The Idaho Senate has given final legislative approval to a measure enabling Lewis-Clark State College to offer graduate programs and degrees. The Senate’s unanimous vote Tuesday follows a 60-8 vote in the House, sending the bill to the governor’s desk. The bill was spurred by LCSC’s efforts to establish a nursing certification program for Kootenai Health in Coeur d’Alene. The 10-course program is only offered at the undergraduate level as state law prohibits the college from offering graduate classes. LCSC President Cynthia Pemberton says the classes could be “dual-listed” as upper-level undergraduate and lower-level graduate classes, providing nurses with undergraduate degrees the ability to earn graduate credits and possibly get a pay increase. Should the bill be signed into law, any LCSC graduate classes would be subject to approval by the State Board of Education. (Lewiston Morning Tribune)
