Connecting Learning, Life and Aloha
‘O ka ‘imi na‘auao, ke ola a me ke aloha kā kākou e huliāmahi ai

Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs

Memorandum of Agreement Between the School Of Nursing at UH Hilo and the School Of Nursing and Dental Hygiene at UH Mānoa

This Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) covers the collaborative work of the nursing programs of the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo (UH Hilo) and the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa (UH Mānoa) specific to the Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) degree programs. Further, it aligns with the goal and purpose of the December 2009 UH Memorandum of Agreement for the Statewide Nursing Curriculum (baccalaureate degree)1.

In October, 2004, the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) Position Paper on the Practice of Doctorate in Nursing Practice2 noted that the health system needed nursing providers competent in providing individual level care and equipped to participate at the system level and launched the national initiative to create the Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) as the education and titling for advanced practice nursing. Subsequently, the AACN voted to recommend that the preparation necessary for advanced nursing practice move from the master's degree to the doctorate by the year 2015. The October 2010 Institute of Medicine (10M) Report, The Future ofNurSing, took a strong position by recommending a doubling of the number of nurses with a doctorate degree by 2020. The DNP provides the pathway for both the postbaccalaureate and post-master's prepared nurse to continue formal education and access a program targeted to the needs of their practice area.

UH Hilo is recognized for the outstanding rural health and transcultural expertise of the nursing program. As such, the campus is committed to building the primary care workforce for the island of Hawaii by offering a post-baccalaureate family nurse practitioner and post-master's entry point DNP program. The UH Manoa DNP program is recognized for its outstanding master's level specialty programs in advanced practice nursing, clinical nurse specialist, community/public health nursing, and nursing administration. The UH Manoa Nursing postmaster's DNP degree will build upon this well established program, and be targeted to nurses seeking a terminal degree in nursing practice. The DNP at UH Manoa will complement the present research focused doctoral program (PhD).

The collaborative effort of the UH Manoa and UH Hilo DNP Programs will support state nursing workforce development, with an emphasis on increasing access to primary care services in the community setting, acute services in the hospital setting, strengthened public health nursing and education of nursing leaders. The respective school curricula are guided by the AACN Essentials ofDoctoral Education for Advanced Nursing Practice. The programs are designed so that all graduates are competent in the eight essentials of doctoral education for advanced nursing practice and prepared for their specialty role in the larger healthcare system as well as on the individual care provider level. The programs will ensure access to the requisite education for advanced practice nursing, contribute to the development of a stronger primary health care system, and improve the health of the residents of the State of Hawaiʻi.

UH Hilo and UH Manoa agree as follows:

  1. Each program shall offer its own DNP program curriculum and admission requirements. Shared nursing courses may be offered in the future upon mutual agreement between the two programs.
  2. Applicants may apply to either school, which becomes the student's "home" campus and that institution will award the degree.
  3. Nursing faculty are eligible for a non-compensated graduate faculty appointment at the sister campus, in accordance with UH Board of Regents policy.
  4. Programs will meet quarterly, on alternating campuses, to identify joint DNP faculty development needs and develop shared programming for faculty professional development.
  5. Programs will meet quarterly, on alternating campuses, to develop near-and long-term strategies for collaborative educational experiences.
  6. Programs will create a joint curriculum committee, composed of faculty representatives from each campus, to assess post-master's level course syllabi for equivalency and create processes for such courses to share alpha and number, title, credits, course description and student learning outcomes.
  7. Programs will work together to create and offer one joint summer seminar and symposium for courses including, but not limited to, evidence based practice, system innovation and management, and health policy.
  8. Programs will share the costs required to provide student and faculty access to electronic library and teChnology resources across both programs.

The terms of this agreement are subject to University of Hawaiʻi Board of Regents policies. Amendments to this agreement must be in writing and approved by the designated representatives of each campus. This Memorandum of Agreement will remain in effect until Fall 2017. It will be subject to review in Spring 2017 and may be continued, revised, or discontinued with the consent of the two campuses represented in this agreement. The MOA remains in effect in review.

Signed April 6th, 2011

University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo

Donald Straney - UH Hilo Chancellor
Kenith Simmons - Interim VCAA
Randy Hirokawaka - Dean, College of Arts of Sciences
Katharyn Daub - Director, School of Nursing

University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa

Virginia Hinshaw - UH Mānoa Chancellor
Reed Dasenbrock - Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs
Mary G. Boland - Dean, School of Nursing and Dental Hygiene

Download this agreement as a PDF

  1. https://www.hawaii.edu/offices/app/aa/articulation/Attachment6_Agreement-pdf. Accessed march 28, 2011.

  2. American Association of Colleges of Nursing. AACN Position Statement on the Practice Doctorate in Nursing. Oct. 2004. Accessed 1/19/11.