A partnership between the nursing school at the University of Alabama and Jefferson Davis Community College will benefit students as well as the community, officials from both schools said Wednesday as they signed an agreement.

The partnership will allow local students to take classes for advanced degrees through UA’s Capstone College of Nursing without having to travel to Tuscaloosa.

“We want people to have all the opportunities,” Capstone College of Nursing Dean Dr. Sara Barger said. “We know they are not limitless for some. … The real winners are your graduates and current students and your community. When you increase education, people make fewer mistakes and patients get better care.”

JDCC President Dr. Susan McBride said the partnership can also benefit the local healthcare community.

“When people have to leave the community for education, they don’t always come back,” she said.

Jeanette VanderMeer, assistant professor and RN mobility coordinator at the University of Alabama, said the program helps nurses succeed. She recalled that when she began expanding her education in nursing, the opportunities were not so easy.

“It doesn’t have to be so hard or so bad,” she said.

The partnership program will begin this fall.

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.

Anyone interested can call Katara Smith at the Capstone College of Nursing at 205-348-8858.