The University of North Carolina Board of Governors voted unanimously to lift its suspension on admission of students to the traditional Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) entry option at the North Carolina A&T State University School of Nursing.

The move comes after the institution made significant changes, resulting in an 89.3 percent passing rate on the National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses (NCLEX-RN) for the May 2015 graduates of the traditional entry option—exceeding the board’s 85 percent benchmark. Those graduates benefited from changes in curriculum, faculty, admission requirements and policies, and they took the NCLEX-RN within the recommended 45-days of program completion.

“We are thankful to the Board of Governors for acknowledging the extraordinary progress made by our faculty, staff and students to reclaim our traditional entry option for the Bachelor of Science in Nursing,” said Provost Joe. B. Whitehead.

“This decision allows us to grow and strengthen our nursing program and continue to produce academically sound graduates to meet the workforce needs of the region, state and world,” Whitehead added. “We have much more work to do, but we are excited about this latest accomplishment.”  

Prior to the board’s admission suspension in 2014, N.C. A&T began making modifications. Following a committee review that year, more focus was placed on rigor, resulting in changes to the progression policy, which dismisses students after one failing course, and implementing a plan to ensure that students take the NCLEX-RN within the recommended 45-days of program completion.

A&T will resume admission to the traditional BSN entry option in summer 2016. The School of Nursing’s two other entry options—Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing (ABSN) and Bachelor of Science in Nursing Completion (BSNC) —were not affected by the suspension and are among the strongest and shortest programs in the nation, allowing students the opportunity to earn a degree in 12 months.

For more information about BSN entry options at A&T, call 336-334-7750, email tbevans@ncat.edu or visit www.ncat.edu.  

The North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University School of Education recently received accreditation for seven years under the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) standards. NCATE’s performance-based accreditation system for teacher preparation ensures that teacher candidates are prepared to make a difference in P-12 student learning.

The School of Education earned the rating of “Acceptable” on five standards and the exceptional rating of “Target” on Standard 3 Field Experiences and Clinical Practice during its accreditation review. These high ratings indicate that the School of Education works collaboratively with staff in various K-12 school districts to prepare quality classroom teachers who have the ability to engage culturally and linguistically diverse students.

“Reaffirmation of our NCATE accreditation is concrete evidence of the positive profound impact that our teacher education program has on the preparation of our undergraduate and graduate candidates for K-12 public schools throughout the state and nation,” commented Dr. Anthony Graham, interim dean. “The faculty in the School of Education continually stress, emphasize, and model the importance of accountability. More importantly, the faculty strive to ensure our candidates are prepared to improve the livelihood of K-12 students whom our graduates engage in classrooms on a daily basis, and they have the skills needed to enhance the lives of these students’ families and the quality of their communities.”

The School of Education licenses candidates through 13 state-approved baccalaureate degree programs and seven graduate degree programs. The school was recently ranked No. 4 in North Carolina as a “Best Value” college of education by the National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ). Recent School of Education alumni have won numerous awards,including theRookie Teacher of the Year, North Carolina Principal of the Year, Guilford County Schools Exceptional Children’s Teacher of Excellence, and the Milken Educators Award.

Providers accredited under NCATE standards, as well as those accredited under the Teacher Education Accreditation Council (TEAC) Quality Principles, are now served by the single specialized accreditation system for educator preparation in the United States, the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP). More than 900 educator preparation providers participate in the CAEP accreditation system.

For more information about N.C. A&T’s School of Education, visit www.ncat.edu. Click here for information about CAEP.

In a special called meeting of the North Carolina A&T State University Board of Trustees, the board voted unanimously to support the Connect NC bond referendum.

On Dec. 7, the board met via teleconference to discuss and adopt a resolution to endorse the $2 billion bond referendum for statewide infrastructure that will appear on the March 15, 2016, ballot.

The bond includes projects across 77 of the state’s 100 counties with the bulk of the funds going to support construction, renovation and repair projects across the UNC system and community colleges. N.C. A&T’s share of the funds would pay for a $90 million engineering-research facility to accommodate the innovative research being conducted by students and faculty members on campus.

This is the largest bond proposal since the successful $3.1 billion higher education bond campaign in 2000, the last time a bond issue was voted on statewide.

KANNAPOLIS—North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University continues to lead the charge against peanut allergies, as evidenced by its recent $500,000 grant from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) for researching new immunotherapies.

In the U.S., approximately 3 million people report mild to severe allergies to peanuts and tree nuts. Studies show the number of children living with peanut allergy appears to have tripled between 1997 and 2008.

“A&T is continuing to build its capacity in peanut allergen research, and we are extremely pleased to be able to explore a new approach to what is for many people, a dangerous, and even life-threatening issue,” said Dr. Leonard Williams, director of the Center for Excellence in Post-Harvest Technologies, who is leading the study, “Retraining the Immune System: Mitigating Allergic Responses Using Hypoallergenic Peanut Protein-polyphenol Aggregates.”

Food scientists from N.C. State’s Plants for Human Health Institute are also on the research team, contributing expertise in food engineering and analysis. The study will be conducted at the North Carolina Research Campus in Kannapolis, and builds on previous work conducted there by A&T and N.C. State.

N.C. A&T has seen other successes in peanut allergy research. In 2014, the university licensed its patented post-harvest technology to Greensboro-based Alrgn Bio. The company is working closely with the scientific community to develop and commercialize a reduced allergen peanut process that would be available to food companies. The process could potentially be used to make peanut-based foods safer, thereby reducing the risk of accidental exposure while benefiting peanut processors, growers and consumers alike.

Williams’ study involves entirely different technologies to address peanut allergies by exploring the issue from the standpoint of treatments to desensitize the immune system of individuals. His research team will combine peanut-skin flour with chemicals from cranberries, black currants, and other plants, and characterize their bioactivity in laboratory, animal and human clinical tests. The center recently reported that peanut skin extracts can significantly reduce belly fat in animal models.

The Center for Excellence in Post-Harvest Technologies is administered by A&T’s School of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences. The university is an 1890 land-grant doctoral research institution dedicated to learning, discovery and community engagement.