POSSIBLE "CHARGE" for the Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) Program Facilitator:


At its February 26, 2004, meeting the Nursing Coordinating Group, acting at the behest of the Montana Board of Regents, agreed to hire a facilitator to assist with a project concerning Licensed Practical Nursing education programs in the State of Montana. With the assistance of nursing faculty in Montana, the facilitator will be asked:

  • to identify a set of common pre-nursing courses, including appropriate general education coursework; that work should include a list of competencies for each class;
  • to identify a set of common LPN nursing courses, with the attendant competencies associated with each class;
  • to develop two pathways that will permit graduates of the above-described LPN program to move into a registered nursing program, at either the two-year or four-year level; one pathway should describe the progression from an LPN to two-year RN program and the second pathway should describe the progression from an LPN to a four-year RN program;
  • to assist with a project to ensure that all of the courses identified in the first and second bullets are available on-line, including a resolution of such difficult issues as appropriate clinical experiences for some classes, institutional responsibility for on-line coursework, appropriate assessment of these electronic classes, and State Board of Nursing approval of this on-line credential.

The Office of the Commissioner of Higher Education will assemble a group of nursing faculty members to assist the facilitator in this project. The Office will also provide appropriate staff support for this activity. The facilitator will be asked to make recommendations to the Montana Board of Regents, on these issues, using the following timeline:

1)       by January 2005, for the pre-nursing courses;

2)       by March 2005, for the LPN courses;

3)       by July 2005, for the two pathways;

4)       by January 2006, for the on-line coursework.