Trustees Approve New Nursing Graduate Program
December 15, 2006

The state’s first university to offer a bachelor’s degree program in nursing is entering graduate level nursing education, as Oklahoma Baptist University’s board of trustees approved a new master of science in nursing degree program Friday.

Board members ratified the proposed program during their fall meeting on the campus in Shawnee.

The graduate program will be housed at OBU’s new downtown Oklahoma City graduate program facility in the Momentum Building, on the east side of the city, near the health sciences corridor.

The OBU program will offer three tracks for graduate students: nursing education, nursing administration, and international nursing. OBU started Oklahoma’s first nursing baccalaureate degree program in 1952. The university’s School of Nursing currently has a record enrollment of 176 undergraduates, with nine full-time faculty members.

“There is an estimated shortage of one million nurses by 2020,” said Marian Combs, director of OBU’s graduate programs. “The American Association of Colleges of Nursing reports that 41,683 qualified applicants were turned away from schools last year, primarily because of a shortage of nursing faculty.”

While the university will seek to offer a track designed to increase the number of nursing educators, Combs said the nursing administration track will help nurses make a “natural career progression from bedside care to administration or education.” Additionally, Combs said the university’s historic strength in international service and cross-cultural ministry led to development of the international nursing track.

The nursing master’s degree program is scheduled to launch in August 2007. OBU officials are working to seek accreditation for the program, which is necessary before classes can begin. OBU will start courses in a new master of business administration degree program in February. Courses will meet at the Oklahoma City location, at the corner of Harrison and Oklahoma, just west of I-235.

“We are striving diligently to expand into new programs for outreach and growth,” said OBU President Mark Brister in his state-of-the-university remarks to the board.

Dr. Brister noted continued progress on several phases of OBU’s The Winning Spirit capital project, which includes construction of a new wellness center and development of several new athletic and intramural fields.

“We have been moving dirt on this campus now for many months,” said Brister. “After finally getting some drier days, work is rapidly progressing on completion of our new eight-lane track.

“The nearly 60,000-square-foot wellness center construction is going on nicely under the guidance of Wynn Construction, in addition to the renovation of the Noble Complex,” he said.

Brister also noted the on-going study of potential new varsity sports for the university. Board members approved a study task force earlier this year. While the president said several sports are being considered, an online survey is currently being conducted regarding the possibility of adding football as a varsity sport.

“The task force should finish by February 2007. I will receive recommendations regarding potential new sports offerings,” said Brister. “This is not a done deal. We are giving serious study to these sports.”

Anybody know what the Momentum Building is?

It's part of the Triangle. It has weird rectangular fixture things sticking out over the windows.

Yeah I think I remember that building now.

OBU Graduate Campus to Anchor Triangle District
January 2, 2007

http://www.okbu.edu/content/article_pics/momentum_large.jpg


Seeking to blend local convenience with an international perspective, Oklahoma Baptist University will offer a new master of business administration degree program in downtown Oklahoma City starting in February.

“OBU has a creative vision for an MBA program that is unlike any other in the Oklahoma City metro area to date,” said Marian Combs, director of OBU’s International Graduate School.

The 18-month program will include classes one night per week and one Saturday per course. The program’s first class is scheduled to graduate in September 2008. The cohort will start classes in Oklahoma City on February 19, 2007. Courses will be taught by faculty from OBU’s Paul Dickinson School of Business.

Combs said the international aspect is not limited to the program’s name. The graduate approach is expanding on OBU’s history of international involvement, which has included development of educational and business enterprises in Brazil and Russia in the past 15 years.

“The international perspective pervades the program,” said Combs. “An international trip is included in regular tuition for all students. Successful businesspeople today must have a global perspective, and OBU wants to prepare students for success.”

While the program will take students outside of the country, it will be offered in close proximity to Oklahoma City’s downtown business community. The OBU International Graduate School classrooms and offices are housed in the Momentum Building at 111 N. Harrison. The building is in Oklahoma City’s Triangle District, just north of Bricktown.

“If you work downtown, you can drive over, park within feet of the front door, and walk into class right after work one night a week,” said Combs. “We are right off of I-235, so even those commuting from somewhere else in central Oklahoma will find our location to be convenient.

“We really caught the fever of downtown OKC development when we were introduced to this building, and the area,” said Combs, who extensively scouted potential sites in the metropolitan area.

“As an anchor tenant in the building, we anticipate other retail tenants who look forward to the crowd of young professionals that will participate in our programs. That can build synergy to further enhance the development of the area,” she said.

The building is owned by Momentum Partners, and is being marketed by UrbanWorks, a local development group.

“UrbanWorks and Bert Belanger have been instrumental in welcoming us to the area,” said Combs. “We see this as a win-win for our program and their efforts to bolster growth in the area.”

The OBU International Graduate School will host a grand opening at the Momentum Building on Tuesday, January 23, at noon. An open house is slated at the building on Jan. 25, from 5-7 p.m.

