Online ranking site Match College has selected Weber State University’s nursing program in the top 35 four–year nursing schools in the nation, according to a press release on WSU’s website.
According to WSU School of Nursing professor Susan Thornock, the ranking relies on organization and delivery of the curriculum and student outcomes. It also considers quality and cost of education.
“It is an honor for the School of Nursing to be ranked in the top 35 of all the nursing programs in the United States,” Thornock said.
Other universities on the list included Villanova, Texas Christian and Loyola University. WSU was the only Utah school listed.
“We work hard in nursing to achieve excellence but we could not do this on our own. Weber State University as a whole has made this possible,” Thornock said. “The resources our university offers to students is outstanding. Our mission and our core values are a guide to excellence.”
Both returning student Jennifer Coleman and her daughter McKell Coleman Summers are graduating from WSU’s School of Nursing on April 27, according to the press release.
“My journey at Weber State began in 1991,” Coleman said. “Twenty-five years later, my daughter talked me into going back to school, and I’m glad that she did because it’s something I always wanted. I’m grateful for my daughter who encouraged me and was my cheerleader.”
Coleman currently works in the NICU with premature infants. Summers praises her mother as an example for fellow students due to her longtime experience and passion for nursing.
“I think what I’ve learned from my mom as a nurse is to have compassion and confidence,” Summers said. “I don’t know many people who love their jobs as much as my mom.”
Summers has been accepted to the WSU University Master of Science Nursing degree program, according to the release. Coleman will embark on a Doctor of Nurse Practitioner program in the fall.
When the 2017-18 academic year is complete, Weber State will award associate’s, bachelor’s and master’s degrees to 732 nurses.
According to Thornock, the curriculum for a Doctor of Nursing Practice is currently in writing and may be available in the near future.
“We are always looking ahead at what is happening on the national level and suggestions made for the nursing profession by the Institute Of Medicine,” Thornock said. “It is this kind of innovative progress, along with a dedication to excellence that will keep our School of Nursing in the limelight.”
