"We know from experience that students encountering these difficulties can begin feeling frustrated and unable to handle their course work. That is why the CAPS program was created. "

— Maggie Ciocco, MS, RN, BC Nursing Program Advisor

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School of Nursing Launches "CAPS" Program

Creating an Academic Pathway to Success

By Maggie Ciocco, MS, RN, BC Nursing Program Advisor,
W. Cary Edwards School of Nursing

Engage, retain, re-engage…repeat.

It is a mantra put into action as W. Cary Edwards School of Nursing expands the ways it is connecting to its students. Our latest outreach strategies have been successful in motivating new applicants to enroll, enrolled students to stay the course and inactive students to re-enroll in our programs.

In re-engaging inactive students, we discovered some common reasons why they may have put their studies on hold:

• New students may not have scheduled an initial advising appointment and simply registered for courses. Without the appropriate, introductory online course(s) students can feel isolated, overwhelmed or left without a clear plan for degree completion.
• Students experiencing an academic issue that may have escalated. These situations can often be defused or prevented entirely with the intervention of an advisor.
• Instances in which new students needed assistance in developing stronger writing skills and study habits or advice in striking up a more feasible work-life-academic balance.

We know from experience that students encountering these difficulties can begin feeling frustrated and unable to handle their course work. That is why the CAPS program was created.

Our CAPS or Creating an Academic Pathway to Success program has several goals:

• To increase student retention and success.
• To introduce students to the W. Cary Edwards School of Nursing's academic advising team and the services we provide.
• To maintain student motivation/momentum, thereby decreasing the amount of students that may become inactive.
• To decrease or eliminate the number of students who withdraw from or drop classes.
• To lessen the potential for students to leave our program.

The CAPS program begins with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) orientation webinar, which will begin in the April 2016 term and will be offered quarterly. During the webinar, students will be introduced to our advising personnel and to several concepts, including how to schedule advising appointments; how to prepare for an advisement appointment; understanding an Academic Evaluation; using the online plagiarism prevention service, Turnitin; the importance of using APA format in written work; the significance of scholarly writing in student success; instruction on submitting tickets through the Parature help desk system; and the importance of academic integrity.

New students will be contacted six weeks into their first nursing course, Nursing Informatics (NUR–340). During this outreach, any immediate issues will be addressed and the student will be encouraged to schedule a formal advisement appointment. We'll contact the student again at the end of the first term to follow up and discuss plans the student may have for the next term.

We are hopeful that the CAPS program will aid undergraduate students in recognizing the importance of academic advising in their degree planning and encourage them to utilize this resource. We anticipate that students will be reassured that they are not alone in their degree journey and that there are trusted resources available to assist and guide them to the successful completion of their BSN degree.

The CAPS program is only a part of our continuing effort to engage, retain and re-engage our students.

Graduate nursing advisors have developed a "pre-Practicum" webinar for students completing their program requirements. The webinar highlights important information such as academic expectations, the process for submitting Practicum documents and obtaining approval. Graduate nursing advisors will also be initiating admission-related phone calls to new Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) program students and students advancing from our BSN program. We expect that these calls will provide the student with consistent information about MSN requirements, course expectations and updated program policies.

Other CAPS initiatives include contacting nonmatriculated BSN and MSN students to determine if they have selected the most appropriate course(s) for their objectives and to assist them throughout the application and registration process.

Nursing advisors continue to assist inactive BSN and MSN students to re-engage with our School. This often means helping them to recognize or adjust to life and work situations that may have prevented them from being academically successful in the past. We are also connecting with students who have recently applied, but have not registered for classes. If you are one of those with whom we've connected, welcome, or welcome back.

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