About Us
Dean’s Welcome
The College of Nursing at Prairie View A&M University prides itself on educating professional nurses for now and in the future.
The global pandemic has demonstrated the importance of the professional nurse, spotlighting the work that nurses do on a daily basis. Nursing practice is about the knowledge and understanding of anatomy and physiology, medications, and treatments plans for diseases and continued wellness but it is also about understanding patients’ lives, developing strategies to care for patients, holding a patient’s hands as they struggled to breath, witnessing the birth of babies, and the death of a loved one. Nursing is about being there in the moment-when no one else is able to. It is about patient education and advocacy; it is about communicating but more importantly listening and understanding. Because Nursing is an Art and a Science and the care nurses provide is about taking care of the whole person: body and soul.
Prairie View A&M University College of Nursing is an exemplar in educating professional nurses for now and the future. In our 100 year, the college celebrates making a difference in defining and actualizing a positive experience for many individuals who choose nursing as their career. Transcending the challenge of time, our nursing graduates have extensively contributed to the quality and excellence in nursing and health care delivery throughout Texas, the nation and the world.
Located in the Texas Medical Center, the College of Nursing offers a variety of high-quality programs that utilize advanced educational technologies such as smart classrooms and laboratories, study and research rooms as well as enhanced learning opportunities in collaboration with our clinical partners. The college continues to celebrate its growth and enhancement through the expansion of online programs and twenty-four-hour access to online libraries and other electronic programs.
Allyssa L. Harris RN, PhD, WHNP-BC
Dean and Professor, College of Nursing
Mission
The faculty of the College of Nursing at Prairie View A&M University embraces the University’s mission of excellence in education, research and service. The purpose of the College of Nursing is to prepare beginning professionals as nurse generalists (BSN); and graduate prepared nurses with an area of specialization (MSN) and/or a doctoral prepared (DNP) expert clinical practice scholar, all of whom have foundations for continuing personal, professional and educational growth. Graduates are prepared to practice in a variety of settings and to assume leadership roles as socially responsible and accountable professionals in response to the health needs of a rapidly changing, technological complex society.
Vision
The College of Nursing will be internationally recognized for excellence in nursing education, leadership, research, service, and emerging technology; and will address health needs and disparities through innovative approaches and research.
College of Nursing History
The College of Nursing (CON) has been in the forefront of educating African American nurses for over 95 years. Established in 1918, it was structured like a 2-year diploma nursing program in a higher institution of learning for Blacks in Texas. The first degree granted by the University was in nursing. In 1928, the program was lengthened to three years and the first off campus affiliation begun in 1930. The nursing program was transformed into a professional baccalaureate program in 1952. The first baccalaureate degrees were awarded in 1956. Fourteen years later in 1968, the college developed an upper (professional) and lower division (liberal arts). This division was aligned with total concentration of nursing in Houston and affiliations at some of the most prominent hospitals in the world; while all pre-clinical or general studies courses continued to be offered on the main University campus. This division also provided opportunities for students from other general studies programs to apply for admission to the upper division. In 1983, the CON moved to the building at 6436 Fannin Street in the medical center and became a participating member of 42 institutions supporting the Texas Medical Center’s operation. The initial building at this location was demolished and a new state of the art building was constructed in 2005 and occupied in 2006. The new College of Nursing building is 12 stories and has over 120,000 square feet of space for operation.
The RN-BSN Completion track was created in 1978. In addition to offering courses at the CON campus, this track was expanded via telecommunication to distance sites at Bryan-College Station, home of the Texas A&M University, to the University Center in Montgomery County and to Huntsville Medical Center in Huntsville, Texas. Students enrolled in the RN-BSN track complete the program in 3 semesters or twelve months. In 2011, the program was approved to be offered online.
In 1999, the College of Nursing added the Master of Science in Nursing Degree offering the Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP) program to meet the demand to increase the number of ethnic minority health care providers to unserved, underserved and vulnerable populations. This initiative was funded by a grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. In 2005, two additional master’s programs were added: MSN Nurse Education and MSN Nurse Administration. In the MSN Nurse Education program, baccalaureate prepared nurses are educated to teach in a variety of settings including the teaching of patients and families, nursing students, nursing staff and health consumers. In the MSN Nurse Administration program, baccalaureate prepared nurses who are currently employed in management or administrative personnel in health care agencies are educated to work in a variety of leadership and managerial positions in the health care system. Post masters certificate programs are offered in each of the three graduate programs.
In January 2005, the LVN-BSN Program admitted the first cohort of 12 students. This program is offered at the Texas Medical Center Houston campus. The program is structured to be completed in four academic semesters.
Performance Indicators
BSN Program Completion Rate FY2016
The BSN program completion rate is defined as the percentage of students from a cohort (number admitted in one academic year excluding summers) who graduate within six consecutive semesters (Generic; LVN-BSN students) or (number admitted in one academic year including summers) who graduate within 3 consecutive semesters after the first date of enrollment in the program (RN-BSN students).