Plan Will Be Beneficial for Students Interested in Beginning Their Education at Warner Before Transferring to AHU
by REBEKAH PIERCE
For many students at Warner University, the dream of a career in healthcare just became a lot more attainable thanks to an exciting new partnership with AdventHealth University.
As a small, private Christian university in Lake Wales, Warner has nearly three dozen undergraduate degree programs but has not traditionally focused on programs in the health sciences.
Jennifer Audette, Social Media and Communications Manager at AdventHealth University, emphasizes that these aren’t new degrees, but rather new “pathways” for Warner students.
Through an articulation agreement, there are now two programs that offer direct pathways for students interested in beginning their education at Warner before transferring to AHU. The Bachelor of Science in Nursing requires students to complete 39 prerequisite credits at Warner (with a 3.0 grade-point average) before moving on to AdventHealth University, while the Bachelor of Science in Nuclear Medicine Technology requires students to complete 12 credits with a 2.7 GPA.
Each institution will benefit from this partnership, albeit in unique ways. Dr. Shawn Craigmiles, Vice President of Academic Affairs and Chief Academic Officer at Warner, says the agreement “allows us to leverage and attract a student who wants Warner, but also wants to do this. We offer a different experience than AHU, [but] AHU offers things we don’t have.”
Warner is known for its small class sizes and close-knit environment — the “traditional” undergraduate experience that so many students and their families desire. AdventHealth University, on the other hand, is known for the overall caliber and immersive nature of its health sciences programs.
“We see that most of our students are not first-time freshman students,” says Dr. Karen Benn Marshall, the Provost and Senior Vice President of Academics of AdventHealth University. “Our students tend to be transfer students. [With Warner] they get that initial transition to campus life and see what it’s like, get their feet wet…then transition to AHU to a professional program. They are in a professional program that will allow them to earn a degree to practice in the market immediately upon graduation.”
While students can choose to stay on at AHU after completing either of these degrees (Benn Marshall notes that the school also offers graduate programs such as Master of Science in Nursing degrees), most will continue straight on into the workforce.
According to Craigmiles, this is a key benefit of the new collaboration.
“Return on investment is important,” he says. “Will someone be able to be employed? Get full-time employment? How long will it take them? What student loans will they acquire while doing that? These folks are employable and ready to work full time.”
AdventHealth University was recently classified as an Opportunity Colleges and Universities-Highest Access, Higher Earnings by the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education, a distinction that only 16 percent of all American colleges and universities have received and a testament to students’ employability upon graduation.
“Students will broaden their horizons beyond what they ever had before,” Craigmiles says. “It provides an opportunity to network and see other opportunities beyond what you’d ever see in a course catalogue.”
In addition to the authentic experiences students will have with other professionals, this collaboration provides students with hands-on experiences identical to what they’d have in the workforce.
“Being a student at AHU means when the students go off to do their clinical sites and rotations, they’re doing it at one of our sites,” Benn Marshall says, highlighting that while not all of AHU’s graduates go on to work for AdventHealth, many do.
“The number is close to 100%,” she highlights.
Although AdventHealth University and Warner University might seem like disparate institutions, the two share a common thread: hands-on education rooted in the Christian faith.
“We promote the concept of whole-person education so people can practice whole-person care, healing as a ministry,” Benn Marshall says. “We are both Christian-based institutions, faith-affirming, small class sizes…I think that’s really the reason why we were able to connect and want to be able to provide options and opportunities for students.”
This collaboration is the first of its kind between the two institutions, but Benn Marshall says it’s just the beginning.
Dr. Liana Sanchez-Puig, chair of the Natural Sciences and Mathematics Department at Warner, notes that even though some details of the program still need to be worked out, students may begin applying now.
Aside from the GPA and prerequisite requirements already mentioned and an entrance exam, there will likely be an interview and rigorous selection process to make sure the program remains competitive.
In the end, this partnership may represent more than just an academic agreement. Instead, it serves as a bridge to brighter futures, a testament to the power of collaboration, faith, and a shared commitment to shaping compassionate, skilled professionals.
Sanchez-Puig adds, “The students here at Warner are going to benefit tremendously…It’s a gateway to their career. We are not only training students into the science field, but Christian scientists out there are proclaiming the faith.”