WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW)—A new effort is underway to address the nursing shortage in Kansas. Two Kansas colleges are joining forces to create a pathway for aspiring nurses. This partnership between Cowley College and Southwestern College is meant to help students earn their bachelor of science in nursing. According to the University of Kansas Medical Center, nursing shortages in our state aren't going anywhere, as 29% of Kansas registered nurses plan to retire within the next five years. The KU Med Center also says that during the last decade, enrollments in nursing education plummetted 39%. As HaysMed loses doctors, concern about future grows This new partnership creates a pathway for Cowley students to take their two-year associates in pre-nursing to Southwestern with priority placement. "Nursing is one of our top pathways that students choose as a major, and so being able to move from their pre-nursing program into a BSN program is very important for our students," said Dr. Michelle Schoon, the president of Cowley and Dr. Liz Frombgen, the president of Southwestern. "We're excited for the opportunity to partner with an institution that's 12 miles down the road in our county, and we are most excited about educating nurses to go serve their communities, and ideally, we are very successful in keeping some of those nurses in our community, so they can serve people like us actually!" To participate in the program, Cowley students must: Earn an A.S. degree in Pre-Nursing from Cowley College with a cumulative GPA of 2.75 or higher (3.0 in required sciences). Maintain full-time enrollment and declare a nursing major upon transfer. Submit all required application materials, including FAFSA. Southwestern plans to reserve five seats in the Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) program for the Cowley students. Dr. Schoon and Dr. Frombgen say the Kansas medical community is ecstatic about the new partnership. The Kansas Board of Nursing has seen a drop in admissions and graduations in recent years. Cowley and Southwestern signed the 2+2 Nursing Agreement on Thursday, saying that getting more nurses where needed is necessary. "When you think about the nursing shortage, it's really at a crisis level in rural parts of the United States. And so we are in a rural community and we aspire to that, we love that. And so whatever we can do to support ensuring quality healthcare providers, we want to be a part of," said Dr. Frombgen. Several colleges have taken a similar approach to addressing our state's nursing needs. Fort Hays State University signed a similar agreement with 11 Kansas community colleges earlier this year. Newman University and Garden City Community College have a similar program. As for Cowley, they've already seen similar success with a nursing partnership with Butler Community College and are excited and optimistic that their students will see the same with Southwestern.