Northwest Missouri State University’s Board of Regents during its regular session on Thursday approved the addition of a master’s degree program in nursing and passed two resolutions – one providing its support for a grant application that could lead to funding to enhance a recreational trail on campus and a second voicing support for the Super Bowl-bound Kansas City Chiefs.

The Board’s approval of the Master of Science in Nursing (MSN), as an online program, allows Northwest to begin offering coursework for the degree next fall. The 30-hour graduate program will allow registered nurses who have obtained a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) to complete an MSN degree. The program will offer 15 hours of core classes with the remaining 15 hours completed in one of two tracks – nurse executive and administration, or nurse educator.

In presenting the program proposal to Regents, Northwest Provost Dr. Jamie Hooyman said the nursing profession continues to encourage nurses to seek advanced education, and nurses who aspire to leadership roles are asked to hold graduate degrees. Northwest’s Nursing Advisory Board identified a need for graduate education options for professional nurses in the region, and national and market analysis conducted by Academic Partnerships, which partners with Northwest to provide online programs, indicates strong interest from prospective students in the region and state.

Northwest relaunched its RN-BSN program in 2017 as an online program that offers seven-week sessions, is conducive to the working nurse’s schedule and enables students to complete the program in less than a year. The RN-BSN program was granted pre-accreditation status last year by the National League for Nursing’s Commission for Nursing Education Accreditation (NLN CNEA), and Hooyman said the new MSN degree will further enhance Northwest’s nursing program.

Additionally, the Board passed a resolution authorizing Northwest to apply to the Missouri Department of Natural Resources Recreational Trails Program for grant funding for the Rails to Trails program. The grant, if awarded, will pay for a portion of the total project costs associated with a plan to refurbish a recreational trail that extends from North Country Club Road west to the Phillips Rodeo grounds and eastward along an existing rail bed on the Northwest campus to the former Wabash Depot near Walnut Street.

The Rails to Trails Program, which is proposed in Northwest’s Campus Master Plan, creates a campus recreational amenity while providing a linkage to the Maryville community. Such programs are encouraged in Missouri’s Statewide Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan, and are known for their potential economic, health, wellness and beautification impacts.

“We have a unique opportunity here where we have an old rail bed that divides the north and south side of campus,” Allen Mays, Northwest’s assistant vice president for capital programs told the Board. This is a great opportunity to improve that old rail bed for lots of different reasons.”

In other business, Regents, citing the University’s connection to the Chiefs organization, approved a resolution that Northwest “commits its full energy and encouragement” supporting the Chiefs in Sunday’s Super Bowl game.

The Board also approved 16 adjunct faculty to teach at Northwest during the spring 2020 semester. The Board also discussed revisions to its bylaws.

The Board of Regents is responsible for sound resource management of the University and determining general, educational and financial policies.