About the School
The School of Nursing offers a four-year program of study leading to a Bachelor's of Science in Nursing (BSN). Graduates from the BSN program are eligible to sit for the NCLEX exam and become Registered Nurses. The School of Nursing also has an Accelerated 2nd-Degree program for individuals with Baccalaureate degrees in fields other than Nursing and an online RN-BSN program for individuals with an ASN in Nursing.
The school of Nursing also offers Masters (MSN) degrees and Post-Masters certificates in Nursing through our partnership with TN eCampus and through the Tennessee Tech independent MSN program. Tennessee Tech offers DNP programs jointly with ETSU.
History of the School
In 1965, the State Board of Education requested each university in the system to investigate the need to establish Schools of Nursing. At that time the State Board of proposed that each state college be authorized to establish a two-year Associate Degree program in Nursing. However, in 1965 clinical facilities were inadequate in the Upper Cumberland to support a School of Nursing. By 1973 clinical facilities had improved, and Tennessee Technological University began to plan for a School of Nursing.
As the result of a feasibility study that identified a need for nurse manpower in middle Tennessee, the State Board of Regents made a commitment to support a new Baccalaureate School of Nursing if federal funding could be obtained. Tennessee Technological University received a three-year Special Projects Grant from the Department of Health, Education and Welfare, and the Tennessee Technological University's School of Nursing admitted its first class of students to Upper Division Nursing in Fall 1980. The first Bachelor of Science degrees in Nursing were awarded June 1982.
The School has now occupied the new 65,500 square foot state-of-the-art structure since the Fall of 2008.
Accreditation
The Tennessee Board of Nursing initially granted approval to the baccalaureate program in 1980 and the program continues today with full board approval. The Tennessee Tech School of Nursing maintained accreditation by the National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission through 2005, at which time accreditation was pursued with the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education. Initial accreditation through CCNE was granted for the maximum of five years (2004-2009).
The baccalaureate degree in nursing program at Tennessee Technological University remains accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education, 655 K Street NW, Suite 750, Washington DC 20001, 202-887-6791. The BSN program went through the accreditation review process in February 2009 and accreditation was renewed once again in December 2019.
The Doctor of Nursing Practice program at East Tennessee State University and Tennessee Tech University is accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education, 655 K Street NW, Suite 750, Washington, DC 20001, 202-887-6791. This program is accredited through 2025.
The Master's degree program in Nursing at Tennessee Tech University is accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education, 655 K Street NW, Suite 750, Washington, DC 20001, 202-887-6791. This program is accredited through 2025.
The former TNeCampus MSN program was jointly accredited by the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN), 3343 Peachtree Road NE, Suite 850 Atlanta, Georgia 30326 through Fall 2019.
Goals for the Whitson-Hester School of Nursing
- Provide excellence in teaching and lifelong learning
- Offer the highest quality BSN and MSN graduates to address workforce needs
- Preserve and protect diversity and inclusion of people and ideas through availability of opportunities for students and faculty
- Impact health care delivery and policies through professional leadership in the academic and healthcare communities
- Engage in faculty and student research/scholarly activities that lead to improvement in the health of communities, advancement of nursing knowledge and practice and/or impacts health care delivery
- Faculty and students engage in interprofessional education, research, service and practice
- Provide graduates the ability to address patient care needs in the delivery of innovative health care, while recognizing their unique placement and leadership in the nursing workforce
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