JU Offering Two New Colleges

Jacksonville University is offering two colleges in the fall:  the College of Health Sciences and College of Interdisciplinary and Professional Studies.

Both colleges plan to increase the number of degrees offered at JU, allowing students more options to study fields in growing areas of demand, said Lois Becker, senior vice president for academic affairs.

Additional courses are being developed and faculty will be hired to accommodate the growth of the degrees, she said.

With passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act in 2010, health care systems are transforming, both in the way care is delivered and in how health professionals are educated.

As the law adds millions of insured people to the health care delivery system, workforce demand for all health disciplines is increasing dramatically.

Judith Erickson, dean of the School of Nursing, called the expansion a natural progression to meet the demands of health care organizations serving a changing and aging population.

“We are seeing more and more students greatly interested in these fields as demands grow and change in Northeast Florida and beyond,” she said. “This allows us to position ourselves well by offering more degrees, such as in speechpathology and health information technology.”

Universities nationwide are developing interdisciplinary degrees at an increasing rate.

JU is offering or considering at least two interdisciplinary degrees.  Interdisciplinary courses in the Sustainability program include various subject areas taught by the university’s faculty in sociology, mathematics, statistics, business, philosophy, economics, management, law, ethics and other subjects.

Meanwhile, a Public Policy degree proposal is being developed with a target of the fall of 2013.

The College of Interdisciplinary and Professional Studies will provide an administrative home to these degrees, plus a dean to coordinate efforts.

It will be located on the first floor of the Davis College of Business. Its dean is Dr. William Crosby, professor of accounting, who has served as interim dean of the Davis College of Business for the last two years.

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