Experiences of Transfer Students in a Collaborative Baccalaureate Nursing Program.

TRANSFER students; NURSING education; HIGHER education; UNIVERSITY faculty; COMMUNITY colleges; STUDENT mobility; CURRICULUM; COLLABORATIVE learning

The article presents a study to explore the experience of transfer students in a collaborative baccalaureate nursing program in Ontario. Transfer in Canada is strong in provinces that support transfer as a charge of the higher education system. In this study, the university faculty supported students in the collaborative nursing program by making themselves available to students for extra help, adapting the curriculum as necessary, encouraging students who were floundering, and solving problems as they emerged. The barriers that students faced during the geographical relocation are well documented in both the American and Canadian literature on students transferring from community college to university. This paper concludes with recommendations to ease the transition of the students from community college to university, limitations, suggestions for future study, and some final thoughts. Several logical suggestions or implications for practice are offered from the lessons learned in this study for future collaborative programming.