— Bacone College’s Board of Trustees will eliminate the school’s Associate of Applied Science in Nursing degree as of July 31, 2013, according to a media release.

A task force had been meeting since February in response to the placement of Bacone’s associate program on a “conditional approval” status by the Oklahoma Board of Nursing.

After its six-month review, the task force unanimously agreed to discontinue the  degree.

The program will remain fully funded and staffed, with Kathryn Bible as its chairwoman and three full-time faculty members returning from last year. All 23 students in the second year of the associate program who were scheduled to graduate in May 2013 were notified Friday of the board’s decision, Executive Vice President Dr. Robert K. Brown said.

Part of the task force’s recommendation is to rechannel Bacone’s resources and efforts toward its Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree program, which began in 1999.

Brown, the chairman of the task force, said the BSN degree program, with a new online component, better serves tribal communities across the country and better expresses the school’s mission.

Also on the task force is Peggy Parsons, a member of the Board of Trustees and a graduate of Bacone’s first nursing class in 1965.

Parsons said going through task force discussions and research that ultimately led to the recommendation to discontinue the program was no easy decision.

“My head said it was good business to let it go. My heart said we couldn’t because that is where I got my start in life. I could not let go,” she said.

As the two-year nursing program begins its last two semesters, Parsons said she supports the change of focus.

“Bacone was a pacesetter in starting this program. I think it’s time that we look for new ways to bring innovation into nursing education as a four-year institution,” she  said.

Parsons added that it was time for Bacone’s nursing curriculum to upgrade.

“We need [nursing] students who can successfully accept challenges facing contemporary health care providers,” she said.