Students in the nursing program at Burman complete their prerequisites on that campus for three semesters and transfer to Kettering College for two years of full-time study. They first earn a certificate in health sciences before continuing their nursing core curriculum and clinicals at Kettering College. Once students graduate, they are able to become a licensed nurse in either Canada or the States.
Tiniel Parredon, enrolment manager at Burman says the program has proven to be beneficial to their students. She notes, “Students get the chance to experience two different cultures without having to travel too far from home. This allows a nice transition for our Canadian students to stay close to home for the first year before they transition into college life away from home.”
She adds the opportunity to affordably obtain an American degree is valuable to students with an interest in being a travel nurse or having the option of working in either location, thanks to the international partnership between Burman University and Kettering College.
Since the program’s inception, nine Burman transfer nursing students have graduated from Kettering College, and six are currently enroled. Current Burman transfer students work with nursing faculty who advise all international nursing students to make sure they’re on track and getting all their questions answered about their classes or anything that arises from being in a different country.
Trying new things entails a learning curve, and this international pipeline is no different. Jessica Beans, associate dean of Enrolment and Communication at Kettering College, continues to work with others here and at Burman to improve the program and streamline the processes. She says, “We know transitioning between a university in Canada and the United States can be complicated with the international student paperwork, but we are striving to improve this process, as we continue to learn how to best support our Canadian students coming to Ohio through this partnership.”
Since its inception, both institutions have created the innovative program without a previous model to follow, learning as the years have progressed. There are now monthly meetings between both institutions that include departments such as Admissions, Records, and Enrolment to further streamline the transfer process and maintain lines of communication for best practices.
One recent addition to the program has been to focus on introducing current pre-nursing students at Burman to our Kettering College team via a virtual information session. Jessica says, “This early introduction is an effort to connect Burman students sooner than ever before, so that they can be sure to finish up strong at Burman and know who to work with at Kettering College long before the process starts.”
Anya Barrett is a transfer student from Burman who admits coming to another country without knowing anyone was daunting at first, but she’s happy she made this decision. She says, “The courses are challenging and push me always to do my best. I know that when I graduate, I will be a competent nurse because of the way Kettering College structures its program.”
She adds, “We are so blessed to be a part of the Kettering Health system because it allows us to get hands-on experience early in our schooling. I appreciate that we can apply what we learn almost immediately so that by the end, nothing feels like it is brand new.”
Whether these students remain in Kettering or return to Canada, we are grateful they decided to study with us and look forward to see how they touch the world.
Written by Rebecca Ingle, Kettering College