A new partnership between Jefferson Davis Community College and the University of Alabama means local nurses will not have to leave town to earn advanced degrees.

The schools plan to join for an online program that will allow registered nurses to earn a bachelor’s of science or master’s of science degree in nursing.

Students will be able to pursue their classes, clinicals and preceptorships while in Brewton, without ever going to the Alabama campus, said JDCC Dean Kathleen Hall.

“That’s a big advantage,” she said.

Using online classes, participants in the RN Mobility program can complete the required nursing courses for the BSN degree in one year, without having to be in class on a specific time and day. Instead, RN students can choose the best time to go online and complete the requirements.

Clinical activities will be designed on an individual basis, with efforts made to arrange locations and times convenient to students.

Alabama’s Capstone College of Nursing has programs with 16 other colleges in the state. UA hopes to have similar partnerships with nursing programs at two-year colleges across the state, Hall said.

“When they came to us, we thought this was a very well thought-out and cost-effective program,” she said.

Representatives from Jefferson Davis and UA will formalize the agreement during a partnership signing ceremony July 14 at 1:30 p.m. in the President’s Conference on the Brewton Campus of Jefferson Davis.

Attending the ceremony from Jefferson Davis Community College will be President Susan McBride, Interim Director of Nursing Susan Mack and Hall. Representatives from UA scheduled to attend the ceremony, include Dr. Sara Barger, dean of UA’s Capstone College of Nursing, and Dr. Jeanette VanderMeer, assistant professor in the Capstone College of Nursing and coordinator of the program.

The program will begin accepting students in the fall, Hall said.