Combs said the OBU-IGS is hosting events to introduce the MBA degree program to prospective students.

“Our program offers the quickest start-to-completion for any MBA program offered in downtown Oklahoma City. We believe professionals in the metro area will find our program to be particularly appealing,” she said.

The program is offering several workshops on admissions and financial aid in January. Admissions workshops will be Jan. 9 from noon-1 p.m. and Jan. 18 from 5:30-6:30 p.m. Financial aid workshops will be Jan. 10 from noon-1 p.m. and Jan. 16 from 5:30-6:30 p.m.

Combs said there are a few remaining slots for students in the inaugural MBA class. More information is available at International Graduate School of Business, OBU (http://www.igs.okbu.edu) or by calling Combs at 405-343-9362.

As a graduate twice of OBU, I am glad to see them do this. I am happy when organizations act (not just talk) about their belief in downtown OKC. I do wonder if implementing this program now is in the best interest of my alma mater, considering the recent drop in enrollment, retention, funds, and US News Rankings (which all seem to coincide with the arrival of the current president).

On the other hand, I also, as a student in OU's MBA program downtown, get annoyed at all these various MBA programs in the metro area. While I commend people for wanting to better their education, I kinda feel bad for them getting non-accredited MBA's. OU has the only MBA program in the metro accredited by the AACSB. I think the main reason for this is the number of hours/classes. It takes a full 3 years (9 trimesters), 2 nights per week to get an MBA at OU, but some of the other programs say you can get one in 1 year, 1 or 2 nights a week. I would hate to have an MBA from a non-AACSB accredited program, and interview for a job with someone holding an MBA from a AACSB-accredited program. But, we will have more and more of that with all these college starting MBA programs before they have gained accreditation from the AACSB. But, knowing the business professors at OBU as I do, the education these students will receive will be excellent.

Oh well, I hope that OBU is success, both for downtown and OBU.

I hope that the new OBU-Downtown as well as OCU can both become AACSB-Accredited.

I do wonder if implementing this program now is in the best interest of my alma mater, considering the recent drop in enrollment, retention, funds, and US News Rankings (which all seem to coincide with the arrival of the current president).

Isn't it better to do something about declining enrollment, etc., rather than just continue doing the same ol' thing? I think so.

And they haven't dropped in any rankings.

And they haven't dropped in any rankings.I wish this were true. The higher OBU is on this list, the better it is for me and my fellow graduates. It makes my degrees look better. Unfortunately, OBU has fallen from 2 (where they had been ranked for a number of years consecutively) to 5 (this year). At least they are still the highest Oklahoma university on this list.

USNews.com: America's Best Colleges 2007: Comprehensive Colleges-Bachelor's (West): Top Schools (http://www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/college/rankings/brief/t1ccbach_w_brief.php)


Isn't it better to do something about declining enrollment, etc., rather than just continue doing the same ol' thing? I think so.Yes, it is. That is why I said, "I do wonder if..." I hope this works, and I can't say that I don't support this move-- I think I do. But, OBU's problem is in undergraduate programs. As enrollment decreases, funds get tight, and raises for well-deserving professors get few and far between. Those good professors will eventually leave and OBU's education will suffer. I believe we are seeing the beginning of that effect right now.

What I think they need to do is change their marketing techniques. When I was recruited by OBU about a decade ago, I learned a great deal about their excellent business program, among others. The current president mandates that they focus marketing on "Christian Service." He fired all those recruitment counselors that had spent years developing relationships with counselors at high schools. Now, they focus on recruiting in Baptist churches, and we all know that most Baptist churches have stagnated (please don't go off on me here, I know that all haven't-- in fact, I go to a thriving, growing one). I can honestly say that I would not have attended OBU under their current recuitment philosophy. They just seem to ignore all non-Christian service schools like they are red-headed step-children.

You are very right about the need to change marketing strategies. Things are getting better. After not seeing an ad for OBU of any kind in any publication for several years, I noticed they had a full page ad in the program for On Golden Pond at the Civic Center. There were only a couple other university ads, so it stood out. I was glad to see it. It didn't focus on any specific area of the school, just highlighted the many great things about OBU, with semi-clever wording relating it to theatre. OBU certainly has strong Fine Arts programs, so it makes a lot of sense to market to that crowd.

I am glad to hear that, jbrown. I hope they continue to diversify their marketing techniques. I don't understand why Brister changed them to begin with. OBU was doing well, in rankings, retention, and enrollment. In fact, his first year (my freshmen year), my class was the largest freshmen class in OBU history. Unfortunately, it became the worst freshmen retention class.

Beginning my junior year, the Business School presented numerous strategy changes on marketing (some new, some going back to what they were in the latter years of Agee's term), but Brister shot them all down-- eventually refusing to listen to them in the first place. But, the regents love him.