In the locally released marketing of this new build, UNCG is the major stakeholder with claims that they need 20,000 square feet, access to a bunch of equipment etc... to accommodate 320 new students when fully operational. In fact, the DNP, at least for nurse anesthetists is a re-work of a current post masters certificate program that has 2 enrolled students. UNCG's intent is to mash the MS level and PM in anesthesia and gerontology . Even so, this does not demonstrate enough interest to justify the new building. The number used in marketing isn't supported in the needs assessment either. In fact, of the 179 returned surveys only 3% were interested in a DNP in anesthesia and 100% supported an on-line program, not an in place one.
The Union Square Campus is not implicitly mentioned in the establishment documents for the DNP. Facilities is a topic of consideration in allowing a new program, particularly one described as substantive change. It is acknowledged that the current facilities are inadequate to expansion, that a new nursing building at UNCG is a top priority.
But planning money for a new building was not supported by the legislature.
The stated facility need was 6 additional faculty offices and some classroom space. From the budget, they project that one-time expenses for facilities renovations or additions, equipment purchases would run $20,000 each in year 1 and 4. The only other section that covered how differential expenses would be covered was the series of annual budgets based on a tuition differential (more on that later). The amount of money from this source earmarked for facility (rent or lease) is $0. In one other area there is a fragment of a sentence suggesting that Dr. Brady promised recurring money (which in UNCG parlance = tax dollars).
There is no letter of support from Moses Cone or suggestions that they support this degree at all. The establishment documents claim that their affiliations are with Wake Forest and '500 doctors practices' in central NC to VA' and doesn't discuss the need to collaborate with Moses Cone or incorporate large scale instrumentation investment. The only mention of Moses Cone is that a nurse leadership team of the Moses Cone Health Services supports a DNP program. Since General Administration approved this program relying on the relationships stated, there is no need for UNCG to get involved in something new with Moses Cone, especially supported solely or majorly by the City of Greensboro taxpayers. If UNCG needs something to benefit NC citizens (mission of UNC system), the cost should be borne by all NC citizens, not just for those unfortunate enough to live in Greensboro.
Wake Forest School of Medicine has a teaching hospital, clinic hours, equipment and 80 faculty in its Nursing School. They have pledged to partner and provide facilities, faculty practice, and mentoring support. Why isn't anyone at UNCG saying 'wow, thank you'?
A point of interest which did not make the papers is that the establishment documents claim that much of the expense of expanding into the new degree program will be borne through a tuition differential [higher costs]. Tuition differentials are not uncommon in MBA programs and this has been tolerated because people that go into business administration tend to make more money than the rest. I find it notable that this program boasts that graduating nurses with a doctorate may make $132K per year, which sounds like a lot for a nurse until you consider that a doctor graduating with, well, a doctorate in anesthesiology makes $260K per year base pay. So why are people (women) being asked to pay more for their education to get a job that's 50 cents on the Dr. Doctor dollar?
DNP Does not justify downtown Union Square Campus
Why establishment of the DNP does not justify Union
Square Campus
John Merrill, Executive Director of Gateway University Research Park has been tasked with the Union Square Campus build. He has been the top administrator during the renovation of two of eight existing buildings at the Browns Summit campus (formerly NC School for the Deaf, now Gateway North). He successfully brokered deals to come up with initial funding for Research Building One at Gateway South on Lee St by making a deal with the USDA to occupy half the building with a ten year lease, creating a sustainable income. He was at the helm during the build of the Joint School of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, a high research facility which was completed in 2011. So it comes as no surprise that he would be sought for developing space for a new collaborative academic program. What comes as a surprise is that it seems to have slipped everybody’s minds that both Gateway University Research Park North and South have a tenancy problem. There is clearly plenty of space in the eight existing buildings in Browns Summit… If the founding documents are accurate, the Nursing program needs a build out of six faculty offices and some classroom space. Gateway North has four or five empty buildings suitable for classrooms and offices. They are connected to both universities with data lines and telephone systems. And there is a precedent for using the premises for shared academic programing with the NCAT/UNCG Joint Master of Social Work Project. And by the way, the North Campus is nine minutes away from Moses Cone. So the Nursing Program may want to have something a little snazzier than the cozy in the woods complex built specifically for, well, education. They may want glass walls and access to research space. Fortunately, Gateway South has plenty of all that. According to their website, they have immediately available 1,800 sq ft of finished space and 8,000 sq ft of raw unfinished space. They also have six building pads with infrastructure and grading already completed, two 1,000 square foot labs and access to fitted labs for biology, biotech, biopharm, viruses studies, genomics, biochemistry, chemistry, physical chemistry, microscopy, a variety of imaging and MRI. This location is right off I40 and is 33 minutes to Wake Forest School of Medicine. And Gateway has John Merrill who is dedicated to build to suit. From the Research Park website, http://www.gatewayurp.com/ “Build-to-suit construction of your new office space or building can be handled by Gateway or alongside trusted contractors. We can provide development services such as ground-up construction, tenant improvement projects and fit-ups, construction management services, design and space planning, renovations, and LEED building options. We work with our clients to personalize every aspect of construction from site selection to identification of custom features and options.” So this begs the question, why is John Merrill being pulled away from a project that is nowhere near complete, has infrastructure in place, has empty space, is intended for academic collaboration, is already owned, and has finally gotten the legalities ironed out in order to build in downtown Greensboro? What happened? | ||||||||||
