KNOXVILLE, Tenn., Nov. 30, 2015 — Best Medical Degrees, an online resource for students interested in careers in medicine, has compiled a ranking of the 30 Best Value Online Master’s Degree Programs in Nursing Education.
The list was compiled using the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE) as a resource for accredited online master of nursing (MSN) programs with nurse educator concentrations. The programs were then ranked based on cost, length of program, curricula, and accreditation.
Western Governors University, Salt Lake City, UT, earned first place followed by Fort Hays State University, Hays, KS, and Eastern New Mexico University, Portales, NM.
Other schools included in the list (in alphabetical order):
American Sentinel University, Aurora, CO
Benedictine University, Lisle, IL
Brenau University, Gainesville, GA
California State University-Chico, Chico, CA
Carlow University, Pittsburgh, PA
Chamberlain College of Nursing, Downers Grove, IL
Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA
Duke University, Durham, NC
East Tennessee State University, Johnson City, TN
Excelsior College, Albany, NY
Graceland University, Lamoni, IA
Grand Canyon University, Phoenix, AZ
Herzing University, Menomonee Falls, WI
Jacksonville University, Jacksonville, FL
Lamar University, Beaumont, TX
Mercy College, Dobbs Ferry, NY
Monmouth University, West Long Branch, NJ
Nebraska Methodist College, Omaha, NE
Notre Dame College Online, South Euclid, OH
Penn State World Campus, University Park, PA
Sacred Heart University, Fairfield, CT
Texas Woman’s University, Denton, TX
University of Detroit-Mercy, McAuley School of Nursing, Detroit, MI
University of New Mexico, College of Nursing, Albuquerque, NM
University of Saint Mary, Leavenworth, KS
University of Texas-Arlington, Arlington, TX
Wilkes University, Wilkes Barre, PA
“There’s been a crisis brewing in nursing for the past decade,” said Susan Kemppainen, Editor of Best Medical Degrees. “The profession has been experiencing a shortage of nurses, due to an influx of newly insured patients, baby boomers requiring more care, and the overall aging of the nursing workforce. This shortage is predicted to continue for the foreseeable future.”
The urgent need for nursing faculty at colleges and universities was noted back in 2008 in the Online Journal of Issues in Nursing (OJIN). Recently, the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (2014) noted that nursing schools were forced to deny admission to over 80,000 nursing school applicants because of a lack of nursing school educators.
Colleges and universities are attempting to help ease the nursing shortage by offering more graduate programs online that will train nurses who hold a BSN as nurse educators. These MSN programs help nurses not only qualify as faculty at academic institutions, but as nurse educators in hospitals and in healthcare systems. The Bureau of Labor Statistics currently estimates a median salary of $72,210 for nursing instructors in colleges and universities and $83,650 for those teaching in general medical centers or surgical hospitals.
Best Medical Degrees is an independent online publication dedicated to providing accurate and useful information for prospective students considering a career in medicine. In addition to medical school profiles, reviews, and rankings, students will find online resource guides for a variety of medical fields, medical career and salary information, as well as interesting articles and infographics on medical related topics. www.bestmedicaldegrees.com
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