ASU Nursing Program Named To Top 10 Best List

The nursing program at Arkansas State University has been selected as one of the top 10 collegiate programs in the eastern region of the United States and the highest ranked program in Arkansas, NurseJournal.org has announced.

Dr. Susan Hanrahan, dean of the College of Nursing and Health Professions, was recently notified of the award.

“This was absolutely the best news we could have received on the second day of fall classes,” Hanrahan said. “The variables NurseJournal.org use to rank nursing programs fit our mission and philosophy perfectly. There are many nursing programs across the United States. We are very proud to be recognized as one of the top-10 programs in the eastern region — kudos to our faculty, staff and students.”

Nursejournal.org researched nursing programs in 1,189 schools. A-State is listed ninth in the eastern region which includes the states of Arkansas, Georgia, North Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, New York, Tennessee, Louisiana, Virginia, West Virginia, Alabama, Kentucky, Maryland, South Carolina, Delaware, Connecticut, New Jersey, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Pennsylvania.

The national ranking was divided into three major regions – eastern, central and western. Cal State-Dominguez Hills and University of Utah topped the western ranking which were also released this week.

The nursing program at Arkansas State is one of the largest on campus in terms of enrollment and ranks highly among number of undergraduate degrees conferred. Among majors by college, nursing ranks second for undergraduates and graduates.

Georgia Regents University topped the regional ranking at No. 1. Other notable universities in the east region top 20 with A-State were University of Florida at 4th, University of South Florida at 5th, University of North Carolina at 11th and University of Mississippi Medical Center at 16th. University of Alabama was 28th and University of Memphis was 35th.

Arkansas State leads all programs in the state in the top-100 list that includes Arkansas Tech, University of Arkansas-Little Rock, University of Central Arkansas, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, University of Arkansas and Henderson State. A-State also is the top of its Sun Belt peers with Louisiana-Monroe and Louisiana-Lafayette as the next ranked SBC universities.

The methodology used to offer the best all-around nursing school, includes 19 metrics in five categories. Those categories include: quality as reflected by NCLEX pass rate, nursing program accreditation, institutional accreditation and the highest award for schools that offer high-level degrees. A-State’s School of Nursing is known for offering a continuum of nursing degrees ranging from AASN, to BSN, to MSN, and DNP as considered for the highest quality.

The category of convenience refers to distance-education options, online or hybrid programs, and flexible scheduling. Satisfaction is determined by retention rates for first to second year and professor rating. Additionally considered in the methodology is the affordability as reflected by the tuition and fees and the determined value (salary vs. cost).

The America’s Best Nursing Schools and Colleges Eastern Top 10 list includes:

1. Georgia Regents University (Augusta, Ga.)

2. Fayetteville State University (Fayetteville, N.C.)

3. Pearl River Community College (Poplarville, Miss.)

4. University of Florida (Gainesville, Fla.)

5. University of South Florida Main Campus (Tampa, Fla.)

6. Mississippi University for Women (Columbus, Miss.)

7. University of North Carolina-Charlotte (Charlotte, N.C.)

8. Winston-Salem State University (Winston-Salem, N.C.)

9. Arkansas State University (Jonesboro, Ark.)

10. CUNY Lehman College (Bronx, N.Y.)