Francis Marion University's Board of Trustees has given a nod of approval to establish a new satellite campus in Mount Pleasant. The campus, scheduled to open in the fall of 2014, will initially offer FMU's RN to BSN degree program.
"This is an important step for Francis Marion because we will be adding a remote site, a branch campus, to our operations," Richard Chapman, Provost of FMU, told WBTV.
Earlier this year, Mount Pleasant Mayor Billy Swails approached the university Francis Marion with the proposal of a satellite campus that would allow local students to earn four-year degrees in their hometown.
Dr. Fred Carter, the university President, said that the nursing program will help the growing demand for workers in the healthcare industry
"This will continue to be our home, I mean, this is where our heart is, this is where our head is, but the ability to go into a market like Mt. Pleasant, allows us to serve our students here even better," Carter told WBTV.
"This is an exciting step and we want this to essentially be an important effort educationally in that region, but we also want it to be able to do it without diverting substantial resources from this campus," Carter told SCNOW. "The Pee Dee is our home and will always be our home. We think that by expanding some of our program offerings to areas like Mount Pleasant, that gives us the capability to even serve the Pee Dee better because we end up with richer, more varied programming and we essentially broaden our student base."