The Path to Accelerated Completion and Employment (PACE) consortium, which included all 22 community colleges in Arkansas, received a Round One TAACCCT grant from the U.S. Department of Labor to restructure certificate and degree programs to support and accelerate student completion in healthcare and manufacturing. Phillips Community College - University of Arkansas (PCCUA) was one of several community colleges that focused on healthcare.

The team at PCCUA worked to redesign nursing programs, starting with the Associate Degree in Nursing. Amy Hudson, Dean of Allied Health, identified the TAACCCT grant as an important resource for their efforts to redesign curricula, reduce time to completion, and acquire important equipment. Dean Hudson and faculty also point to the valuable guidance and expertise provided to their team by Dr. Linda Caputi, Nursing Education Curriculum Design Expert. The college restructured the ADN program from 72 to 63 hours, and was also able to apply the redesign process to the Practical Nursing program to create more pathways for students.

For more information on the PACE consortium and the innovations at PCCUA, see the brief: Transforming Nursing Programs to Reduce Time to Completion.