By the Chronicle Editorial Board
Degree program overhauls should be a basic requirement at community college level academics, and it is good to see that CNM is stepping up some of their degree programs to better accommodate students, and to match up even better with four-year schools, such as with the Fine Arts and Nursing degree program changes in our front page stories.
For most nursing students it has been an arduous and stressful task to even get set up in the Nursing program, with many students up in arms about the small number of people that are actually let into the program during registration, and many students have simply given up, to move onto UNM or other four-year colleges just to be able to actually get in another nursing program offered elsewhere.
Not only is CNM losing copious amounts of money while students are forced to flock to other schools, but the issues have also left a bad taste for CNM with most health related students, leaving them to tell people to stay clear of the programs provided at CNM.
It is great to hear that real changes toward fixing the issues in the Nursing program are finally being addressed, but it seems the damage has already been done, so hopefully the department’s administrators can follow through and make these changes for the better.
Students that come here with the impression that they can finish their programs and degrees should be able to get just that, and should not be left high and dry every year while a small percentage of students get accepted.
The school should not mislead students into thinking they have a chance in succeeding in the program, and should be more upfront about the actual chances that students will have when entering into the Nursing program.
Any degree program should fit the needs of the students, plain and simple.
