The College
Goals and Objectives Accreditation Campus Catholic Health Initiatives Core Values of Mercy General Policies Services for Disabilities History of Religious Sisters of Mercy Institutional Memberships
Vision
To be nationally recognized for excellence in the delivery and innovation of health sciences education as demonstrated by distinguished graduates who serve and lead in their communities.
Mission
Mercy College of Health Sciences is a Catholic institution of higher education, guided by the pursuit of knowledge and the core values of Mercy: reverence, integrity, compassion, and excellence. Through integration of professional education with liberal arts and sciences, the College prepares graduates for service and leadership in the health care community.
Goals and Objectives
To fulfill its mission, Mercy College of Health Sciences is committed to achieving the following goals and objectives:
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Develop an intellectually stimulating and caring environment that will facilitate student academic achievement and clinical competence by:
- Engaging professional role models for liberal arts and sciences and selected health care disciplines.
- Offering student services that facilitate success in the College.
- Providing learning resources to enhance the student’s academic and professional development.
- Fostering caring relationships within the College community.
- Establish a liberal arts and science foundation that facilitates personal development by enhancing the student’s ability to:
- Utilize critical thinking.
- Communicate effectively in writing and speech.Demonstrate knowledge and application in the life sciences.
- Understand characteristics of people from an individual, cultural, and social perspective.
- Articulate a moral or philosophical foundation as a basis for personal and professional life.
- Utilize technology to support the learning process.
- Prepare students for positions in their chosen profession by providing opportunities for students to:
- Demonstrate competencies in knowledge, skills, and attitudes for their chosen profession.
- Develop caring, ethical, and professional behaviors.
- Participate in diverse educational experiences in the health care system.
- Interact with professional role models in selected health care settings.
- Display leadership ability through participation in health care-related and service-oriented activities.
Accreditation
Campus
The campus of Mercy College includes fully-equipped classrooms and lecture halls, skills laboratories, student computer laboratories and classrooms, student lounges, and faculty and administrative offices. Clinical instruction is provided at Mercy Medical Center — Des Moines and at various other locations in the metropolitan and surrounding areas.
In addition, the College Admissions and Student Services Departments are located at Mercy Court, located one block east of the main campus. The College’s Emergency Medical Services Program staff, classroom facilities, computer classroom and skills laboratories are located on the first floor of Mercy Crocker, located four blocks east of the main campus. The nursing skills laboratory is located on the lower level of the Medical Office Plaza (MOP) Building, which is located at 1055 6th Avenue.
College library resources are located both on the main campus and at Mercy Medical Center— Des Moines. Both locations offer electronic information services as well as books, journals, medical texts, reference materials, compact discs, DVDs, videotapes, and other audiovisual materials.
Catholic Health Initiatives (CHI)
Catholic Health Initiatives (CHI) is a national nonprofit health organization with headquarters in Denver, Colorado. Mercy Medical Center — Des Moines is one of its member hospitals. The health system includes 74 other hospitals; 40 long-term care, assisted and residential-living facilities; and two community- health services organizations in 19 states. Catholic Health Initiatives represents approximately 70,000 full and part-time employees and annual revenues of $8.6 billion. CHI is the second largest Catholic health system in the United States. Mercy College is the only higher education institution within the CHI System.
CHI thrives on its vision of Catholic health care as a vibrant ministry; ready to provide compassionate care of minds, bodies, and spirits through the 21st century and beyond.
The same pioneer spirit that first led congregations of religious women to carry out the healing ministry of Jesus hundreds of years ago guides Catholic Health Initiatives. The organization is committed to:
- Creating new ministries that build healthy communities.
- Reaching new milestones of clinical quality.
- Pursuing an agenda of social justice.
Mercy College partners with CHI to meet its educational priorities throughout its member institutions.
Core Values of Mercy
In addition to the core values of Mercy, Mercy College of Health Sciences is guided by the pursuit of knowledge.
- Knowledge: ability to instill in our college community a thirst to continually study, investigate, observe, and experience the world all around for facts and ideas that can improve the health and well-being of humankind and create a love for learning.
- Reverence: profound spirit of awe and respect for all creation; shaping relationships to self, to one another, and to God; and acknowledging that we hold in trust all that has been given to us.
- Integrity: moral wholeness, soundness, uprightness, honesty, sincerity, as basis of trustworthiness.
- Compassion: feeling with others, being one with others in their sorrows and joy, rooted in the sense of solidarity as members of the human community.
- Excellence: outstanding achievement, merit, virtue; continually surpassing standards to achieve/maintain quality.
General Policies
Mercy College of Health Sciences encourages an open mind, a desire to comprehend, and a sense of respect for ethnic and cultural diversity.
Assessment Statement
Mercy College is committed to continuously improving the academic achievement of its students. To that end, the institution assesses knowledge, skills, and competencies of students as they progress through their academic program. The information obtained from assessment activities is essential for improving the learning opportunities and environments provided by the College. Assessment of student achievement is considered fundamental for the College to accomplish its mission and purposes.
Campus Safety Statement
Mercy College has information available regarding campus crime statistics. This information may be obtained from College admissions representatives/counselors (Click here to view the Student Handbook for detailed campus crime statistics.)
Catalog Not a Contract
This catalog is presented as informational only and is not a contract between Mercy College and its students. The information, policies, and procedures contained in this catalog are subject to change at any time with or without notice.
College Information
All College documents contain current pertinent information. Mercy College reserves the right to make changes as necessary, including changes in requirements, programs, policies, and fees. Changes shall go into effect whenever appropriate with such notice as is reasonable under the circumstances.
