The Oregon Consortium for Nursing Education (OCNE) is a partnership of community colleges and public and private university schools of nursing. OCNE is one mechanism by which Oregon nursing programs can dramatically expand their capacity and enrollment, and prepare graduates of these programs with the competencies to address the rapidly changing health care needs of Oregon's aging and ethnically diverse population.

The Consortium was formed as part of the 2001 Strategic Plan of the Oregon Nursing Leadership council (ONLC) in response to the critical nursing shortage. With the average age of a nurse in Oregon at 48 and many others indicating plans for retirement within the next five years, Oregon faces a workforce crisis. By 2025, when these nurses reach retirement age, the U.S. Census Bureau projects that Oregon will have the fourth highest proportion of elders in the nation.

Through collaboration with the participating schools, the OCNE has developed

• a common competency-based curriculum,
• simulation laboratories in partner schools,
• faculty trained to deliver the OCNE curriculum, and
• a new clinical education model.

Students now have

• common admission standards;
• shared application process including financial aid and dual enrollment;
• transferability between the partner schools;
• an associate degree exit option;
• baccalaureate degree options;
• the opportunity to remain in their home location;
• access to simulation training;
• opportunities to participate in coursework through distance delivery; and
• opportunities to complete a secondary focus area of study, with upper division courses that support competent nursing practices.

Each individual school retains full responsibility and accountability. OCNE coordinates development and consensus for the curriculum, as well as academic and student service policies, which require the same review and approval process within each campus as if they were being proposed solely within the school. Through interinstitutional agreements, each full partner school agrees to implement the shared curriculum and policies, and to work within OCNE for evaluation and any necessary modification.