Stan State’s Online RN-BSN Program Ranked No. 1 for Value

It didn’t take long for the Stan State’s Online Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) program to soar after its spring 2016 launch.

The program was named the No 1. by Guide to Online Schools on their list of the “2020 Best Online Colleges Offering BSN Programs.” Stan State topped such colleges and universities as Indiana University-Northwest (No. 2), CSU Bakersfield (No. 7), Rutgers University (No. 12), University of Massachusetts-Boston (No. 15) and Loma Linda University (No. 22) in the top-25 rankings.

The rankings were based on best value options for online nursing degree programs, and Stan State, with annual tuition of $17, 622, showed the greatest return with an average wage of $128, 300.

“We quietly do our own thing at Stan State, and we didn’t know they were watching,” said Debbie Tavernier, director of the School of Nursing. “It’s nice to be recognized nationally for providing nurses the opportunity to advance their degree.”

The 12-month program provides students who are already registered nurses (RNs) the opportunity to complete their bachelor’s degree, was spawned by a desire to serve local nurses.

“We knew that nurses with their two-year degrees were looking for an opportunity to get a bachelor’s degree, and we heard they were going to very expensive, out-of-state, online, for-profit programs. We wanted to serve them locally,” Tavernier said.

The program offers such courses as nursing research, professional nursing and advanced health assessment, and unlike other online programs, includes public health training and certification, which expands a graduate’s career opportunities.

Designed to meet the needs of working registered nurses, the online program allows them to explore new perspectives by learning with other nurses. Students are able to apply real-world solutions in their current positions immediately.

The program also helps meet the increasing demand for bachelor’s prepared nurses in our region.

“What is now becoming the trend in the Central Valley — that has been the trend in Southern California, the Bay Area and pretty much the rest of the nation — is they want you to have a bachelor’s degree,” Tavernier said.

Committed to quality, all of the faculty teaching in the online program have completed Teaching Online Certification offered by Quality Matters. And last year, the Community Health Theory (NURS 4400) course, part of the Online RN to BSN program, was certified through the Quality Matters course review.