Tennessee Tech expanding its nursing program by more than doubling its enrollment capacity.
Director of Student Success Benjamin Clark said the program now admits up to 100 students per semester into the main Bachelor of Science in Nursing program. Clark said this growth is supported by an early admission initiative for high school seniors who meet specific academic and scholarship criteria.
“Looking at the uncertainty in the job market with things like AI affecting computer science and a lot of other majors, you can know that people always need healthcare,” Clark said. “It is a solid career with a lot of different possibilities.”
Clark said the program previously admitted 60 students per semester prior to 2020. Clark said the expansion was made possible because clinical sites became more active in offering additional availability to students following the pandemic.
“You have a generation that wants to help people, and they’re seeing a career path that they know is going to be stable as well,” Clark said.
Clark said the growth of Cookeville and the low cost of living in the region have also contributed to the surge in the program’s popularity. Clark said many families moving to the area for work are discovering that Tennessee Tech houses one of the premier nursing programs in the Southeast.
“They’ve been really happy to learn that not only does Cookeville have an engineering and science-focused school, but also one of the best nursing programs in the Southeast,” Clark said. “And they didn’t know that when they were looking to move here for work, but now once they’ve heard about it, they’re really happy to be able to send their kids to a local school with a really good reputation for good nursing.”
Clark said historical data shows approximately 80 percent of the program’s graduates remain in the Upper Cumberland to work. Clark said these graduates are vital for maintaining the operations of rural hospitals and meeting the high demand for specialized roles, including pediatric and mental health nurses.
“And so what that means is it’s helping address healthcare shortages, it’s helping keep some of these rural hospitals available, that sort of thing,” Clark said. “And so having bachelors-prepared nursing graduates in the area is only going to help with those shortages and help address rural healthcare needs.”
Clark said future investments for the School of Nursing include exploring night and weekend schedules and bridge programs for EMTs and LPNs. Clark said the university also intends to expand its accelerated second-degree program, which saw 40 students enroll this summer.
“The demand for that has really started to recover from kind of a pandemic lull,” Clark said. “And so we’re also planning on trying to expand that program next couple years, potentially 60-80 students. We have the opportunity to just grow that pretty quickly based on how that program is laid out.”
Tennessee Tech will host a Fall Preview Day on Oct. 10 where prospective students can view lab demonstrations and meet with faculty.
