Published August 4, 2016
MONROE, La. — The University of Louisiana Monroe’s online RN to Bachelor of Science in Nursing
(BSN) program was ranked no. 1 in the nation for 2016-17 by CollegeStart.org.
The site ranking took into account several key factors to ensure that the student
gets the best rate of return on their educational investment. The factors in determining
the ranking were graduation rate, cost, acceptance rate, enrollment rate, retention
rate, student to faculty ratio, percentage of students receiving financial aid, and
loan default rate.
Based on these factors, ULM had a near-perfect score of 98.8%.
“This ranking is confirmation that the Kitty Degree School of Nursing is determined
to make a difference for Registered Nurses in our community and state by extending
its history of excellence from the on-campus classroom to the online classroom,” said
Paula Thornhill, Director of eULM. “Our program attracts the best nurses and our graduates
are the leaders who are making a difference in the healthcare industry.”
The RN to BSN program offers registered nurses the opportunity to earn a bachelor’s
degree in nursing to advance their careers. A BSN RN can pursue graduate education
and become a nurse educator, nurse practitioner, or a nurse anesthetist. According
to the program’s website, “Having a BSN RN allows an individual to have upward mobility
in a growing and ever changing field.”
Applicants for the online RN to BSN degree must be a graduate from a state-approved
and nationally accredited diploma or associate degree nursing program (CNEA, ACEN)
and currently hold an unencumbered unrestricted RN license to practice.
Dr. Eric Pani, ULM Vice President for Academic Affairs, said, “I want to compliment
the faculty in the Kitty DeGree School of Nursing for their superior work in teaching
these students and in designing high-quality online courses. I also want to thank
our eULM staff for the help they have given to support our online students and the
assistance they have provided our faculty in making the online courses effective in
that format.
“Our eULM programs continue to receive national recognition for their superiority
and are an effective way for us to meet workforce demands in high-need professions.”
The complete ranking is available at https://www.collegestart.org/top/online-rn-bsn-programs/.
For more information about the RN to BSN program, visit ulm.edu/onlinedegrees/bs_nurs.
