Dickinson State to get nursing program help from Mayville State

A sign marks the entrance to the Dickinson State University campus. (Jeff Beach/North Dakota Monitor)

Dickinson State University, which last week had all of its nursing faculty resign, announced Friday it will use nursing program administrators from Mayville State University to keep the program running.

The faculty resignations were followed by the resignation of Dickinson State President Stephen Easton on Monday, adding to uncertainty about the future of the program.

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Mayville State nursing administrators Carey Haugen and Collette Christoffers said in the announcement that they wanted to reassure Dickinson State students.

“We are willing to help the current program maintain its accreditation status and students achieve the education they were seeking – we are here for the students,” they said in the announcement posted on the Dickinson State website.

One former Dickinson State nursing faculty member, Teresa Bren, said she was disappointed in the college administration and North Dakota University System Chancellor Mark Hagerott in not working harder to bring back the faculty that had resigned.

She said she listened to a forum with nursing students led by the North Dakota Nurses Association, where students said they wanted the faculty that resigned to come back.

“They have built respect and trust in our expertise, in how we teach, and that was their number one goal, was to return to DSU with the nursing faculty that were there when they left last academic year,” Bren said in an interview.

Bren, who had been at Dickinson State for 11 years, said she has accepted another position.

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Mayville State operates two online nursing programs: one is for licensed registered nurses to obtain a bachelor of science in nursing, the other is for nurses to obtain a master of science in nursing.

Dickinson State offers two licensure-based programs: an associate in applied science for practical nursing – licensed practical nurse, or LPN – and a bachelor’s degree in nursing.

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“The distinct nature of these programs ensures that this collaboration is non-competitive and mutually beneficial,” the Dickinson State announcement said.

Bren said her concern is that there are significant differences in the accreditation standards for the new administrators to comply with.

The collaboration is to commence Monday and is set to conclude on May 20, 2025.

The announcement said both institutions would like to see an agreement continue into the future.

In a visit to the Dickinson State campus Thursday, Hagerott did say he expected the college to have an acting president to replace Easton within weeks, followed by a search for an interim president.

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