The College of St. Scholastica

Educational Mission Statement

The College of St. Scholastica was established in 1912 by leading Benedictine Sisters (Peterson's, 2009). It is an autonomous private college and a Catholic Benedictine establishment that is located in Duluth, northeastern Minnesota. St. Scholastica started with six students and presently, it instructs over 4000 women and men every year, with over 14,000 alumni having graduated from the college (Peterson's, 2009). In addition to its main campus, St. Scholastica has more campuses in St. Brainerd, St. Paul, and Rochester.

One of the biggest nursing programs that is also a major component in the college is the School of Nursing. The latter has access to many clinical sites, urban and rural, diminutive and big, in community centers and in hospitals. The program has a responsibility of responding to the healthcare necessities of all people in the region, particularly the lowly served populations encompassing residents and communities having mental health problems. The undergraduate nursing program trains learners who thereafter join the nursing practice as professionals. Founded on clinical know-how and core knowledge applied, this education level utilizes exceptional critical thinking, collaboration, communication as well as care.

The nursing department of the college embraces the values of Benedictine, demonstrated by the dedication of the school to inclusiveness. The mission statement of the nursing department is to instruct learners to provide nursing care to every individual, and particularly the neglected and the lowly served. The philosophy of St. Scholastica is in concert with the philosophy of the nursing department as well as the mission statement. It stresses the Benedictine values of respect, community, stewardship, hospitality in addition to love of learning. These values provide high accountability and standards to individuals and the society at large.

The department of nursing accepts as true that good learning can only happen when there is an environment of acceptance of personal differences as well as understanding of different learning styles. When students are inspired and challenged by the core matter, learning amplifies.