ATU-Ozark set to graduate more nursing students
by February 19, 2025 5:07 pm 452 views
The Arkansas Tech University-Ozark Campus has 31 students on track to graduate in May from the nursing program, above 23 in May 2024. Students in the program have also posted licensure exam scores above the national and state averages.
ATU-Ozark previously admitted 24 students to the nursing program, but for the 2024-25 academic year the campus boosted enrollment to 31, according to Lisa Pittman, ATU-Ozark registered nursing program chair.
Between 2020 and 2024, ATU-Ozark graduated 115 nursing students for an average of 23 a year. Pittman said the average salary for a graduating registered nurse is around $65,000, with pay depending on location and the field of nursing. The average salary in Arkansas, based on third quarter 2024 data posted Wednesday (Feb. 19) by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, is $56,888.
When the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith restarted the nursing program in May 2024, officials there said clinics, hospitals and other health care operations in Fort Smith metro were in need of more than 200 nurses. As of December 2024, the federal Health Resources and Service Administration (HRSA) reported that Arkansas is projected to be short more than 3,500 registered nurses over the next decade.
Also, the ATU-Ozark registered nursing students recently scored 95.7% on the National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses (NCLEX). The state average is 91.1%, and the national average is 91.7%. This marks the fourth consecutive year the students’ first-time NCLEX pass rate has exceeded the national average and the fifth consecutive year their first-time pass rate has exceeded the state average, according to ATU-Ozark.
“The ATU-Ozark RN program faculty are very proud of these RN NCLEX results and all of the students that those scores represent,” Pittman said. “The NCLEX scores are a direct reflection of the hard work of the students and nursing faculty as well as the quality of the RN program at ATU-Ozark. Faculty have been incorporating active learning strategies into the nursing curriculum to increase student engagement and clinical judgement skills for graduating students.”
The ATU-Ozark campus was established in 1965 as Arkansas Valley Vocational Technical School (AVVTS). In 1991, the campus was renamed Arkansas Valley Technical Institute (AVTI). On July 1, 2003, AVTI merged with Russellville-based Arkansas Tech University to become Arkansas Tech University-Ozark Campus.