THE BAY COLLEGE Iron Mountain campus on U.S. 2 on the city’s north side. (Daily News file photo)

A relaunch of Bay College’s Practical Nursing certificate program may have to wait until the summer or fall of 2026, rather than January, the college stated in a news release Friday.

The college announced it has received a response from the Michigan Board of Nursing regarding its LPN program self-study, identifying seven items to clarify for the board’s November meeting. The BON assures that such clarification is routine, the college said.

“We look forward to submitting a thorough response and demonstrating the strength of our program to the board,” said Patrick Reinhard, Bay’s dean of Allied Health, stated in the news release. “The points of clarification are straightforward and can be responded to quickly and confidently. Ensuring our LPN program is strong and successful as we move forward with the new curriculum continues to be a team effort, and each staff and faculty member involved plays a vital role. I am confident that together we will meet this challenge and position the program for success.”

The college’s reply to the request for clarification will be addressed at the next BON meeting in November. While Bay officials had hoped to resume the LPN program in January, fulfilling the BON request will likely delay reinstatement until summer or fall, Bay officials said.

The college’s Practical Nursing certificate program was paused in February after it was discovered the program lacked proper accreditation. Students currently enrolled were able to complete coursework as scheduled to graduate this past May, and past graduates were unaffected.

Although the BON approved Bay College’s Nursing Program in 1967, the three-semester nursing program reportedly did not meet requirements set out by the same board in 2018.

Bay College has all the necessary equipment, faculty and personnel in place to quickly resume the nursing courses as well as hands-on training labs that are part of its program at campuses in Escanaba and Iron Mountain, the college stated in a May news release.

At that time, the college’s proposed timeline included campus visits in September with a possible BON vote in November to reinstate the program.