A new cooperative agreement will grant Saginaw Valley State University premedical students early assurance of admission to the Central Michigan University College of Medicine through the Early Assurance Program.
University officials say the agreement will enhance opportunities for SVSU premed students entering the CMU College of Medicine admissions process by waiving supplemental application fees; processing endorsed students on an earlier admissions timeline, facilitating engagement opportunities between SVSU premed students and existing CMU College of Medicine students, and reserving up to three positions for endorsed SVSU students to be admitted.
“(The partnership) will provide an enhanced opportunity for SVSU’s premedical students who demonstrate a desire to practice medicine in Michigan with an emphasis on rural and underserved regions,” says Dr. George E. Kikano, dean of the CMU College of Medicine.
This Early Assurance Program is the same agreement the College of Medicine has in place with CMU, giving both Saginaw Valley State University and CMU premed students the same opportunity to compete for admission. Students will be required to meet the College of Medicine’s academic standards to participate in the program, which is designed as a three-year pilot.
The CMU College of Medicine welcomed its inaugural class of students in 2013, which will graduate in May 2017. The college now has a full complement of students among all four years of study, with 80 percent of students coming from Michigan.
Founded in 1892, CMU has more than 20,000 students at its Mount Pleasant campus and another 7,000 enrolled online and at more than 40 locations across North America, including six locations in metro Detroit. The university offers more than 200 academic programs at the undergraduate, master’s, specialist, and doctoral levels.
In related news… McLaren Greater Lansing has made a $1.5 million gift to Michigan State University in East Lansing to establish a new endowed chair for behavioral mental health nursing education position at the university’s College of Nursing. The new position is the college’s first endowed chair position.
The new position will support the development of nursing competencies in mental health and improved patient outcomes among undergraduate and graduate students, as well as McLaren nursing staff.
“The individual that fills this position will bridge MSU faculty and students with the McLaren Greater Lansing nursing team by improving mental health in the community,” says Randolph Rasch, dean of the College of Nursing. “Together we will work on the frontlines with patients, addressing the ongoing education needs of nurses, developing their behavioral health nursing skills, and building a healthier community.”
The commitment from McLaren Greater Lansing, which is the college’s second largest donation, brings the number of endowed faculty positions created through MSU’s Empower Extraordinary campaign to 60. A goal of the capital campaign has been to increase endowed faculty chair and professorship positions by 100 people.
