Vision Under Way for NSU, Connors Campus Collaboration
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The vision of a joint education venture between Northeastern State University and Connors State College at NSU's Muskogee campus moved a step closer to reality Dec. 18 when the two colleges held groundbreaking ceremonies for a new student services facility.
The proposed Student Services facility will house a campus bookstore, library, child development program and administration offices. The estimated cost for the project is $2.2 million, to be funded through the Oklahoma Capital Improvement Authority bonds allocated to Connors. The one-story facility will be between 8,000 to 10,000 square feet. Oakridge Builders Inc., of Tulsa is the construction project manager.
The building is a collaboration between NSU and Connors State College in Warner. CSC has two campuses in Muskogee, but NSU and CSC have agreed to combine operations at the NSU-Muskogee campus to align degree programs and create a base of service for their academic offerings to regional residents.
NSU enrolls many graduates of CSC and the institutions have developed a long-standing partnership. The two campuses are already cooperating through an educational program to serve Muskogee's health care industry cluster, one of the largest and fastest growing in Oklahoma. Connors career ladder nursing program produces graduates who earn licensed practical nursing or registered nursing degrees. Many of those graduates then continue at NSU to earn their bachelor of science in nursing degrees.
NSU also plans to add master's degree programs in nursing education and occupational therapy to the curriculum at the Muskogee campus.