The University of Victoria’s School of Nursing has made the decision to begin the process of closing its Post Diploma BSN Program (PDP). The final intake of new PDP students will be in January 2016 and it is anticipated that all course offerings will end no later than 2022 to give students time to complete the BSN degree requirements. Since its inception in 1980, UVic’s PDP has made an enormous contribution to the education and careers of over four-thousand nurses and we are very proud of all the program has accomplished.

At the same time, many of the factors that led to the need for the PDP have changed, especially the adoption of BSN as the entry to practice across almost all of Canada. There has been a significant decline in applications from British Columbia students to the point where continuation of the program is simply no longer viable. The School offers a wide range of other programs at the undergraduate and graduate levels and we will be re-focusing our resources on these, as well as pursuing new initiatives.

If you have any questions about closure of the PDP, please feel free to contact Dr. Howard Brunt, Interim Director, University of Victoria’s School of Nursing (nursingdirector@uvic.ca).