EIU Media Relations

EIU Board to Consider Creation of New Nursing Degree Program

Eastern Illinois University will move one step closer to creating a new nursing degree program if its Board of Trustees approves the proposal Wednesday, Dec. 14.

The board must endorse the plan before it can move to the Illinois Board of Higher Education for final authorization and funding.

EIU’s vision is to offer a bachelor of science in nursing degree to those who already have earned registered nursing licenses.

Demand for the degree, often termed an “RN to BSN completion program,” is growing nationwide.

The proposal is among the items on the Board of Trustees agenda for its next meeting, which is to begin at 1 p.m. Wednesday in the Grand Ballroom of the Martin Luther King Jr. University Union.

The board is also expected to vote on spending $1.16 million to build a 4,870-square-foot, second-floor addition to the east side of Lantz Arena.

The Lantz addition would house coaching offices for the men’s and women’s basketball teams, an academic space that would include staff offices, a study area, a computer lab, restrooms and a conference room.

In addition, the board is to consider allocating $235,000 for the purchase and demolition of property at 1816 Ninth St., Charleston, to create a student and staff parking lot.

The house is currently owned and occupied by the Zeta Alpha chapter of the Alpha Phi sorority. Acquisition of property in that area is in accordance with the Campus Master Plan.

The board is also expected to vote on many other matters, including the following items:

• Approval of $500,490 for the purchase and installation of equipment to complete the final phase of the overall campus network infrastructure upgrade;
• Renewal of the existing agreement with H&H Shuttle Service Inc. for the Panther Express student shuttle bus, at a cost of $246,000 for one year; and
• Submission of a grant proposal seeking $1.83 million in Title III Institutional Development funds for a Student Success Center, which would aim to help students at risk of academic failure.