Felician College - History of Felician College

History of Felician College

Felician College, a coeducational liberal arts college, is a Catholic, private, independent institution for students representing diverse religious, racial, and ethnic backgrounds. The College operates on two campuses in Lodi and Rutherford, New Jersey. The College is one of the institutions of higher learning conducted by the Felician Sisters in the United States. Founded by the Felician Sisters of Lodi, New Jersey, it began as Immaculate Conception Normal School with the first summer session commencing on July 5, 1923. For more than a decade, the Normal School trained in-service teachers and qualified them for state certification. On May 27, 1935, the Normal School was raised to the status of a teacher training college approved by and affiliated with the Catholic University of America. The students who belonged to a religious order completed a maximum of seventy-two semester hours of their undergraduate work at the College and then transferred to the Catholic University of America, Seton Hall or Fordham University. The institution became reorganized as a junior college in 1941, and on March 26, 1942, it was incorporated under the laws of the State of New Jersey as Immaculate Conception Junior College.

In December 1963, the State Department of Education granted to the College the power to confer, in its own name, the degree of Associate in Arts. By September 1964, the College extended its curriculum to admit the first class of laywomen. At about the same time, St. Mary’s Hospital in Orange, New Jersey, having decided to expand its facilities and to replace the three-year nursing school with the two-year Associate in Arts program, transferred its nursing program to Immaculate Conception Junior College. The first class of nursing students was admitted in September 1965. In June 1967, the New Jersey State Department of Education authorized Immaculate Conception Junior College to offer a four-year program in Elementary Teacher Education under its new name, Felician College.

The dedication in May 1969 of two newly constructed facilities, the auditorium-administration-classroom building and the library, marked the completion of a physical expansion program begun in 1966. In 1970, the College began a continuing education program initiated for persons who choose to attend Felician College courses for college credit or audit, a workshop or a seminar. The New Jersey Department of Higher Education authorized Felician College to offer a two-year program in Medical Laboratory Technology in July 1973, a four-year Liberal Arts program in January 1974, and a four-year program in Special Education in 1975. Certificate programs in Handwriting Analysis and in Business were introduced in 1977 and 1978 respectively. An upper-division baccalaureate nursing program was instituted in 1979. Felician College introduced certificate programs in Computer Programming and in Data Processing into its curricular offerings in September 1983. A Computer Science Center was established at this same time. A Religious Studies Certificate Program was inaugurated in 1984; a Business certificate was introduced in 1985.

In May 1986, Felician College became coeducational, accepting men and women into all programs and courses. Further expansion occurred in 1986 when Felician College began offering its Religious Studies Certificate Program at off-campus locations in the diocese of Metuchen. In 1987, a new Core curriculum was implemented. Academic support services became available through the Center for Learning. In 1987, the College dedicated a newly constructed facility housing a Child Care Center and a Nursing Resource Center. In collaboration with the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, a program of Cytotechnology, Medical Technology, and Toxicology was established in 1988. In 1989, Felician College was authorized by the New Jersey Department of Higher Education to offer a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration. At this time, the Office of Continuing Education was restructured into a Division of Evening and Weekend Programs. The Nursing programs were expanded by the introduction of off-campus sites for Associate Degree in Nursing courses at Overlook Hospital (1988) and Bachelor of Science in Nursing courses at Chilton Memorial Hospital (1989). In addition, an evening Associate Degree in Nursing was established (1990).

In 1990, the College expanded its offerings to include an Honors program and Weekend Classes degree programs in Business Administration, Psychology, and Social and Behavioral Sciences. In 1991, the College implemented a Transition Year program with courses and tutorial support to help academically underprepared students attain college-level competencies. In 1994, a comprehensive Developmental Studies program replaced the Transition Year program. In 1992, the College received grants from the New Jersey State Department of Higher Education to implement Community Service/Service Learning components in Honors courses. In 1993 and 1994, the College expanded its offerings to include concentrations in Biochemistry, Environmental Science, and Philosophy. In 1994, the College was authorized by the New Jersey State Department of Higher Education to offer a Bachelor of Arts degree in Computer Science. An on-site BSN program was established at Morristown Memorial Hospital. In September 1994, the College inaugurated Kirby Hall, 48,000 square feet (4,500 m2) of renovated convent space.

