News        from ABAC

Michael D. Chason Director of Public Relations ABAC 30 -- 2802 Moore Highway Tifton, GA 31793-2601 Phone 229-391-5055 Fax 229-391-4781 mchason@abac.edu

IMMEDIATE August 20, 2007

More Growth Ahead for ABAC Nursing Program

TIFTON -  In its first 100 years, Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College placed a lot of graduates in the health care profession.  In the next 100 years, that trend should skyrocket.

It’s a fact.  Baby Boomers are getting older.  That’s good news for ABAC students who want to become nurses.  Plenty of jobs will be available in years to come.

“The demand will be there,” Wanda Golden, chair of ABAC’s nursing division since 2000, said.  “I think the salaries and benefits are going to get better as well.”

Golden said the average starting salary for ABAC nursing program graduates averages $40,000 per year.  Many make more.  In fact, three recent graduates started work at $51.82 per hour.

“That’s just the base salary,” Golden said.  “They can make a lot more, particularly around Atlanta.”

Golden said ABAC is limited to 240 nursing students in its program at any one time.  Many students who want to get into the program enroll at ABAC, finish their core curriculum classes, and then apply for the nursing program.   She said if the college had more nursing faculty, it could enroll more students.  State regulations limit class sizes to 20 students per instructor.

“We see a lot of second career people in nursing,” Golden said.  “We have had three attorneys in the program, psychologists, school teachers, lots of different professions decide to come back to college and get a nursing degree.”

Golden has seen quite a shift in the age of students in the program.

“For years, the enrollment was about 80 percent non-traditional and 20 percent traditional age students,” Golden said.  “Now, I’m seeing about 60 percent non-traditional and close to 40 percent traditional.  Younger students are becoming more interested in graduating from high school and going right into the program.”

ABAC is one of only four colleges in the state to be recognized by the University System of Georgia for producing at least 100 nursing graduates per year.  The program enrolls students each semester in both the traditional nursing track and the fast track bridge program. 

The fast track is open to students who are already certified as Licensed Practical Nurses, paramedics, surgical technicians, or respiratory therapists.  Students meet one full day per week for a year to get their degrees.  Golden said the college has plans to add another bridge program in the future.

ABAC provided the nursing program with a shot in the arm in the fall of 2006 with the addition of a $7.1 million Health Sciences Building.  The building on the front of the campus also houses the ABAC Health Center.

“It has certainly increased our visibility,” Golden said.  “We have so much more space to showcase our program.”

                                                                  ###