College of Nursing's RN to BSN program ranked as state's best

Story written by: Matthew Schmidt

The South Dakota State University College of Nursing was ranked No. 1 in RegisteredNursing.org’s list of 2020 Best Online RN to BSN Programs in South Dakota.

“Our team analyzed online RN to BSN programs in South Dakota looking for the best programs in the state. South Dakota State University's program came in at the top of our list. Students benefit from the exceptional support and program structure,” said Sally Worthington, outreach coordinator for RegisteredNursing.org. “The online RN to BSN program is flexible, affordable and designed with working RNs in mind.”

The SDSU College of Nursing allows nurses to continue their education at their own pace through its flexible online RN to BSN program. The program is designed to be completed in as few as 10 months as a full-time student or 18 months as a part-time student.

SDSU recently revised the program. Each course will now be delivered in a seven-week format and offered a minimum of three times per year.

According to Heidi Pelzel, SDSU’s RN to BSN program coordinator, the more frequent and rapid delivery of courses allows nurses to step in and out of the curriculum as needed if life events occur and they need to take a break from classes.

“The courses were updated or new courses were designed to meet the current trends in the nursing field workforce,” Pelzel said. “Our curriculum prepares students to assume leadership and management positions and covers a range of necessary skills and competencies.”

RegisteredNursing.org’s methodology began with obtaining NCLEX-RN exam pass rates for all registered nursing programs on a state-by-state basis through several methods, including making a number of Freedom of Information Act requests. It requested five years of available information.