Eastern President Lou Hencken is working to bring a nursing program to campus, but the process will be a long one.

Hencken said a completion program for nursing would be a good alternative to students who transfer out to complete their degrees.

Before action can be taken on the project, the $250,000 budget must be approved by the state legislature. Funds have already been recommended by the Illinois Board of Higher Education.

Hencken said legislators seemed to support his proactive proposal. He said the board was glad to see Eastern address the issue of a nursing shortage before it becomes a problem.

Hencken, who has been a member of the Sarah Bush Lincoln Health Center Board of Directors for 12 years, said little effort was needed to convince the legislators of the shortage of nurses.

“I believe there is a tremendous need and the need is going to grow for nurses,” Hencken said.

Those with a bachelor of science degree in nursing are “eligible for better positions in hospitals,” he said. “There is also a good chance they would remain in Illinois.”

The next step is bringing a consultant to campus to assess feasibility and readiness of Eastern in relation to the program, said Blair Lord, provost and vice president for academic affairs.

Eastern has asked Mary Collins, who will return to campus in June, to fill the position. Collins is the former dean of the Decker School of Nursing at Binghamton University in Binghamton, N.Y. She also helped Illinois State University in planning its nursing program.

The program could be opened to students in a year and a half at the very best, Lord said, but a lot of “different pieces need to come together” first.

Before the program can be implemented, a curriculum must be developed, a director must be hired and approval must be gained from various accrediting bodies. Lord said Booth Library is somewhat prepared already, but Eastern does not have the 30 or more core credit hours needed for the program.

Hencken said he hopes to enroll 50 to 100 students per year in the program, if everything is approved.

Although both Hencken and Lord said Eastern could start advertising as soon as a plan is in place, Hencken said students will not be admitted until the program is ready.

“Eastern Illinois University stands for top quality – educational excellence,” Hencken said. “We are not going to begin something until we can do it the right way.”