Utilization of the Nursing Education Xchange to Build Stronger Programs

A multi-university collaboration and distance accessible educational technology provide an opportunity to address critical needs in doctoral education. Inadequate numbers of doctorally prepared nursing faculty limit the capacity of our nursing programs to produce doctorally prepared nurses. Institutional regulations mandate minimal class enrollment for course offerings. These restrict the flexibility, breadth and depth of coursework for our doctoral students. The creation of the Nursing Education Xchange (NEXus) presents a creative and cost effective approach to provide research and clinical doctoral students greater academic opportunities, networking, expanded mentorship and maximize educational capacity.

NEXus began in 2006 as a partnership among four Western universities in collaboration with the Western Institute of Nursing and has expanded to include sixteen academic collaborators offering over 150 DNP and PhD distance courses (Komenich, Hayes, Magilvy, & McNeil, 2013). Universities in NEXus share the goal of increasing student access to high quality education and expanding capacity of nursing doctoral education to increase the number of doctorally prepared faculty and clinicians. The program is structured for seamless enrollment in partner institution courses with a common pricing structure providing cost effective advantages to participating institutions and students. The National Hartford Center for Geriatric Nursing Excellence has embraced the concept and is providing financial support for NEXus expansion with an emphasis on gerontological nursing.  

The NEXus participating institutions benefit by reducing nursing education costs through course sharing. Courses offered by faculty at one institution may be taken by students at participating institutions, thus expanding the educational opportunities without increasing individual institution faculty costs and the opportunity to fill seats in small enrollment courses. Through participation in NEXus courses, students are provided the opportunity to interact with expert faculty, increase networking with faculty and other doctoral students across the country, and expand their mentorship opportunities.  Students enrolled in NEXus courses report remaining ‘on time’ in their program progression, would recommend a NEXus course and took courses unavailable at their home institution. Faculty collaboration and networking are also expanded through this association. NEXus is an effective building block in achieving research and clinical doctorate capacity (Lobo, Haas, Clark, & McNeil, 2014).