America's Best Nursing Schools & Colleges 2015 Edition is

here
So what makes a good nursing school? Good teachers? Low tuition rates? Flexible class
schedules? We believe that a good nursing school provides a quality education at a reasonable
cost and offers educational options that make it easier for todays busy students to attend. Find
out which nursing school has made one of our lists.
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Georgia Regents University Augusta,

4-year+ school 25.26 30.09 20.00 14.23 20.00 109.59
GA
Fayetteville State University
4-year+ school 26.60 29.86 25.00 13.97 13.99 109.42
Fayetteville, NC
Pearl River Community College
Community/Jr
22.96 31.64 20.00 13.10 20.00 107.69
Poplarville, MS
College
University of Florida Gainesville, FL 4-year+ school 28.39 28.46 25.00 17.73 8.04 107.62
University of South Florida-Main
4-year+ school 27.83 27.50 25.00 16.82 7.53 104.67
Campus Tampa, FL
Mississippi University for Women
4-year+ school 26.85 28.46 25.00 15.79 8.47 104.57
Columbus, MS
University of North Carolina at
4-year+ school 26.70 27.74 25.00 15.67 9.03 104.14
Charlotte Charlotte, NC
Winston-Salem State University
4-year+ school 25.70 28.67 25.00 14.65 9.92 103.94
Winston-Salem, NC
Arkansas State University-Main
4-year+ school 25.73 28.49 25.00 15.16 9.21 103.59
Campus Jonesboro, AR
CUNY Lehman College Bronx, NY
4-year+ school 24.08 29.42 20.00 15.50 14.40 103.40
There are other things to consider when
choosing a nursing school, of course
things that cant be measured and
ranked. You might want to attend
school close to home, for exampleor
far, far away. If you will be attending
classes on-campus, a visit ahead of
time is an absolute must. Consider
these rankings a jumping-off point and
combine them with your own
requirements to determine which
nursing school will be best for you.
Methodology

Our mission at NurseJournal.org is to

create a social community for nurses

around the world in which to educate,
inform and share. There is no question
that the field of nursing is one of the
most exciting, rewarding, and in
demand professions in America today.
According to the Bureau of Labor
Statistics, the employment for all
registered nursing will grow over 30%
in the next decade, which is faster than
average when compared to other
occupations.
We set out to find the all-around best
nursing schools in each region of the
United States. To do this, we sat down
with our community members to talk
about what we think makes a good
nursing school. We took 19 metrics and
put them into five categories that we
felt were both quantifiable (at least to a
degree) and important: quality,
affordability, convenience, satisfaction,
and value.
Here is what went into determining our
scores for each of these areas:
Quality (30 total points)

NCLEX Pass Rate (10 points): Its

extremely important that nursing
program graduates are prepared to pass
the test that will allow them to be
licensed, so we gave NCLEX pass rates
double the weight of any other metric
in the quality category.
Institutional Accreditation (5 points):
Most institutions are accredited, but
there are a few that arent. Institutional
accreditation is a long-accepted

indicator of quality among institutions

of higher learning.
Nursing Program Accreditation (5
points): We awarded extra points if the
nursing program itself was accredited.
Highest Award (5 points): Generally,
a school that offers high-level degrees
is a better quality school. We awarded
points based on the highest award level
offered at each school as follows: 1
point for certificate, 2 points for
Associates, 3 points for Bachelors, 4
points for Masters, and 5 points for
Doctorate.
Graduation Rate (5 points): We used
the percentage of full-time, first-time
students who graduated or transferred
to another school within 150% of the
normal time for completing their
programs.
Quality Penalty: The Board of
Nursing in each state publishes a list of
schools that are on conditional status
for failure to meet the minimum
standards set by the Board. Because we
consider this to be a very serious issue,
we have applied a quality penalty to
any school with this status.
Affordability (35 total points)

Tuition and Fees (5 points): The cost

of tuition and fees ranges from less
than $1000 to well over $20,000 per
year. This is a huge consideration for
many students.
Financial Aid Percent (5 points): We
awarded more points to schools where
a higher percentage of students receive

financial aid.
Percent of Tuition and Fees Received
as Aid (10 points): It is much more
helpful to receive $5,000 in aid when
your tuition bill is $6,000 than when it
is $20,000, so we calculated the
percentage of tuition that was covered
by the average financial aid award (not
including loans) and assigned points
based on that percentage.
Student Loans (5 points): Too many
students are graduating from college
with too much student loan debt. We
think it would be better for everyone to
have a clean slate financially when they
get out of school, so we gave more
points to schools with lower average
student loans.
Net price (10 points): This figure takes
cost of living into account as well as
tuition, fees, and financial aid. We gave
more points to schools with a lower net
price.
Convenience (25 total points)

Distance education options

undergraduate (5 points): Since many
students work while attending school,
distance learning options make it more
convenient for them to get the
education they need. We awarded 5
points to schools that have online
options for undergraduates.
Distance education options
graduate (5 points): We awarded 5
points to schools that have online

options for graduates.

Weekend/evening classes available (5
points): We awarded 5 points to
schools that offer evening or weekend
classes.
Online or hybrid nursing program?
(10 points): We awarded 10 points to
schools that offer an online or hybrid
nursing program.
Satisfaction (20 total points)

1st- to 2nd-year Retention Rate (10

points): Since unhappy students are
more likely to transfer to another
school after the first year, we awarded
up to 10 points based on the 1st- to
2nd-year retention rate.
RateMyProfessor, Overall (5 points):
We awarded up to 5 points for the
overall rating on
RateMyProfessor.com.
RateMyProfessor, Professor Average
(5 points): We also awarded up to 5
points for the average professor rating.
Value (20 total points)

Salary vs. Cost (20 points): To

determine which schools provide the
best value, we compared the highest
salary for each school to the net price
and awarded up to 10 points for schools
with a higher payoff for the cost.
Where salary information was not
available, we used the median weekly
earnings in the US for the highest

degree level offered at the school.

Total: 130 points

Most of the data used to determine our

rankings came from the Institute of
Education Sciences. We also gathered
data from Rate My Professors,
PayScale, the Bureau of Labor
Statistics, the state Boards of Nursing,
and individual school websites.
Of course, there is only so much you
can determine from facts and figures
alone. Once you have narrowed down
your options, ask around and try to talk
to a few people who have attended each
of the schools you are considering.
Then schedule a campus visit to get a
feel for what its really like.
Disclosure:

We strive to provide information on

this website that is accurate, complete
and timely, but we make no guarantees
about the information, the selection of
schools, school accreditation status, the
availability of or eligibility for financial
aid, employment opportunities or
education or salary outcomes.

Website: http://nursejournal.org/articles/americas-best-nursing-schools/