Northern State University has long hosted a pre-nursing program, but now say they’re ready to be a one-stop-school for the state’s aspiring nurses.
NSU provost and VP of academic affairs Mike Wanous said this is a response to very real nursing needs across the country, but also an education vacuum at home.
“Another variable for us is that Presentation College which is in Aberdeen, the same city as Northern State University, shut down in summer of 2023," Wanous said. "They were the only regular, four-year (Bachelor of Science in Nursing) BSN program in the northeast quadrant of South Dakota, so we’re also responding to the loss of that program for our region.”
Previously, NSU only offered two years’ worth of nursing, and students would then have to transfer to another institution to complete an undergraduate degree.
“So, that’s the total, four-year degree program," Wanous said. "That’s what we’re adding. After they take their NCLEX examination they can be licensed as a nurse, and they can get a job as a nurse. So, in four years they can go straight through at Northern State.”
Northern had partnered with South Dakota State University to offer an accelerated nursing program in Aberdeen. That agreement will end in 2026 once NSU's nursing students begin graduating.
Wanous said nursing degrees are needed in more than just hospitals.
“There’s definitely a nursing shortage in the region, and other areas as well like Primrose retirement homes, they hire nurses as well," Wanous said. "So, really all sectors of healthcare in northeast South Dakota have a need for nurses.”
Further, NSU is now the only school in the state where students can earn a BSN while competing as a Division II college athlete.