In 1995, the New Jersey Commission on Higher Education approved the College’s amended mission to include the offering of graduate programs and authorized the implementation of a Master of Science degree program in Nursing, the College’s first Master’s degree program. The New Jersey Commission on Higher Education approved the College’s offering (1996), in conjunction with the University of Medicine and Dentistry (UMDNJ), the baccalaureate degree in Psychosocial Rehabilitation. In 1996, the College developed an Athletic Program for men and women’s basketball, followed by a men’s soccer team and women’s softball team. The College’s first web page appeared in the Fall of 1996. Subsequent semesters saw the broadening of our “web presence,” the increasing availability of the Internet and e-mail to our students, and the use of our site to inform, educate, and integrate all the members of our community. In 1997, the Commission approved new Bachelor of Arts degree programs in Computer Science, Philosophy, and in Management and Marketing. The newly created Office of Academic Support Services designed and implemented plans to achieve greater coherence and accountability in the areas of student advising, counseling, testing, tutoring, and Section 504 of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

In the Fall of 1997, Felician College purchased the Rutherford Campus of Fairleigh Dickinson University.In 1997, the State approved the College’s offering of a Master’s Degree in Catechesis (Religious Education). This program prepares people for ministries that seek to make God’s word dynamic and intelligible to people at every stage in their lives. The President's Council formally constituted the Felician College Institutional Review Board (IRB) for the Protection of Human Subjects on February 12, 1998. The introduction in the Spring of 1998 of Distance Learning Courses (also made available through the New Jersey Virtual University) began offering students an alternative approach to selected classroom courses. One of the first programs launched by the newly introduced Center for Academic Advising and Testing was the Jump Start Program (Summer 1998) – a month-long series of workshops designed to enhance both the academic and survival skills of new students. State approval of M.A. programs in Teacher Education (1999) and English (2000) have helped the College broaden its commitment to a rising graduate student population. Success at Felician, an accelerated Business Management degree program aimed at the working adult, began offering courses in the Spring of 2000.

By the Spring of 2000, the College’s steadily increasing enrollment reached a new record of 1328 students. In collaboration with the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey - School of Health Related Professions (UMDNJ-SHRP), Felician College developed (2000) a joint program leading to the Doctorate in Physical Therapy (DPT). In 2001, the Nursing Advisory Board replaced the MSN Advisory Committee. The Nursing Advisory Board offers input on all nursing programs, the ADN, BSN and MSN. In February, 2001 Felician College established its first Arts and Sciences honors society with the founding of a chapter of Sigma Beta Delta, the International Honor Society in Business, Management and Administration. In the Fall of 2001, the College inaugurated its new Core Curriculum. The new core, consisting of four courses and centered on the Franciscan charism, requires all students to complete at least 20 hours of service learning before graduation. In Fall 2001, the International Assembly for Collegiate Business Education (IACBE) granted both the Department of Business Administration and the accelerated degree program in Organizational Management full accreditation for a ten-year period. The New Jersey Commission on Higher Education approved (Fall 2001) the BA degree in Mathematics with P-12 Certification, the BA degree in Early Childhood Education and, in cooperation with the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, a collaborative program leading to the Ph.D in Physical Therapy. In 2001, the Division Directors' title was changed to that of Dean for each Division.

In 2002, the College received approval from the New Jersey State Board of Nursing to phase out the Associate Degree in Nursing Program by December 2004. Students seeking a nursing career would now enroll at the BSN level. RN's seeking a degree would enroll in the Upper Division BSN Program. BSN graduates would enroll in the MSN program. The Felician College Athletic program gained full membership in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division II (Fall 2002). In 2002, the College initiated a Certificate Program in Liturgy in cooperation with the Diocese of Newark.