Completion Rates
Mercy College publishes information concerning student completion rates and performance on professional licensure/certification examinations. This information may be obtained from College admissions representatives/counselors.
Confidentiality
Mercy College complies with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) of 1974 and amendments, which governs access to and release of student academic and financial records. Third party access to non-directory information is not permitted without the student’s written consent, except as allowed by law. At its discretion the institution may provide directory information which is defined as: student name, address, telephone number, date and place of birth, major, dates of attendance, degrees and awards, most recent previous educational institution attended, and participation in College activities. FERPA also recognizes that information can, in case of an emergency, be released without consent when needed to protect the health and safety of others.
Non-Discrimination
It is the Mercy College policy to conduct academic programs and business activities in a manner that is free from discrimination and to provide equal opportunity for and equal treatment of students regardless of race, color, national and ethnic origin, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, creed, physical or mental disability, status as a disabled veteran or veteran of war, or any other factor protected by law.
Furthermore, Mercy College admits students of any race, color, national and ethnic origin, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, creed, physical or mental disability, status as a disabled veteran or veteran of war, or any other factor protected by law to all the rights, privileges, programs and activities generally made available to students at the school. The College does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national and ethnic origin, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, creed, physical or mental disability, status as a disabled veteran or veteran of war, or any other factor protected by law in the administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, scholarship and loan programs, or any other school-administered programs.(Click here to view the Student Handbook for detailed Non-Discrimination Policy.)
Professional Malpractice/Liability
Students who are currently enrolled in a Mercy College degree/certificate program, are functioning within the scope of their practice, and are being supervised by an approved instructor/preceptor during a scheduled clinical experience on Mercy’s campus or with a contracted affiliate are covered under the Professional Malpractice Insurance of Mercy Medical Center — Des Moines.
Injury/Illness
Students who become ill or are injured who are currently enrolled in a Mercy College degree/certificate program, are functioning within the scope of their practice, and are being supervised by an approved instructor/preceptor during a scheduled clinical experience on Mercy’s campus or with a contracted affiliate are referred to Mercy College's Student Health Nurses. (Click here to view the Student Handbook for detailed Injury/Illness Information.)
Services for Disabilities
Mercy College is committed to equality of educational opportunity for all students. The Student Success Coordinator, (515) 643-6659, facilitates academic accommodations and services for students with disabilities so those students have equal access to College programs and activities and can participate fully in all aspects of the College.
Student Disability Services administered by the Student Success Coordinator include the following:
- Establish and communicate criteria for disability services at Mercy College
- Review documentation to verify eligibility for disability services
- Facilitate academic accommodations for qualified students with disabilities
- Support disability-related services and opportunities for students with disabilities
History of Religious Sisters of Mercy (RSM)
Catherine McAuley founded the Sisters of Mercy in Dublin in 1831 in response to the desperate poverty of Ireland’s Catholics under the British penal laws. Catherine used her inheritance to open Baggot Street House of Mercy where she and like-minded women instructed children and taught young women the skills they needed to become independent. They visited the sick in hospitals and in their homes and became known in Dublin as “The Walking Nuns.” The Vatican formally recognized the community in 1841, shortly before Catherine died.
Frances Warde, one of the first women to profess her vows as a Sister of Mercy, came to the United States in 1843 in response to requests from U.S. Bishops to minister to Irish immigrants. By 1893, three sisters from Mercy Hospital in Davenport opened a new hospital in Des Moines. Under the leadership of Mother Mary Baptist Martin, they provided their first care from rooms rented at Hoyt Sherman Place.
In 1899, the Mercy Hospital Training School was officially established to educate nurses. Seven students graduated in the first class in 1901.
Today, Mercy College of Health Sciences is a partner with Mercy Medical Center — Des Moines. The College operates under the direction of a Board of Directors. The founding beliefs established by the Sisters of Mercy still guide the College as it educates nurses and allied health professionals in its third century of operation.
Institutional Memberships
- ACT
- Accreditation Review Committee on Education in Surgical Technology
- Alpha Beta Kappa National Honor Society
- American Association of Collegiate Registrars & Admissions Officers
- American Association of Medical Assistants
- American Library Association
- American Society for Clinical Pathology
- American Society of Radiologic Technology
- American Association of Colleges of Nursing
- American Association of Community Colleges
- American Association of Presidents of Independent Colleges & Universities
- American Health Science Education Consortium
- American Marketing Association
- American Marketing Association Iowa Chapter
- Association of College Administration Professionals
- Association of Collegiate Educators in Radiologic Technology
- Association of Governing Boards of Universities & Colleges
- Association of Surgical Technologists
- Catholic College Cooperative Tuition Exchange
- Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs
- Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education
- Community College Survey of Student Engagement
- Council for Advancement and Support of Education
- Council for Higher Education Accreditation
- Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools
- Iowa Association for College Admission Counseling
- Iowa Association of Colleges of Nursing
- Iowa Association of Computing Teachers
- Iowa Association of Independent Colleges and Universities
- Iowa Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators
- Iowa Distance Learning Association
- Iowa Library Association
- Iowa Organization of Nurse Leaders
- Iowa Private Academic Libraries
- Iowa Religious Media Services
- Medical Library Association
- Medical Library Association (Midwest Chapter)
- National Association of College & University Business Officers
- National Association of Independent Colleges & Universities
- National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators
- National Credentialing Agency for Laboratory Personnel
- National League for Nursing
- National Orientation Directors Association
- Rotary Club of Des Moines
- The Tuition Exchange, Inc.
- Universities and Colleges Designers Association
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