Trevecca Nazarene University will add a spring start date for its undergraduate nursing program in the coming academic year, school officials announced. Adding to a traditional fall start, the move allows more potential nursing school students to complete training and obtain a degree, while also helping to address the current national nursing shortage.
“We believe this addition will benefit our nursing students, as well as the Middle Tennessee community,” Trevecca Nursing Program Director Dr. Ruth Corey said. “Nurses are a necessity, and we are committed to doing all we can to help meet the growing need while providing a quality education for our students who feel called to this profession.”
According to the American Association of Colleges of Nurses (AACN), many qualified students who apply to nursing programs aren’t accepted because there aren’t enough classroom spaces, faculty and preceptors or clinical placement sites. By adding a spring admission, Trevecca anticipates a higher acceptance rate for nursing students, increasing the number of nurses who graduate each year to help address the national shortage.
Nursing students at Trevecca study in the newly constructed, state-of-the-art Health Science Building that is equipped with the most up-to-date educational technology, classrooms and lab spaces. Trevecca’s healthcare partnerships with Ascension Health Saint Thomas and Vanderbilt University Medical Center will give students sufficient options for clinical placement and training.
“The concept of two admissions is a cornerstone of success for nursing schools,” Corey said. “Nursing programs generally begin in the fall, so students often end up on wait lists after completing their general coursework. This change allows students to avoid potential wait lists, begin their upper-level nursing classes more quickly and ensure a sufficient number of entrance slots are available for students to enter the program when they’re academically ready.”
Trevecca will be accepting applications this fall for the Department of Nursing’s first spring cohort, which will begin classes in January 2025.
