Western Governors University Announces Expansion of Nursing Prelicensure Program to Address the Nation’s Nursing Shortage

Global Newswire

Michael O. Leavitt

April 4, 2023

SALT LAKE CITY, April 04, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Western Governors University’s (WGU) Michael O. Leavitt School of Health (LSH), the nation’s leading institution for nurse education, has expanded its Nursing Prelicensure Program to meet the increasing demand for new registered nurses (RN), which is estimated to reach 1.2 million new nurses by 2030 according to the American Nurses Association.  Student enrollment opened in March 2023 with rolling start dates and clinical opportunities in 11 states, including Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nevada, New Mexico, Ohio, Texas, and Utah. The program aims to add more than 4,800 newly qualified nursing graduates to the workforce by 2027.

As the country grapples with a nursing shortage and lack of qualified faculty – according to the American Association of the College of Nurses, more than 90,000 qualified students were turned away from nursing programs in 2021 alone – WGU’S Leavitt School of Health is well positioned to lead the country in high-quality nursing education.

“In the midst of the largest nursing shortage in our country’s history, this program is designed to develop new nurses at scale. We want to meet individuals where they are, including those in rural communities,” said Dr. Janelle Sokolowich, WGU Academic Vice President and Dean, Leavitt School of Health. “We particularly considered the pandemic’s impact on compounding rural health care barriers and decided to expand the online, entry-level nursing prelicensure program with regional and mobile lab facilities, so students can complete the program within their communities.”

As an online, accredited and nonprofit university, WGU’s hybrid degree program is designed to increase accessibility for nontraditional students through curriculum that combines online courses with in-person clinical rotations and practice simulations, meeting students where they are in their journey to become registered nurses.

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