Southeastern’s nursing program was recently ranked as No. 1 in Best State Online Nursing Programs, No. 4 nationally in Most Affordable Online Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner Programs and No. 31 nationally in Top Nurse Practitioner Programs- Four Year Schools by EduMed, an organization which connects students to flexible education programs to fast-track careers in nursing and allied health.

According to Projects and Communications Manager Tonya Lowentritt, this is the fifth time Southeastern has been recognized with a Nightingale Award for the undergraduate nursing program.

EduMed looked at factors such as academic and career support services, affordable tuition and which schools provide the best fully and partially online programs when ranking institutions. 

Southeastern ranked number one in-state for the “Best Online Nursing Programs.”

Southeastern’s online nursing program offers three different programs, including RN to BSN, MSN and DNP. 

Nicole Vanderklis, a junior nursing major, said, “I believe Southeastern has really earned that number one spot. The students and instructors all work very hard to ensure we are all well prepared to enter the healthcare field as well-rounded nurses.”

Although Vanderklis is not currently in the online program, she was during her first semester when COVID hit. She said it seems like everyone learned a lot from the COVID experience and used it to develop a strong online education presence.

Southeastern is ranked fourth in the nation for “Most Affordable Online Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner Programs,” costing $668 per credit for in-state and $1,916.20 per credit for out-of-state. The program has a total of 21 credits; therefore, an in-state student should expect to pay $14,028 if they do not receive any scholarships. 

“I think Southeastern has an affordable nursing program, especially compared to a large university like LSU; however, there are a lot of out of pocket expenses involved with nursing that aren’t included in tuition,” Vanderklis said. 

Some of the outside expenses include scrubs, supplemental textbooks and gas to the Baton Rouge campus for lectures. 

Lastly, SLU ranked 31 nationally in “Top Nurse Practitioner Programs – Four Year Schools” and was accredited by The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC).

Vanderklis said, “Southeastern has an incredibly rigorous nursing program, so I am not surprised that we rank highly in the nation.”

School of Nursing Department Head Ken Tillman credited the nursing faculty and teaching resources for the ultimate success of the undergraduate program’s students and graduates.

Tillman said, “Our nursing faculty are dedicated to the success of our students. Teaching resources such as great instructional spaces, skills practice labs and patient simulation labs, both on campus and at the Baton Rouge Center, is another top feature of our program.”

To learn more about our nursing program, visit the Nursing Program website.