THE STATE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT / THE UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK / ALBANY, NY 12234

 

TO:

Higher Education and Professional Practice Committee

FROM:

Johanna Duncan-Poitier

SUBJECT:

The City University of New York, Graduate School and University Center, Doctor of Nursing Science (D.N.S.) Degree

DATE:

May 30, 2006

STRATEGIC GOAL:

Goals 2 and 4

AUTHORIZATION(S):

 

 

SUMMARY

 

Issue for Decision (Consent Agenda)

 

Should the Board of Regents authorize the Board of Trustees of The City University of New York to confer the additional degree of Doctor of Nursing Science (D.N.S.) at the Graduate School and University Center?

 

Reason(s) for Consideration

         
          Required by State statute.

 

Proposed Handling

 

The question will come before the Higher Education and Professional Practice Committee at its June meeting, where it will be voted on and action taken.  It then will come before the full Board at its June meeting for final action.

 

Procedural History

 

At its meeting on January 23, 2006, the Board of Trustees of The City University of New York voted “That the program in Nursing, to be offered jointly by the Graduate School and University Center, Hunter College, Lehman College, and the College of Staten Island leading to the D.N.S. degree to be awarded by the Graduate School and University Center, be approved, effective September 2006, subject to financial ability.”  The Department received CUNY’s proposal on February 1, 2006.  

 

 

Background Information

 

The Board of Trustees is currently not authorized to confer the Doctor of Nursing Science (D.N.S.) degree at the Graduate School and University Center.

 

Paragraph (8) of §6206 of the Education Law authorizes the CUNY Trustees to:

 

. . . grant the certificates, diplomas and degrees which were announced in the bulletins of the existing public institutions of higher learning published for the term beginning immediately prior to April sixteenth, nineteen hundred twenty-six, and also such other degrees and honors as the regents thereafter specifically authorized or may hereafter authorize it to grant.

 

At the Graduate School and University Center, the Trustees are authorized to award the degrees of Bachelor of Arts (B.A.), Bachelor of Science (B.S.), Master of Arts (M.A.), Doctor of Audiology (Au.D.), Doctor of Physical Therapy (D.P.T.), Doctor of Musical Arts (D.M.A.), Master of Philosophy (M.Phil.), and Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.).  The Graduate School offers programs in the discipline areas of the Biological Sciences, Business, Education, Engineering, the Fine Arts, the Humanities, the Physical Sciences, and the Social Sciences.

 

The Department has determined that the proposed program meets the standards for registration set forth in the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education.  It would be offered jointly by the Graduate School, Hunter College, Lehman College, and the College of Staten Island, with degrees conferred only through the Graduate School.  

 

The D.N.S. degree is awarded for research-oriented programs in nursing that prepare nurses for leadership roles in nursing education.  The shortage of qualified nursing faculty in the State causes schools of nursing to turn away otherwise qualified applicants for admission to degree programs in nursing leading to RN licensure.  Remedying this shortage is part of Regents Priority C8, Strong Graduate Programs to Meet the State’s Needs, in The Statewide Plan for Higher Education 2004-2012. 

 

Recommendation

 

It is recommended that the Board of Regents authorize The City University of New York’s Board of Trustees, effective June 20, 2006, to confer the degree of Doctor of Nursing Science (D.N.S.) on duly qualified students successfully completing registered programs at the Graduate School and University Center.

 

Timetable for Implementation

 

If the Board authorizes CUNY’s Trustees to award the D.N.S. degree, the Department will proceed immediately to register the proposed D.N.S. program in nursing.