A total of 162 nursing students graduated during the 2005-2006 school year, 133 from the Coon Rapids Campus in May and 29 from the Cambridge and Coon Rapids Campus last December. Their job prospects are positive, given that 99 percent of 2004 and 2005 graduates reported employment in the health care field, according to the college’s nursing graduate surveys.

“Program graduates are filling critical positions in health care facilities and continue to offer positive feedback about the excellent education they received in the Anoka-Ramsey nursing program,” says ARCC Dean of Educational Services Ann Holland, who oversees the nursing program.

The state’s need for nurses continues to grow, and ARCC continues to expand its nursing programs. The college offers a two-year registered nursing (RN) option on both the Cambridge and Coon Rapids campuses, designed for students with no previous nursing experience. An LPN-RN option, which is offered on the Coon Rapids campus, allows students who have previously earned licensed practical nursing (LPN) credentials to become registered nurses.

ARCC’s newest option, offered in partnership with North Hennepin Community College and Metropolitan State University, allows students who have a bachelor’s degree in another field to earn a bachelor of science in nursing (BSN). The 23 students in this accelerated BSN program have completed their first year, and a new cohort of students will begin this fall.

Area Health Care Alliances
With thousands of ARCC nursing graduates working in healthcare facilities around the state, the college maintains an excellent reputation for its fully accredited nursing program. In fact, this comprehensive, high-quality training relies in part on the strong alliances the college has built with area health care facilities.

These alliances are mutually beneficial. All ARCC students must earn clinical experience through on-site learning at area facilities. ARCC students complete clinical education at:
• Anoka-Metro Treatment Center
• Buffalo Hospital
• Cambridge Medical Center
• Camilia Rose Convalescent Center
• Elim Home - Princeton
• Grandview Homes
• Kanabec Hospital
• Mercy and Unity Hospitals
• North Memorial Health Care
• Park River Estates Care Center
• St. Cloud Hospital
• St. Paul Children’s Hospital
• Unity Hospital

In addition, financial support for student scholarships comes directly from area health care institutions. Cambridge Memorial Hospital Foundation and the auxiliaries of Mercy and Unity Hospitals have endowed nursing scholarships at ARCC for many years.

End of an Era
As ARCC marks forty years of service to its communities, the nursing program at ARCC will see more change. Holland, who has led the college’s nursing program for the past six years, will depart in August to join the nursing faculty at Bethel University in St. Paul.

“The past six years have been a time of growth and development for the Anoka-Ramsey Community College Associate Degree Nursing Program,” Holland says. “We have expanded enrollments, faculty and facilities. It has been a privilege to participate in this exciting period in the program's history.”

The college will hire an interim dean to fill Holland’s position for the next year.

“The nursing program is thriving at Anoka-Ramsey Community College," says Susan Tarnowski, ARCC Vice President of Educational Services. “We congratulate Ann Holland on her new position and thank her for her years of service. We look forward to bringing in a new leader with exceptional skills who understands the positive impact the nursing program has on our surrounding communities.”