start,\u201d Rasmussen said. \u201cWe email or call them, and we keep them active in our system for a year.\u201d<\/p>\n
This level of support for faculty and students has made the online RN-BS program a model on campus and nationally for what a successful online program can accomplish. Boise State\u2019s RN-BS program team members are actively engaged in helping others across Boise State in the development of their own online programs of study.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur students are the best advocates for recruiting for our online programs of study,\u201d O\u2019Mallon said. \u201cWhatever we can do to support our faculty and our students, we do. The RN-BS team recognizes the RN-BS program as a business model that promotes customer satisfaction to our consumers, our students. They\u2019re paying for our service and we want to provide them with the best service we possibly can.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe try to be there for all of our students during their successes and difficult times,\u201d Rasmussen said. As a caring and personal touch, the RN-BS team recognizes impactful\u00a0events in students\u2019 lives by sending out birthday cards, condolence cards and even graduation cards.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
BY: CIENNA MADRID Boise State\u2019s online RN-BS program staff Nearly every department on every college…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":202,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4072,4071],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-63592","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-cohs-news","category-son-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
RN-BS Program Credits Customer Service for High Retention, Graduation Rates - School of Nursing<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.boisestate.edu\/nursing\/2016\/11\/08\/rn-bs-2\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"RN-BS Program Credits Customer Service for High Retention, Graduation Rates\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"BY: CIENNA MADRID Boise State\u2019s online RN-BS program staff Nearly every department on every college campus in America grapples with the same three\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.boisestate.edu\/nursing\/2016\/11\/08\/rn-bs-2\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"School of Nursing\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/BoiseStateSON\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-11-08T18:03:08+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/news.boisestate.edu\/update\/files\/2016\/11\/RN-to-BS-500x258.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Danya Lusk\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@BoiseStateNurse\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@BoiseStateNurse\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Danya Lusk\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.boisestate.edu\/nursing\/2016\/11\/08\/rn-bs-2\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.boisestate.edu\/nursing\/2016\/11\/08\/rn-bs-2\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Danya Lusk\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.boisestate.edu\/nursing\/#\/schema\/person\/4e6204c0bf02ce28d005641f50ee9fb9\"},\"headline\":\"RN-BS Program Credits Customer Service for High Retention, Graduation Rates\",\"datePublished\":\"2016-11-08T18:03:08+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.boisestate.edu\/nursing\/2016\/11\/08\/rn-bs-2\/\"},\"wordCount\":917,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.boisestate.edu\/nursing\/2016\/11\/08\/rn-bs-2\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/news.boisestate.edu\/update\/files\/2016\/11\/RN-to-BS-500x258.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"COHS\",\"Nursing\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.boisestate.edu\/nursing\/2016\/11\/08\/rn-bs-2\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.boisestate.edu\/nursing\/2016\/11\/08\/rn-bs-2\/\",\"name\":\"RN-BS Program Credits Customer Service for High Retention, Graduation Rates - 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